Chapter Six: Realisation

Zell crawled over to a corner of the jail cell and waited until the guard had disappeared.  As soon as the footsteps receded into the distance he began sobbing gently.

They had taken away his GFs with a complicated machine that had given him a headache, but he couldn't really care about the pain.  His only thoughts were of Irvine.

He can't be gone.  He just can't be gone.

At least they had let him keep Irvine's jacket.  He snuggled further into it, inhaling deeply as he did, hoping to catch more of Irvine's scent.

Zell rummaged in his pockets, hoping that the presence of Sparky the Moomba would help him feel a little less lonely.  For a brief moment he wondered what it would look like to the guards if a murderer was to find refuge in a cuddly toy.

His amusement was soon gone as he found his pocket completely empty.  Sparky, his only remaining comfort, was gone as well.  He began to sob again, a weak crying sound that had nothing to do with pain or discomfort, but was caused by complete and utter heartbreak.

Irvine had liked him, maybe even loved him, and all Zell had done was knock him unconscious at least, probably even kill him.

You are such a fucking screw-up, Zell told himself.

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Rain fell gently onto the bare streets of Timber, making a very gentle, almost relaxing sound as it hit the stone; making almost no sound whatsoever as it hit the face of a man lying in the street.

Trida approached the few people still standing around Irvine's body.  "Don't worry," Trida told them.  "He's a relative of mine.  I'll take care of everything."

With Trida's new hair colour it was easy to believe and the citizens of Timber shuffled off to whatever else their lives demanded of them.  Eventually it was just the two SeeDs that remained on the wet, stone street.  Leaning down beside Irvine Trida gently stroked the sharpshooter's hair, whispering something that didn't sound quite like it belonged in the real world.

It was a shame that Zell's Full-life spell had missed, Trida reflected.  Such a powerful spell was rare, and it meant more work for him.  He just had to make sure that a spark of life was still inside Irvine somewhere.  Concentrating, he whispered a few more words, and soon Irvine's chest was rising and falling with each breath as normal.  One of Irvine's eyes fluttered open, and then the other.  Trida could tell that the man was having trouble focusing.

"Zell," Irvine called weakly.

"No," Trida said gently.  "It's me, Trida.  Do you remember what happened?"

Irvine's face showed a little confusion for a second, and then a multitude of emotions as the last few hours came back to him.

"I… I kissed him," he whispered.  "And then…"  Irvine reached a hand to the side of his face that Zell had punched.  "Dammit!  Why did he do that?"

"I brought you back to life Irvine," Trida continued, ignoring Irvine's emotional outburst as he realised that Zell had almost killed him.  "Zell tried to cast a spell on you, but he was taken to jail for murder before he could do anything.  I don't think he meant to hit you that hard.  He just doesn't know his own strength sometimes."

"I don't know why I bothered following him," Irvine sighed.  "I should have just accepted the fact that he hates me and moved on with my life."

"He doesn't hate you," Trida insisted.

"Yeah, and how would you know?!" Irvine protested, jumping to his feet.

"I know a lot more than you think," Trida said, silencing Irvine.  "I know why he pulled away from your kiss, why he finds it hard to be around you.  I even know what you're keeping from him.  Why don't you tell him?"

"I'd feel like an idiot," Irvine admitted.  "At first I thought that maybe he remembered and it just embarrassed him or something.  I guess that doesn't matter now.  How do you know all of this?"

"Would you like to know why Zell keeps pushing you away?" Trida asked.

Irvine nodded, letting the sudden change of subject pass unquestioned.  Obviously Trida didn't want to talk about it.

"All right," Trida said, moving closer to Irvine.  "I must warn you though.  It could disturb you a little."

"But it will help me to understand Zell more, right?  Then I can be there for him more, and be more understanding, right?" Irvine asked, forgetting that a couple of seconds earlier he had been ready to completely forget about Zell.

"Of course," Trida said, placing a hand on Irvine's forehead.

"What are you doing?" Irvine asked, sounding a little nervous.

"Showing you what happened," Trida said.  The other man closed his eyes and Irvine found himself doing the same.

When Irvine opened them again his viewpoint had seemed to change a little.  He felt like he was hovering.  He didn't know how; this wasn't a place he had seen or recognised; but he knew he was in Balamb Garden.

"Don't be afraid," he heard Trida's voice enter his mind.

