Hey, thank you very much for the reviews! I think now I'll have to set deadlines for this fic, because there are a lot of chapters and I can't hold out for reviews to post another one. (Yeah, now you all know my secret.) Instead, I may update on Fridays and another day in the week, but please don't quote me on that.
Here's the second chappy, it's nine pages long without the paragraph spaces. (gasp!) Didn't mean for it to be so long, but… well… the original story just had breaks, no chapters. Rather than you get a paragraph, I looked for a good place to end, and it just got to be longer and longer and longer…
There it is.
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Chapter two
Zell awoke, aware of a power all around him, a freedom he hadn't felt since Odine had "kidnapped" him. He relished in it for a second, letting the power engulf him before realizing he was still in his dress. Glaring, he also noted he wasn't in his room, and the armlets were off. Upsetting also was the bed he was in, with a solid-color quilt and a non-matching color of sheet. The bed was warm, and he snuggled into it- and hit another person.
Seifer was sleeping next to him.
Zell blushed, remembering the night. "Thank you," he whispered, pushing Seifer's hair behind his ear. Seifer looked… beautiful. Seifer was also nice, Zell stated, blushing as all the attempts he made to get in Seifer's pants came back to him.
Seifer had rescued him, Zell remembered happily, and he snuggled into the warmth Seifer provided. Seifer's eyes opened. "Zell?"
"Thank you, Seifer," Zell stated, voice cracking. He was free. Free of Odine, Adel, or Estar and everything. Tears emerged.
"It wasn't hard. No one was on guard duty at that damn place." Seifer turned over to have Zell on his chest. "Zell? The drug has worn off, right?"
"Adel's alive," Zell mumbled. Seifer sat up instantly, looking at him. Zell continued. "Odine captured the body, and since I have her power-" he shivered, and Seifer held him- just to warm Zell up, Seifer told himself.
"You aren't there, Zell. You can go back to Garden and tell Squall." Zell nodded at Seifer's words, and Zell started crying again. Somehow, Seifer remembered calling Zell a crybaby but that didn't really fit here, now. Zell deserved a cry, and possibly many, many hotdogs. "Hey," he stated, wiping away a tear. "It's going to be all right now." He couldn't find it in himself to be mean. Zell was just too vulnerable.
Zell nodded, trying to stop but he couldn't. Images kept racking his brain, and he didn't like them. He knew he hadn't cried this much since he was a child, and he longed for Ma's arms to hold him, to tell him it would be okay. Since Ma or Matron was not there, he responded to the next best thing- Seifer's chest. Hands grasped Seifer's shirt and he just cried, wailing and completely miserable.
Seifer had never seen this side of Zell, not this broken, not this injured. He felt guilty- if he would have helped earlier, he wouldn't have found Odine starting something with Zell. "Shh," he told him, patting Zell's head. "It's okay now."
Zell sniffled. "He hurt me." That was all it took to get Zell crying again. "He…He…"
"I know," Seifer soothed. "He won't touch you again, Zell. I promise." Zell nodded and cried some more for about a good hour. Seifer got up and Zell froze, sniffles threatening to become sobs.
"Where are you going?" Zell asked, hiccups in his voice.
"I work, that's how I can afford to live here." He put on his jacket, and turned to see Zell's face wavering, Zell trying to be strong. Zell wiped his eyes and stood, nodding. Seifer threw him a towel, sighing and giving in. "I'll miss a day, but I can't miss too much more than that, Zell."
Zell scrubbed his face, a "thank you" allowing itself to be heard over the mess. "What do you do, anyway?" he asked, looking up at Seifer.
Seifer held up papers. "For my job, I work for Estar and help get rid of monsters that fell from the Lunar Cry."
Zell remembered that, but he didn't say anything. Odine had been responsible for that, too.
Seifer continued. "Yeah, Estar was gonna attack me or jail me, but the President's assistant, Kiros, I think, came up with a plan to have me kill a good amount of monster's everyday. I'm allowed one day off a week, and so I took today off."
