DISCLAIMER: I won nothing except the story idea and Leona!
Zell and I sheepishly made our way down the stairs and back into the small dining room. We didn't speak a word of what happened, both of us still a little shy. I sat down at the table across from Selphie as Mrs.Dincht came in with a large tray of sandwiches.
'My you four must be hungry form all the swimming you did today,' she said, chuckling to herself, 'I'm terribly sorry that lunch took so long for me to put together.'
'Oh don't worry about it Ma, it was kind of you to even make us some lunch,' Irvine said, taking off his hat and putting it beside his plate.
'Not to mention it didn't take you that long,' I said, reaching over for one of the sandwiches.
'Well, you must be hungry because you're digging right in,' ma Dincht said looking down on me with a warm smile. I put the sandwich back down and put my hands in my lap.
'Was I supposed to wait or something?' I asked nervously. Ma Dincht tilted her head back and laughed.
'Of course not silly, dig in!' she cried and then walked out of the room. I assumed she was going back into the kitchen. She seemed to be more at peace in there. I sighed contently and reached over for my sandwich again and nibbled on it. I risked a glance at Zell only to see him looking at me as he picked away at his lunch. As soon as our eyes met he looked away and focused on the slices of bread in front of him.
'So, what were you two doing upstairs?' Irvine asked casually. I nearly chocked on the food that was in my mouth but managed to swallow. I smiled nervously at Irvine, shaking my head.
'N-nothing, Irvine. Z-Zell and I were jus talking. R-right Zell?' I asked shakily. Zell nodded quickly and went back to eating his sandwich,
'Oooo! You guys are blushing!' Selphie said, standing up from the table, 'look at them Irvy! Look how red they are!' she cried, jumping up and down a bit. Irvine chuckled and looked at both Zell and I.
'I think your right Selphiekoo, I think something went on between the two and they just don't want to tell,' Irvine drawled, pulling Selphie into his lap, 'so you two, what happened?'
'Irvine,' Zell growled warningly. I put a hand on Zell's arm and smiled at the curious couple.
'I'm telling you two, nothing happened,' I said, taking another bite out of my peanut butter sandwich, which was pretty good I might add!
'Then why wont ya look at each other? Did Zell say something wrong? Did he do something to ya? Did he piss you off in some way?' Irvine asked relentlessly. I put a hand to my forehead and sighed, Selphie and Irvine could be like the C.I.A.
'Kinneas! Shut your mouth!' Zell said, abruptly standing up from the table, 'who the hell gave you guys permission to question everything Leona or I do, huh? We don't question you guys all the time so mind yer damn business!' he yelled and stormed out of the room. I spun in my seat and watched Zell slam the front door behind him. Mrs.Dincht came out of the kitchen and looked at me, confused. I turned back around in my seat and sighed.
'We're sorry Leona, we didn't mean to make Zell leave,' Selphie said, bowing her head slightly.
'Yeah well, you didn't have to interrogate him the way you did,' I said as I sank deeper into my chair.
'We were just wondering,' Irvine protested softly, ' and anyways, he didn't have to throw a fit like that. Leona, you gotta understand that Zell has a really short temper and loses it easily,' Irvine said matter of factly. I groaned and stood up from the table.
'All the more reason you shouldn't have questioned him like that. Jeeze, if you knew that yourself why would you continue?' I said and walked out of the dining room. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Irvin throwing his hat to the ground and Selphie trying to calm him down. God, I'd only been here for a couple of days and already trouble had begun. Damn it, I didn't want to lose Irvine or Selphie's friendship but still, it wasn't right for them to tease Zell the way they had.
'Where ya going darling?'
I turned around and smiled at Mrs.Dincht.
'I'm just going to go find Zell, I'll be right back,' I said, grabbing my hoodie from the coat rack, 'I'll find him and try to calm him down,' I said, pulling the hoodie on. Mrs.Dincht nodded and smiled.