Irvine nodded and watched as Zell left the ballroom quietly and was quickly approached by Seifer.  The two of them talked and laughed for a while, and Irvine couldn't help but notice the way Seifer kept looking at and touching Zell, and the way that Zell seemed to love the taller man's attention.


Soon Seifer had Zell pressed up against the wall as the two of them kissed fiercely.  Irvine was confused.  Was Zell broken-hearted because of Seifer?  Was that why he couldn't be with Irvine?

Then the scene shifted, changing into one of Balamb Garden's small bedrooms.  Seifer was still joking and laughing and touching Zell whenever he could, but Zell seemed a little more nervous now.

Seifer moved closer to Zell and began to slip his vest off.  Zell tried to protest, but Seifer stopped him with a harsh kiss on the lips.  Zell tried vainly to struggle but Seifer held him in place, slowly stripping them both until they were both naked.

Zell let out a whimper of protest as he was thrown backwards onto Seifer's bed.

What happened next was seen through tear-stained eyes for Irvine.  Seifer kept pushing into Zell, either completely unaware or indifferent to the way Zell was trying to squirm out from under him.  Any cries of pain were quickly silenced by another harsh kiss.

Seifer's pace quickened, along with Zell's small whimpers, and Seifer moved his mouth around to nibble on Zell's ear.  Irvine put a hand to his own mouth as he realised what he had done; how his own lips and teeth had nibbled gently on the same ear.  No wonder Zell had pulled away.

Neither Seifer's thrusts nor his mouth's nibbling ceased until he was completely satisfied, then with both arms wrapped possessively around Zell's waist, the tall blonde fell asleep.

Zell waited a few minutes, sobbing gently.  When he was sure that Seifer was completely asleep he crawled out of his arms and off the bed, dressed as quickly as he could and ran from Seifer's room, seeking his own dorm.

Irvine tried to call out but found that he had no voice in this world.  He just wanted to hold Zell and tell him that everything was going to be all right.  He wanted to let Zell know that he was sorry for what he had done, and he wanted to let Zell know that no matter what happened, he would never hurt Zell like Seifer had.

Irvine cried out as Trida's hand moved away from his forehead.  He angrily wiped away the tears that were streaming down his cheeks.

Never had he imagined that something so horrible could happen to Zell.  Zell was like sunshine, like happiness personified, and yet Seifer had found it in him to be so cruel as to crush something so beautiful.

He still couldn't bring himself to think that Zell had been raped.  The very idea hurt him too much.

For a while all Irvine could do was stand there and cry as he realised what had happened.

And he had been almost ready to give up on Zell.

"You…" Irvine tried to speak to Trida.  "You said that Zell was in the jail?"

Trida nodded.

"Then we have to go get him out," Irvine said resolutely.  "They can't put him on trial for murder if the person he supposedly killed is still alive, can they?"

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Zell tried to snuggle down deeper into Irvine's jacket.  Maybe if he could get it fitting well enough then it would almost feel like Irvine was holding him again, like he had not so long ago; like he had when they were children.

Zell moaned as he thought he remembered yet another scene from his childhood.  The last half-hour had been confusing, and almost painful.  Without the GFs cluttering up his brain he was beginning to remember tiny events and moments from his childhood almost constantly, like the time Ellone had told them all stories about the monster hunters of Winhill, Laguna and Kiros.

"When we grow up, me and Irvy are gonna kill heaps of monsters, just like Laguna and Kiros," Zell had proclaimed, punching the air.

"Are you gonna kiss like them too?" Selphie teased them both.  Everyone had blushed when Ellone had told them of how she had caught Laguna and Kiros kissing once.

Zell had stayed silent.  Everyone in the orphanage gang knew that kissing was disgusting, especially if you were a girl and you kissed a boy, or vice versa, but maybe kissing another boy wouldn't be so disgusting.  At least you wouldn't get girl germs.

"Yeap!" Irvine answered happily before Zell had even had time to think about it properly. He threw an arm around Zell and placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"Ewww!"  Several children made the noise at once, although Zell wasn't one of them.  Noticing how much it made the girls squirm he leaned into Irvine, returning the kiss and making sure that it was extra noisy.

It had only been in fun.  It wasn't a real kiss, but the memory still brought tears to Zell's eyes as he realised that he would never be able to get a real kiss from Irvine now.

