Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, Square does, although it would be cool to be in it…

Zell woke up slowly, the night air playing with his hair as he looked up into the full moon through the window next to his bed. He closed his eyes as he slowly remembered how he got here and just shrugged it all off. When he was about to get up form the bed, he heard an all too familiar voice talk out to him.

"Welcome back Zell…" Zell turned and saw Selphie sitting across the room, smiling brightly. Zell just smiled and said sleepily,

"Hello Sel…" Selphie rose from her seat and smiled at her friend, her green eyes filled with relief. She lightly slapped Zell's shoulder and said with mock annoyance and hurt,

"What happened to your promise?" Zell scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and said nervously,

"Selphie there was nothing left to do, that behemoth was more than a handful for Fujin and I knew I had to fight it or else…"

Zell suddenly bit his lip as he realized that he had already revealed himself. Selphie giggled in triumph as she let what she just heard sink into her ears. Ever since she had seen the chemistry between them, she knew that even though it would take a little guidance, they would be together and be very happy. Zell on the other hand, blamed the comfort that he had when talking to the girl that looked at him like he was a human being, not a hyperactive person. Zell just sighed and said with a twisted smile,

"I guess now you know of what's been lingering inside of me. You can laugh now…" Selphie shook her head, her hair following her movements, and looked into Zell's eyes intensely.

"Zell… I would never fool around when it comes to the matters of the heart. To be honest I knew that there was something wrong with you as soon as that night right after the day we defeated Ultimecia. The way that you looked at Fujin that night, how could I not forget that look? There was so mush emotion in your eyes that I could practically feel what you were feeling…"

Zell then remembered as he closed his eyes what he did that night of the celebration.

FLASHBACK

Everyone was having a good, time, the world in rejoice after the death of the future, Sorceress Ultimecia. Everyone but one person that is. Zell tried to purge the things he had seen during time compression, but it was like having a splinter in your side, difficult to forget and painful to mess with. He was afraid of closing his eyes, the horror of knowing one's future devouring his every empty thought. He opened his eyes and then saw the entire cause of his torment standing only twelve feet away from him. Fujin was in attendance, along with her companions Raijin and worst of all, Seifer.

"Good… that way I won't even try to get near her…" Zell said as he slowly ate a hot dog, his eyes still on Fujin. Zell then swallowed his food when Seifer moved away from Fujin and gave Zell a complete view of what she was wearing.

"Oh my god…" Zell couldn't believe how stunning she was tonight. Her silver hair was now done in layers, reaching the middle of her cheek, and her patch was gone, replaced with a big lock of her hair, covering her bad eye like a curtain, giving her that fifties movie star look. She had on an evening dress that had a slit going up to her thigh and a color that matched her eye, and brought out her milky skin, making her look otherworldly. Her lips had a shiny coat of lip gloss, and underneath her open eye she had a little glitter on her cheek. Zell felt his heart scream with longing for her. He gripped the table sheet like it was his only lifeline, watching her as she walked over to Squall with up most grace, it was as if she came from heaven itself and graced this place with her presence. Zell wanted so bad to talk to her and let her know how he felt about the way she looked tonight. Right then he looked to his right because he felt someone staring at him. He turned and saw no one in particular, except for Selphie and Quistis talking to each other…

END

" So it was you who I felt staring at me…" Zell watched Selphie smile again and then said,

"Then you know how I feel about her…" Selphie just smiled and said as she touched the tip of Zell's nose with the tip of her finger,

"Like I said, it was written all over your face…" Selphie then sat on the end of Zell's bed cross-legged and said in a quiet tone for only them two of them to hear,

"When did you realize your feelings for her Zell? If you don't mind me asking…" Zell shook his head and took a deep breath, his chest already getting tight with the though t of talking about what he saw during time compression making his throat dry.

"Remember when we all beat Ultimecia, and we all were lost in time compression?" Selphie nodded and let Zell continue his story.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I kind of stumbled upon my own timeline… I saw what the future had in store for me, and what I saw was me and Fujin, having a relationship." Zell looked at Selphie's unshed tears, remembering that she was a hopeless romantic and continued his story.

"At first I couldn't believe that we were together, seeing as though we were so far away on the grounds of compatibility. But when she talked to me, touched me, kissed me, something inside me woke up, something that screamed that it had found what it wanted… and it wasn't an illusion either… it felt all to real… and the most significant evidence was that she knew my name… my middle name…"

"You have a middle name?" Selphie said with a questioning look on her face. Zell just smiled slightly and said to her,

"My complete name is Zell Alexander Dincht, after my late father…" Zell said as he saw Selphie say softly.

"You have a beautiful middle name Zell…" Zell just shook his head and tried to get up, only to be stopped by Selphie.

"Are you sure? You had a hard battle…" Zell just looked at her and said with mock hurt,

"Are you saying that I'm a weakling?" Selphie just shook her head and quickly turned her head as she saw Zell get out of bed in nothing but his boxers.

"Can you hand me a robe Sel?" Selphie nodded and went for the robe sitting on the chair across the room. She threw it behind her and said going for the door,

I'll wait for you out the door okay?"

Zell watched her go for the door, and when it closed he started to put on the robe. Zell turned around to stare at the full moon that owned the night. When he looked down from the moon though, he saw a lone figure standing by itself, watching the ocean from the quad. Without thought Zell leapt out the window and landed on the soft grass, in nothing but his hospital gown and robes and a pair of slippers. He slowly walked towards the figure, its silver hair reflecting the moonlight. He smiled slightly but at the same time he hated what he couldn't combat about the woman sitting on the grass in front of him, unaware of his presence. He then sat down directly behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

Fujin watched the moon, her eye unfocused as her mind raced with thought. How was she going to go on knowing what he felt like against her skin, the way his scent made her heart race? Fujin shook her head at the thought of them actually being together.

"Ludicrous…" She said softly to herself as she closed her eye. Right then she felt someone sit directly behind her and wrap their arms around her body. Fujin instantly tried to wriggle from the grip that this unknown assailant put her under. But then she inhaled to regain her oxygen she smelled the all too familiar scent of Zell behind her. Fujin tried even more desperately to get out of his grasp now that she knew who it was that held her. She couldn't let this go on. She would not allow herself the comfort of being held, the comfort of having someone who will let you cry on their shoulder, to…

Fujin felt a tear leave her eye when she heard a voice say against her ear softly,

"It's okay Fujin… I know you need this… I know you need someone to be there for you when you need it the most… I want to be that person Fujin, the person who will be your protector from all your demons… will you let me?"

Fujin inclined her head back and looked into Zell's sapphire eyes and saw nothing but concern and a bit of something else that she dared not hope for. She then betrayed her very way of thought by listening to heart and answering with two words as she stared into the night, the wind playing with her hair…

"DON'T Stop…"

Zell listened to the way her voice changed, its usual iciness melting, and replaced with a voice that made Zell shiver. Her voice was absolutely beautiful. He smiled and said as he pulled her closer, and put his chin of her left shoulder looking into the night with her as he let his grip on her recede, and weaved one of his hands through hers. Zell couldn't explain why this was happening. Where did he get the resolve to do something so bold? Zell closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth that Fujin radiated throughout her cheek, and brushed against it, her hair tickling his nose.

Fujin could never look back now. Zell had succeeded in breaking the walls around her heart, the question was, now that the walls were gone, will he be there to protect her like he said?

Fujin looked down and saw Zell's hand intertwined with hers and she looked into the night, her eye watery. If she could have him a friend, maybe that will dull the pain of not being with him… Maybe…