'Alright dear, you just be careful, I think its going to storm tonight,' she said then went into the kitchen and pulled out a flashlight, 'you take this incase you don't get back here before dark, ok?" she said, handing the flashlight to me. I smiled warmly and opened the door, leaving a concerned Mrs.Dincht behind. I decided the first place I'd look would be the main market. I asked all the people I saw on the streets if they had seen Zell and none of them said they had. I walked up to the train station to see there was no train there and also no Zell. I turned around and walked out of the station and at down on the steps, letting out a deep sigh.
'Damn it, where are you Zell?' I muttered and then finally it hit me, he must be down at the harbor! I hadn't even thought to look there before! I stood back up and nearly fell down the remaining stairs then ran all the way down to the harbor. I was disappointed when I didn't see Zell anywhere. I walked down to the very end and still there was no Zell.
'Leona?'
I spun around to see Zell sitting behind a bunch of crates and barrels stacked up against the wall. I knelt down in front of him and gave him a comforting smile.
'Whatcha doin here?" I asked.
Zell looked down and played around with his shoelaces.
'I always would come here whenever I was sad or angry,' he confessed then sniffled and wiped a gloved hand at his eyes, 'I'm sorry Leona, I always put up an act, always try to make myself look tough and here I am crying because Irvine and I got in a little spat,' Zell said, shuddering slightly. I gently placed my hand on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.
'Hey, no one ever said you weren't allowed to cry,' I said as I tilted his tear stained face up to see mine, 'and there's no need for you to apologize, there's nothing wrong with getting upset. Even I was a little upset about them questioning you like that,' I confessed. Zell smiled and wiped at his remaining tears and patted the ground beside him. I smiled and sat down, our thighs touching slightly and I pulled his hand into mine.
'We all get upset and shed a few tears sometimes,' I turned and smiled at him, 'and tough guys like you are no exception.' Zell blushed and squeezed my hand. He and I looked into each other's eyes for a couple minutes before he turned away, chewing on his bottom lip.
'Zell? Is something still bothering you?' I asked. Zell nodded his head and took his hand out of mine, resting it on his leg. I placed mine in my lap and leaned in closer to Zell, 'what is it then?'
'Its just, where you come from... Did you have a boyfriend?' he asked, albeit timidly. I blew out a long breath and leaned back onto my elbows, looking up at the darkening sky.
'I did, yes but thankfully he and I broke up oh, maybe a few weeks before this all happened,' I said, sighing. Zell turned onto his side and looked at me.
'Why did ya break up with him? Or was it he who broke up with you?'
I shook my head and sat back up, hugging my knees to my chest.
'I broke up with him. The relationship just wasn't working and I realized that I was lying to myself when I told him I loved him,' I rubbed my shins, trying to warm them up since it was getting cooler out, 'anyways, I told him that and while he didn't want us to break up I did so anyways.'
'Was... He angry?' Zell asked slowly.
I nodded my head, 'yes he was but.. After realizing I really didn't love him, what was the point of me staying with him? And I wasn't going to use that oh so famous line 'lets stay friends' because lets face it, you cant.'
'I know what you mean,' Zell muttered and then very cautiously, very slowly he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. When he realized I wasn't going to pull away his courage must have grew and he pulled me closer, right until I was pressed against his chest. The two of us sat there, his arm around my shoulders as I felt his chest rise and fall with his breath.
'Zell?' I whispered.
'Hm?'
'Don't you think we should head back now?' I asked.
Zell sighed and nodded his head. Before I was able to pull away from him he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him until our faces were level with each other.
'Leona.. When I kissed you,' he began but then bit his bottom lip.
'Look Zell, if it was just a one time thing, I understand, its not like that hasn't happened to me before,' I said rather dryly and tried to stand up again but Zell held me in place.
'No Leona, I meant to do it,' he allowed his grip to loosen then ran a hand through his hair, causing his spikes to be pushed back. I stifled a giggle as they almost 'boinged' back into place.
'What are you giggling about?' he asked. I could tell he was feeling pretty awkward at the moment so I bit back the remaining giggles.
'Sorry Zell, it was nothing, really,' I said, squeezing his hand. Zell nodded his head, still looking at me skeptically.
'What?' I asked, seriously confused.
'You obviously didn't listen to what I said,' Zell complained, standing up. I stood up to and grabbed his arm.
'Wait Zell, I heard you,' I protested. Zell just kept walking away. I ran up behind him and spun him around.