How could he have forgotten someone that had meant so much to him?  How could he have forgotten the most wonderful thing about his childhood as though Irvine had never existed?

He cried softly as he remembered more…

It had been a few days after Ellone had left the orphanage.  All the children were depressed, but none so much as Squall or Zell.  Squall stood out the front of the building, waiting for 'sis' to return.

Zell had found a place out the back on a rocky outcrop overlooking the lighthouse.  He hadn't been that close to Ellone, but he had still been crying for what seemed like hours now.

He almost jumped as he felt someone tap him gently on the shoulder.  Turning around he saw Irvine looking at him with a very serious expression on his face.

"What's wrong Zelly?" Irvine asked him.

At the sight of Irvine Zell merely broke into tears once more.  Irvine moved closer to his friend and gave the little blonde a reassuring hug.

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

"S… Sei… Seifer said," Zell sniffled.  "Seifer said that you were going to leave just like Sis did!  He said that you were going to disappear."

"I'm not," Irvine said resolutely, hugging Zell closer to him.  "I'm not going to leave you."

"Promise?"

"I promise Zelly.  I'm never going to leave you because you're the best friend I've ever had.  I love you."

Neither of them quite knew what love meant, other than in that beautifully innocent little way that only six-year-olds can love, but it still felt special to Zell.  He hadn't been old enough to remember anything about his real parents, so it was the first time he could remember anyone telling him that they loved him.

"I love you too Irvy," Zell whispered, curling up in Irvine's arms.

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The next morning a strange boat had appeared on the beach near the orphanage.

The orphanage gang watched as Matron walked down the beach to greet a woman that stepped off the boat.  Zell liked the look of the newcomer.  She had sparkling eyes and a warm inviting smile.

For most of the day the two women walked around the orphanage talking to each other mostly, Zell suspected, about the children.

Remembering that the last time someone came to the orphanage, Ellone had disappeared, Zell made sure to keep Irvine close by him.  Even though Irvine had promised, he didn't want to risk losing him.

He did a good enough job, but by afternoon-tea time he was frantic.  He had lost Irvine while they had been playing hide-and-go-seek tag with Selphie and he had been looking for Irvine for what seemed like the entire day, even though in reality it had probably only been ten minutes.

He began to run around the orphanage as quickly as he could, looking around at all the likely hiding places as he did so.  He was so distracted that he didn't notice Matron and the new lady until he ran, quite literally, into them.

Zell fell back onto the floor and gazed up at the two women.

"This is Zell," Matron told the other woman.  "Zell, this is Miss Dincht; you can call her Miss D."

"Hello," Zell said quietly, suddenly feeling very shy in the woman's presence.  She seemed very nice, and Zell desperately wanted her to like him.

"Poor thing was brought here when he was only three," Matron told Miss Dincht.  "His mother died during birth, and his father was killed in the war.  He's an absolute treasure."

Zell wasn't quite sure what they were talking about and he couldn't really care.

"Excuse me," he said, tugging gently at Matron's skirt.  "Have you seen Irvy?  I can't find…"

Zell was cut short as someone pounced on him, planting a sloppy wet kiss on the side of his face.

"Ewww!" Zell shrieked, not wanting to look too much like a chicken-wuss in front of Miss Dincht.  He pushed his friend off, merely causing Irvine to laugh out loud at the sight of Zell trying to look too dignified to receive a kiss from his best friend.

"Who's this?" Miss Dincht said, not sounding at all impressed with Irvine's behaviour.

"This is Irvine," Matron explained.  "He and Zell are absolutely inseparable.  They've been like that since Irvine arrived almost a year ago.  Say hello to Miss D. Irvine."

"Hello," Irvine said, sounding just a bit more wary of the newcomer than Zell had been.

Miss Dincht nodded politely at the children before they left, talking once more of things that were beyond the two boy's interest and knowledge.

The rest of the day passed slowly.  Zell kept trying to listen to what the two adults were saying.  Even though most of it didn't make much sense, he knew that they were talking about him.

"I think Zell is definitely my choice."

"You couldn't take him without taking Irvine as well.  It would break their hearts."

"Maybe for a few days it would, but it isn't healthy for them to be so attached to each other.  They need some one else to keep them company.  Besides, I am very sorry if this sounds crass Edea, but I don't want to adopt a child who will probably grow up to be gay.  Honestly, you've seen how he dotes on the poor boy."

