To The Last Rose

A/N: WAH!!! I'm finally updating!!! ;O!!! Last chapter! ::victory music plays:: finally... I've been caught up in so many things that I just completely forgot about 'To The Last Rose' I'm so sorry. Alright, I'll try to make this chapter a good one. ::nodnod:: Give me strength! ::gets to the story::

*** Ch. 7 – Red Rose ***

Nine hit and Zell stood patiently at the entrance of the Secret Place in the Training Area. Selphie was no where to be seen, but he knew she'd show up eventually. She would have to; she was the one that planned this after all.

Gloved fingers gingerly ran over a bruise on his ribs and he winced at his own touch. That bruise would be Selphie's fault. He wasn't ready for that Grat... And it just came out of nowhere! How fair is that? But the point wasn't about being attacked unfairly; it was that Selphie wasn't there yet.

There was a rustling in the bushes and Zell spun on his heel, expecting to see that Grat come popping out. He saw a flash of yellow and immediately relaxed. It was Selphie, it had to be Selphie. As soon as that thought came, something slammed into his bruised rib and sent him flying into the rocks.

"Aw... shit. That hurt," he grumbled as he sat up. His eyes opened and soon enough, he was staring at a full-sized T-Rexaur. "This is not the time to be-" but that beast didn't want to hear what he had to say. Its oversized foot came down and crushed Zell further into the rocks, actually going far enough as to shatter the stone.

Zell was in more pain than he could ever imagine.

A half-scream half-roar came from the monster as it lunged at him. Zell shut his eyes and readied himself for the bite, but a voice from the background shouted over the scream-roar of the monster with one single word.

"Rapture!"

The T-Rexaur gave a roar of frustration as it was taken away from the humans.

Zell groaned and sat up, one hand set on his ribs as if making sure they were still intact. He wouldn't be surprised if they had shattered into just as many pieces as the once-rock had behind him.

That same voice came again, but it was much closer. "Curaga..." The warmth bled into his skin and suddenly all the hurt was gone. "Zell, are you okay? I told you to wait in the Secret Place, not outside of it!"

Ah, Selphie was scolding him now... But he didn't mind. As soon as he felt he could move again, Zell reached up and wrapped his arms around the smaller girl, pulling her down into his lap and holding her close.

Multiple shades of red painted over her cheeks before settling on a bright crimson. Selphie could feel her heart racing in her chest, both in fear and love for Zell. Those two never really did mix well, in her mind.

After what felt like eternity, Zell released her and she helped him stand back onto his feat, a shy smile forming on her lips. The same lips that ran a shiver down Zell's spine and had him wanting her more than anything. Selphie took his wrist and pulled him into the Secret Place, quickly letting go of him and walking to the railing to look over at everything outside.

"So, why'd you want to meet out here?" Zell watched her back for a few seconds before stepping over to stand beside her, arms crossing over his chest. There was a couple seconds of silence before she turned to look at him, hands folded in front of her and her body rocking back and forth on her heels.

"I don't know why... I just wanted to be able to be with you without anyone else around..." Her gaze dropped to the floor and she let out a deep breath. "I guess... what I want to say is... Uhm..." How was she going to tell him? She liked him, he seemed to like her, why was this so hard?

Zell felt his heart speed up as he reached forward, his hand gently cupping her face and lifting her chin to make her look at him again. "What are you afraid of?" he questioned softly, his heart breaking with the terrified look in her eyes.

Heart break. She was afraid of heart break. His arms slowly wrapped around her small body and he pulled her close, his chin resting on the top of her head. He could feel her hands sliding up to rest on his chest as she leaned against him, and for once he felt that everything was right in the world. And so far, everything was.

He pulled away just enough to look down at her. At first, he thought she was crying, but when she looked up at him, it was obvious that she was actually... giggling!

"What's so funny, hm?" He smiled slightly, giving her arm a light pinch. Selphie couldn't help but squeak.

"No, it's nothing. Just... I had a daydream about this, and so far it's going exactly as I thought it would." And she started to laugh again. For some reason, Selphie could find anything funny. Zell grinned and poked her in the side.

"You had a daydream about us? I see..." Selphie's laughs stopped at the mischievous look in his eyes and a scarlet hue ran over her cheeks as he started to come closer. "Let's just see..." closer "how real..." even closer "your dream can come..." his lips were brushing hesitantly over hers as he finished his sentence, "to reality."

And there it was, his lips pressing lightly to hers in a gentle, yet loving kiss. His arms slid further around her waist as her arms came up around his neck, turning that gentle kiss into passion.

Selphie melted into his embrace and smiled as their lips parted. He smiled in return, ready to say the three words he wanted most. As he took a breath, she broke from his hold and skipped back and out of the Secret Area.

"Well, g'night Zell!" She giggled as she turned and started skipping off, a grin on her flushed face. Zell sputtered in his spot and shook his head.

"Wait a minute, where do you think you're going?" he shouted after her, waving his arms around as he sprinted off in a chase.

For skipping, she was pretty fast. Already she was gone down the hallway to her dorm room. He ran down and made it to her door just as it closed, his fist pounding once on it. "Selphie..?" He heard her giggling behind the door and smiled softly. "Fine, I get it. Good night." He said in a loving tone as he walked off.

Selphie let out a relieved sigh and leaned her back against the door. "Good night... I love you."

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A/N: It's finished!!! YES!! ::celebrates:: Now that I've read back on the entire story, I feel slightly ashamed. It's not as great as I could have made it, but I'm far too lazy to fix it. ._. We know I've been lazy... obviously.

Sorry again. But it's finally finished. :D Dance!

~o.wa.ri