'Do you want to kiss again?' I blurted then bowed my head shyly, 'Because well... I do' I said, sincerely meaning it. Zell's face lit up and he pulled me closer to him, 'go easy on me ok?" I teased. Zell cocked an eyebrow at me and smiled.
'Ok,' he said simply then slowly, inch-by-inch our lips moved toward each other's and after what seemed like an eternity they met. I felt my heart beat quicken, I could actually hear the blood pumping through my body. Our kiss deepened and I felt Zell's hold on me tighten as he pulled me closer. This kiss was different from our first one; it was more. passionate maybe? No, more.. Sincere. After what felt like forever our lips parted and I found myself wishing they hadn't.
'Leona,' Zell said softly, twirling one of his fingers around one of my curls then leaned in closer to my ear, 'can I keep you?' he whispered. I resisted a giggle, remembering that line from a movie I saw, Casper or something. It felt really weird to have Zell say it to me when I knew it had been used in a movie from my own world. I smiled anyways and buried my face into Zell's neck.
'As long as I can keep you,' I said softly, kissing the tender flesh that was his neck. Zell suddenly picked me up and swung me around. I cried out happily then gave him a stern look.
'Hey, its getting pretty late, we better head back to your place,' I said. Zell put me back on the ground and gently placed a gloved hand on my cheek.
'Sure and besides, I gotta go apologize for my little outburst,' he said albeit sheepishly. I giggled and took his hand.
'So, are we going to tell them?' I asked as the two of us walked back up to his Ma's house. Zell nodded and squeezed my hand.
'Yeah, I don't think anyone will mind and besides, it wouldn't be up to them to decide whether you and I can be together or not,' he said then stopped and pulled me closer, 'I am glad you came here or I would have never met you,' he said then leaned down and kissed me again.
~ I'm glad I came here too Zell, you have no idea how glad~ I thought then kissed him back.
A/N: Booyaka! Sorry it took a while everyone! Been pretty busy! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There's still more to come! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and those of you who haven't and are reading this now, please RXR! Thanks!
-Dinchtbaby
Zell and I sheepishly made our way down the stairs and back into the small dining room. We didn't speak a word of what happened, both of us still a little shy. I sat down at the table across from Selphie as Mrs.Dincht came in with a large tray of sandwiches.
'My you four must be hungry form all the swimming you did today,' she said, chuckling to herself, 'I'm terribly sorry that lunch took so long for me to put together.'
'Oh don't worry about it Ma, it was kind of you to even make us some lunch,' Irvine said, taking off his hat and putting it beside his plate.
'Not to mention it didn't take you that long,' I said, reaching over for one of the sandwiches.
'Well, you must be hungry because you're digging right in,' ma Dincht said looking down on me with a warm smile. I put the sandwich back down and put my hands in my lap.
'Was I supposed to wait or something?' I asked nervously. Ma Dincht tilted her head back and laughed.
'Of course not silly, dig in!' she cried and then walked out of the room. I assumed she was going back into the kitchen. She seemed to be more at peace in there. I sighed contently and reached over for my sandwich again and nibbled on it. I risked a glance at Zell only to see him looking at me as he picked away at his lunch. As soon as our eyes met he looked away and focused on the slices of bread in front of him.
'So, what were you two doing upstairs?' Irvine asked casually. I nearly chocked on the food that was in my mouth but managed to swallow. I smiled nervously at Irvine, shaking my head.
'N-nothing, Irvine. Z-Zell and I were jus talking. R-right Zell?' I asked shakily. Zell nodded quickly and went back to eating his sandwich,
'Oooo! You guys are blushing!' Selphie said, standing up from the table, 'look at them Irvy! Look how red they are!' she cried, jumping up and down a bit. Irvine chuckled and looked at both Zell and I.
'I think your right Selphiekoo, I think something went on between the two and they just don't want to tell,' Irvine drawled, pulling Selphie into his lap, 'so you two, what happened?'
'Irvine,' Zell growled warningly. I put a hand on Zell's arm and smiled at the curious couple.
'I'm telling you two, nothing happened,' I said, taking another bite out of my peanut butter sandwich, which was pretty good I might add!