Then, when the other children had settled down to listen intently to a story that Matron was telling them, Miss Dincht had come over to talk to Zell alone.  For a while they talked about anything that came to mind, and then Miss Dincht walked over and talked to Matron for a while.  When she came back she leaned down to Zell and gave him an enormous smile.

"Would you like a proper home Zell?" she asked him.  "With a real mother and a room all to yourself?"

Zell nodded enthusiastically.  Such a life seemed like a dream.

"Come with me then," she said, reaching down to grab Zell's smaller hand in her own.

The two of them walked towards the boat.  Everything was happening so fast that it wasn't until the boat's engine started up that Zell realised something very important.

"Wait!" he said, jumping up off his seat and running to the side of the boat.  "We've left Irvy behind!"

He looked towards the orphanage to find that Irvine had realised that he had left and was currently running towards the boat as fast as his little legs could carry him.

"Quick!  Irvy!" Zell called out to him, but it was no use.  The boat had already started to pull away from the shore.

"Zell," Miss Dincht's soft voice said from behind him.  "Irvine's not coming."

"What?" Zell sobbed.  It seemed incomprehensible to the six-year-old.  Irvine had promised that they would stay together.  Zell couldn't leave without him.

"No!" he screamed, struggling to climb the rails of the small ship.  "I'm not going without Irvy!"

Miss Dincht's arms came around him to stop him jumping.  It didn't stop him from struggling though.  He could see Irvine running into the water after them now, trying his hardest to catch up with the small boat.  Zell tried as hard as he could, but he couldn't get away from his new mother.

Soon he gave up and just cried.  It was all he could do now.  Miss Dincht eventually put him down on the floor of the boat and he ran towards the stern.  There were no rails here, only a sharp wall-like piece of steel that had served as a ramp earlier, but he could still look back and see the small figure of Irvine disappearing into the distance.

He cried softly to himself as the boat moved further away.  He hadn't even realised that a small toy Moomba had fallen out of his pocket as he had been struggling to get away from Miss Dincht.

It all made sense now; Irvine's changing between acting like he couldn't give a damn about Zell and acting like he couldn't live without him; the anger and pain he felt whenever he looked at Irvine; not because of the sharpshooter so much as the people that had separated them.

"I'm sorry Irvy," he whispered to the damp air of the jail cell.  He felt a cool breeze against his face and realised that hidden in a corner of the jail cell was a very small window facing into the street.

He dragged a chair, the only piece of furniture in the room, over to the window and climbed up on it to get a look outside.  The window was about a foot above street level.  He hadn't realised it, but the layer of the jail he was imprisoned in was halfway buried underground, which meant that any rain water would flow straight into the cell.  No wonder the place was so damp, he thought.  The Timber jail was practically a medieval dungeon.

He stared outside at the wet street, praying that soon he would see Irvine come into sight, ready to bail him out.

"Irvy, please," he whispered.  "I really do still love you, you know.  I'm sorry."

Certain that Irvine was not going to suddenly be alive again, he stepped down and curled up on the chair and tried to fall asleep.

It was surprisingly easy.

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Irvine stopped in the middle of the street and knelt down for a moment.  Trida watched with a smile on his face as the sharpshooter picked up a soaking wet toy Moomba and clutched it in his hands.

"He can never hold on to it," Irvine joked, trying to summon a smile.

For a moment the sharpshooter froze as he remembered the last time he had found Sparky the Moomba.

The boat had pulled away too quickly, and soon Irvine had found himself out of his depths and unable to swim quite as fast.  He had eventually given up all hope of catching up with the boat.  He treaded water for a little while, angrily brushing away the tears that were streaming down his face.  Somehow, through the tears and the glare of the sun on the water, he managed to spot a patch of orange and red floating not too far away.

Swimming over to it, he picked up Sparky the Moomba in one of his hands and made his way back to the shore.  He sat there for several hours, holding Sparky and looking out over the ocean, until Edea soon grew worried about him and carried him back to the orphanage.

For the next few days he was inconsolable.  Nothing could get him to smile.  Gradually Selphie had pulled him out of his depression, but he had never forgotten Zell.

Irvine looked over at Trida and saw the other man watching him.

"Come on," Trida said gently.  "The jail is this way."