'Then why wont ya look at each other? Did Zell say something wrong? Did he do something to ya? Did he piss you off in some way?' Irvine asked relentlessly. I put a hand to my forehead and sighed, Selphie and Irvine could be like the C.I.A.
'Kinneas! Shut your mouth!' Zell said, abruptly standing up from the table, 'who the hell gave you guys permission to question everything Leona or I do, huh? We don't question you guys all the time so mind yer damn business!' he yelled and stormed out of the room. I spun in my seat and watched Zell slam the front door behind him. Mrs.Dincht came out of the kitchen and looked at me, confused. I turned back around in my seat and sighed.
'We're sorry Leona, we didn't mean to make Zell leave,' Selphie said, bowing her head slightly.
'Yeah well, you didn't have to interrogate him the way you did,' I said as I sank deeper into my chair.
'We were just wondering,' Irvine protested softly, ' and anyways, he didn't have to throw a fit like that. Leona, you gotta understand that Zell has a really short temper and loses it easily,' Irvine said matter of factly. I groaned and stood up from the table.
'All the more reason you shouldn't have questioned him like that. Jeeze, if you knew that yourself why would you continue?' I said and walked out of the dining room. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Irvin throwing his hat to the ground and Selphie trying to calm him down. God, I'd only been here for a couple of days and already trouble had begun. Damn it, I didn't want to lose Irvine or Selphie's friendship but still, it wasn't right for them to tease Zell the way they had.
'Where ya going darling?'
I turned around and smiled at Mrs.Dincht.
'I'm just going to go find Zell, I'll be right back,' I said, grabbing my hoodie from the coat rack, 'I'll find him and try to calm him down,' I said, pulling the hoodie on. Mrs.Dincht nodded and smiled.
'Alright dear, you just be careful, I think its going to storm tonight,' she said then went into the kitchen and pulled out a flashlight, 'you take this incase you don't get back here before dark, ok?" she said, handing the flashlight to me. I smiled warmly and opened the door, leaving a concerned Mrs.Dincht behind. I decided the first place I'd look would be the main market. I asked all the people I saw on the streets if they had seen Zell and none of them said they had. I walked up to the train station to see there was no train there and also no Zell. I turned around and walked out of the station and at down on the steps, letting out a deep sigh.
'Damn it, where are you Zell?' I muttered and then finally it hit me, he must be down at the harbor! I hadn't even thought to look there before! I stood back up and nearly fell down the remaining stairs then ran all the way down to the harbor. I was disappointed when I didn't see Zell anywhere. I walked down to the very end and still there was no Zell.
'Leona?'
I spun around to see Zell sitting behind a bunch of crates and barrels stacked up against the wall. I knelt down in front of him and gave him a comforting smile.
'Whatcha doin here?" I asked.
Zell looked down and played around with his shoelaces.
'I always would come here whenever I was sad or angry,' he confessed then sniffled and wiped a gloved hand at his eyes, 'I'm sorry Leona, I always put up an act, always try to make myself look tough and here I am crying because Irvine and I got in a little spat,' Zell said, shuddering slightly. I gently placed my hand on his shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.
'Hey, no one ever said you weren't allowed to cry,' I said as I tilted his tear stained face up to see mine, 'and there's no need for you to apologize, there's nothing wrong with getting upset. Even I was a little upset about them questioning you like that,' I confessed. Zell smiled and wiped at his remaining tears and patted the ground beside him. I smiled and sat down, our thighs touching slightly and I pulled his hand into mine.
'We all get upset and shed a few tears sometimes,' I turned and smiled at him, 'and tough guys like you are no exception.' Zell blushed and squeezed my hand. He and I looked into each other's eyes for a couple minutes before he turned away, chewing on his bottom lip.
'Zell? Is something still bothering you?' I asked. Zell nodded his head and took his hand out of mine, resting it on his leg. I placed mine in my lap and leaned in closer to Zell, 'what is it then?'
'Its just, where you come from... Did you have a boyfriend?' he asked, albeit timidly. I blew out a long breath and leaned back onto my elbows, looking up at the darkening sky.