Irvine would have more than likely run towards the jail if he had known the way, but as it was Trida was the only one of the two of them that did, and he insisted on setting a frustratingly slow pace.  As soon as Irvine spotted the stony grey building that was the Timber jail he ran ahead as quickly as he could.  It was quite a lot bigger than would be expected in such a small town as Timber.  It was two stories high and was constructed from grey cement bricks.  There was no decoration on the outside, except for a small detail on the arch above the entryway.  What could not be viewed from the outside however, was the story under the ground that housed the cells, unless you took the time to kneel down and notice the drain-like windows.

"Zell!" he called out, not really knowing or caring whether he should expect an answer.

In the cell just below street level Zell awoke rather quickly.  He could have sworn he had heard someone call his name.  It was probably just a dream, he figured, shuffling a little and trying to get back to sleep.

"ZELL!" someone called out again, and there was no mistaking it now.  Zell almost cried in happiness as he recognised Irvine's voice.  It seemed at that moment to be the sweetest sound he had ever heard.

He scrambled onto the chair and looked hopefully out into the street.  He couldn't help but smile as he saw Irvine's black boots standing not too far away.

"Irvy!" he yelled out joyfully.

It didn't take Irvine long to find out where Zell's voice was coming from, or for him to register the use of his childhood nickname.

"Irvy," Zell repeated joyfully as he saw Irvine's face peer down through the window at him.  "I'm sorry.  Oh Hyne, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Zelly" Irvine whispered.  "Everything's going to be all right now.  I'm going to get you out of here."  Irvine paused for a second; waiting for Zell to object to the use of the 'degrading' nickname, but no words came out of Zell's mouth.

Leaning closer to the window, Irvine realised that Zell was crying silently.  He put his hand through the bars on the window and wiped the tears away from Zell's cheeks.  Zell smiled as Irvine touched him, moving both of his hands up to press Irvine's hand closer to his face.

"I…" Zell started, "I remember things Irvy.  I'm sorry I didn't before."

"Ssh…" Irvine put his finger on Zell's lips, silencing him.  "It doesn't matter now."

"I thought I…" Zell's brows furrowed as he tried to process the fact that Irvine was standing in front of him, so real, so warm and so alive, despite what had happened earlier.  "I was so afraid that I…"  Zell was amazed at how hard he was finding it to say.  "That I killed you."

"Trida saved me," Irvine told him.

As if on cue Trida's face then appeared behind Irvine's, staring down into the cell at its prisoner.

"Hyne," Trida commented, inspecting the cell.  "This must be the most badly designed jail in all of existence."

"I'm going to see you again in just a couple of seconds, okay?" Irvine told Zell.  "We're going to get you out of here."

Zell hopped off the chair and leaned against the wall, crying in relief.  Everything really was going to be all right.

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"What do you mean 'can't bail him out'!?" Irvine screamed.

"I mean, you can't bail him out," the soldier on duty replied.  "You can never bail out murderers."

"But he's not a murderer!" Irvine protested.  "They thought that he killed me, but he didn't."

"Right," the soldier said slowly, as though he thought that Irvine was completely mad.  "I'm sorry sir, but we have several eyewitnesses that say they saw him kill a man."

Irvine heard Trida's impatient foot-tapping and sighing in the background.

"Look, it was me that he punched, so what if I decide to drop all charges against him?  Then he can't stay imprisoned, can he?"

"For the last time sir, he is going to be charged with murder.  This is a criminal offence, and as such, is now under state jurisdiction.  It is no longer a case of you 'dropping charges'."

"But, the sentence for murder is…"

"That's right sir," the soldier said, beginning to sound just as impatient as Trida.

"I hate bureaucracy," Trida commented, strolling towards the desk that the officer sat at.  "Listen," he told the soldier.  "We are taking Zell away from here, even if we have to use a ridiculous amount of force to do so."

The soldier made to object, but was then silent as he watched Trida undergo a remarkable transformation.  Irvine watched in awe as Trida's red-brown hair literally grew before his eyes, extending and curving around Trida's body until it was a good two metres long.  He was suddenly a lot taller, well over Irvine's six feet.  His skin faded in colour until it was very pale and slightly blue-tinged.  All over his face and arms small tattoo-like stars and waves appeared.  His jacket, shirt and jeans disappeared to be replaced with a simple towel-like cloth draped over his shoulder and tied around his waist.

His arm reached out to grab the soldier by the neck before the man could say a word.

"You," Trida said, his voice suddenly deep and resonating as it echoed around the room, "are going to go down to that room and release Zell Dincht.  All right?"

The man nodded rather enthusiastically.

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Zell threw himself into Irvine's arms as soon as he was released.  He grabbed a fistful of Irvine's vest in both hands and began crying softly, not of despair this time, but pure relief.

"I wouldn't keep that up for too long if I was you," Trida commented.  "You'll be waterlogged soon."

Irvine ignored him, and went back to attending to the sobbing blonde bundle in his arms.

"I'm sorry for punching you Irvine," Zell said.  "And I'm sorry for acting like I hated you, and being such a bastard all this time."

"I'm sorry too Zell," Irvine replied, causing Zell to look up at him, a look of pure confusion on his face.

"Why?  You don't have to apologise for anything."

"Yes I do," Irvine said, annoyed to discover that he too was crying now.  "I know about Seifer, Zell.  I know what he did to you, and I'm sorry that I did all things, like nibble your ear.  I didn't know."

Zell froze for a second as he realised what Irvine had just told him.

"I deserved it," he said, defeated.  "I'm a filthy, disgusting slut and it's my fault, so there's nothing to be sorry for."

Irvine almost felt sick as he heard Zell talk about himself that way.

"You're not Zell," he said, surprised that Zell could think so lowly of himself.  "You're a wonderful person, and you deserve to be loved.  You didn't deserve what that bastard did to you, and I'm going to make sure that nothing like that ever happens to you again."

Zell smiled in relief as he heard Irvine's words, and snuggled further into Irvine's chest.  Irvine knew and he didn't hate him.  What more could he have hoped for?

"Wait a second," Zell said as a thought occurred to him.  "How did you find out?"

"Trida told me," Irvine said, looking over at the other man who was still in his more impressive form and sent him an inquiring look.

"I guess I have a lot to tell the both of you," Trida admitted.  "You would recall that almost a year ago, when you helped the orphanage gang remember their past, Selphie mentioned that she found a GF when she was twelve.  I am that GF.  I am Trida, the GF of love, friendship, and everything in between."  Trida glanced at the two SeeDs, still standing quite happily in each other's arms as he said this.  "Without my name Selphie could not call on me directly, and so I grew bored and began using a human form for my own needs," Trida continued.  "Whether she realised it or not, Selphie wanted the two of you to be safe and happy together, and so this has been my mission over the past few days.  I doubt you would have noticed, but I have been following you both, leaving dreams, songs, and whatever other subtle hints I could think of.  It was rather difficult to keep my identity a secret at times though, especially when my hair changed its colour without my realising it.  My job, however, is now complete.  Good luck to you both."

Trida turned and began walking down the street in the direction of the train station.

"Wait!" Irvine called out.  "Where are you going?"

"Back to Garden," Trida answered.  "I have another job to do.  The two of you may not be able to accept or understand this, but Seifer is just as lost and confused as you were Zell, and he needs help right now."

Zell sighed and nodded towards the GF.  Trida nodded in return before running swiftly away from the two of them.

"Well," Irvine sighed.  "That was interesting."

For a few minutes the two of them just stood there, enjoying the feeling of holding each other.

"Oh," Irvine suddenly exclaimed, before reaching into his jeans pocket.  "You forgot this again."

Zell laughed as Irvine handed him Sparky the Moomba, before throwing his arms around Irvine's neck and kissing him.  Irvine made sure to be gentle this time, but it was rather hard when Zell was being as passionate as he was.

When they pulled apart they were both smiling widely.  They stared into each other's eyes, wondering who would be the first to say it.

The moment was almost completely ruined as Zell's stomach growled quite loudly, reminding them both that it was starting to get late in the evening, and neither of them had eaten dinner yet.

"Maybe we should get back to the hotel," Irvine suggested.

"Yeah, it would probably be a good idea," Zell laughed.

"Do you wanna race back Zelly?" Irvine suggested.

"Hell yeah," Zell laughed as he began sprinting back before either of them could announce the beginning of the race.

Irvine laughed too as he followed close behind.  Zell still wasn't completely as bright or open as he remembered him, but it wouldn't take long.

Zell was finally beginning to heal.