'I did, yes but thankfully he and I broke up oh, maybe a few weeks before this all happened,' I said, sighing. Zell turned onto his side and looked at me.
'Why did ya break up with him? Or was it he who broke up with you?'
I shook my head and sat back up, hugging my knees to my chest.
'I broke up with him. The relationship just wasn't working and I realized that I was lying to myself when I told him I loved him,' I rubbed my shins, trying to warm them up since it was getting cooler out, 'anyways, I told him that and while he didn't want us to break up I did so anyways.'
'Was... He angry?' Zell asked slowly.
I nodded my head, 'yes he was but.. After realizing I really didn't love him, what was the point of me staying with him? And I wasn't going to use that oh so famous line 'lets stay friends' because lets face it, you cant.'
'I know what you mean,' Zell muttered and then very cautiously, very slowly he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. When he realized I wasn't going to pull away his courage must have grew and he pulled me closer, right until I was pressed against his chest. The two of us sat there, his arm around my shoulders as I felt his chest rise and fall with his breath.
'Zell?' I whispered.
'Hm?'
'Don't you think we should head back now?' I asked.
Zell sighed and nodded his head. Before I was able to pull away from him he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him until our faces were level with each other.
'Leona.. When I kissed you,' he began but then bit his bottom lip.
'Look Zell, if it was just a one time thing, I understand, its not like that hasn't happened to me before,' I said rather dryly and tried to stand up again but Zell held me in place.
'No Leona, I meant to do it,' he allowed his grip to loosen then ran a hand through his hair, causing his spikes to be pushed back. I stifled a giggle as they almost 'boinged' back into place.
'What are you giggling about?' he asked. I could tell he was feeling pretty awkward at the moment so I bit back the remaining giggles.
'Sorry Zell, it was nothing, really,' I said, squeezing his hand. Zell nodded his head, still looking at me skeptically.
'What?' I asked, seriously confused.
'You obviously didn't listen to what I said,' Zell complained, standing up. I stood up to and grabbed his arm.
'Wait Zell, I heard you,' I protested. Zell just kept walking away. I ran up behind him and spun him around.
'Do you want to kiss again?' I blurted then bowed my head shyly, 'Because well... I do' I said, sincerely meaning it. Zell's face lit up and he pulled me closer to him, 'go easy on me ok?" I teased. Zell cocked an eyebrow at me and smiled.
'Ok,' he said simply then slowly, inch-by-inch our lips moved toward each other's and after what seemed like an eternity they met. I felt my heart beat quicken, I could actually hear the blood pumping through my body. Our kiss deepened and I felt Zell's hold on me tighten as he pulled me closer. This kiss was different from our first one; it was more. passionate maybe? No, more.. Sincere. After what felt like forever our lips parted and I found myself wishing they hadn't.
'Leona,' Zell said softly, twirling one of his fingers around one of my curls then leaned in closer to my ear, 'can I keep you?' he whispered. I resisted a giggle, remembering that line from a movie I saw, Casper or something. It felt really weird to have Zell say it to me when I knew it had been used in a movie from my own world. I smiled anyways and buried my face into Zell's neck.
'As long as I can keep you,' I said softly, kissing the tender flesh that was his neck. Zell suddenly picked me up and swung me around. I cried out happily then gave him a stern look.
'Hey, its getting pretty late, we better head back to your place,' I said. Zell put me back on the ground and gently placed a gloved hand on my cheek.
'Sure and besides, I gotta go apologize for my little outburst,' he said albeit sheepishly. I giggled and took his hand.
'So, are we going to tell them?' I asked as the two of us walked back up to his Ma's house. Zell nodded and squeezed my hand.
'Yeah, I don't think anyone will mind and besides, it wouldn't be up to them to decide whether you and I can be together or not,' he said then stopped and pulled me closer, 'I am glad you came here or I would have never met you,' he said then leaned down and kissed me again.
~ I'm glad I came here too Zell, you have no idea how glad~ I thought then kissed him back.
A/N: Booyaka! Sorry it took a while everyone! Been pretty busy! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There's still more to come! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and those of you who haven't and are reading this now, please RXR! Thanks!
-Dinchtbaby