"How many monsters?" Zell asked, placing the towel on the bed. Seifer seemed to be doing quite all right.
"About a hundred to two hundred." Seifer grinned as Zell stared at him, blanching. "Don't worry about it, Chicken. They've all become inbreeds by now and they're all stupid and weak." Seifer placed the papers down on the table.
Zell nodded. Still, over a hundred monsters? Maybe Seifer would be an ideal… Zell shook his head. Seifer wouldn't want that. He was probably feeling guilty about the fact that he'd not rescued Zell earlier. Zell stood up, walking over to Seifer.
"Zell?" Seifer asked in apprehension at not being able to read Zell's eyes. Zell hugged him.
"Thank you," he stated softly. "I won't forget it, Almasy, you can call me Chicken whenever you want."
Seifer petted Zell's head, chuckling. "Don't mention it, Chicken," he stated. "You want some real clothes?" he asked, tugging on the dress. Zell blushed, then shook his head.
"Odine might find me," Zell responded. "He'll be pissed… now that Adel's awake." The sorceress let go of the hug, moving back to the bed. "I don't really want to go out," he admitted.
"That's fair," Seifer told him. "But that Adel thing, you've got to tell someone about that, someone important." He took off his coat, dropping it on the chair.
"You're important!" Zell stated suddenly. Seifer shrugged and turned around.
"I'm gonna take a shower, Zell. Get some more rest if you want it, and if not there's some cold cereal and monster guts in the fridge." He entered the room, wondering why the hell he'd even offered to feed him. This was supposed to be a get and drop off kind of thing, not a rescue a fair maiden sort of mission.
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"Pleaze, Adel, forgive me…" Odine gasped as Adel released his throat by throwing him into the door. The sorceress was at full height, very angry, and very upsetting. Odine knew she still had some of her abilities left, but those she had taken from other Sorceress's (Rinoa included) had been transferred into the boy, and he'd let the boy escape.
"Did you forget what he has?" Adel yelled at him, kicking his limp form. He would have taken some long, blunt object but those had been removed once Odine had recovered from the surprise attack. His men had all been celebrating, and none on watch- and now the boy was gone, rescued, and if SeeD found him…
Odine coughed. "I did not forget you can track him, my Zorcerezz." He waited tensely for another kick or another yell, but none came. He looked up.
Adel stood silently before a wicked grin took his face. "Yes. I am still a sorceress, despite your incompetence." Odine got up, saying nothing. Adel hissed as he remembered others were here. "Leave me," Adel commanded. "Leave me and do something…something useful!"
The assistants and technicians and scientists and Odine all rushed out, leaving Adel to focus on the boy.
The boy, the boy who sprang him back to life and carried his power. Adel licked his lips, thinking of the boy he had seen. What terror had been on his face when he grabbed him! Adel chuckled to himself.
The boy's hair came into view. Light, blonde and matching startling blue eyes. There was a tattoo over the boy's face- Odine may not have liked it, but Adel was quite thrilled by it.
The boy froze, sensing the link. It was a feeling only Sorceress's knew, and it was something only Sorceress's could do. The boy spun around, and Adel took the link to visit Zell's particular mind. A shower was running in another room and the boy saw him and sat on the edge of the bed.
"What do you want?" he growled.
Adel stared disapprovingly at the absence of bangles for a moment, and then looked at the boy's eyes. "I am glad to see you're well," Adel responded. "You could have been killed."
"I would have been," Zell hissed.
Adel chuckled at this, moving behind him. "No. Not you," Adel whispered to him, stroking his neck, physical realm forgotten. "You were the only one worthy of my powers. And I did not give them all to you, boy. You know if I take mine back, you'll still have enough to be my…equal."
Zell shivered, almost getting lost in the sensations Adel was pressuring upon him. "I didn't want your powers," he stated. "I didn't want Rinoa's or Edea's or Ultimacia's!"
Adel moved his own mouth to Zell's ear, the other hand keeping the boy still by holding his chest. The boy was calming, but still frightened. "But you have those powers, and mine. Four sets flow through your veins: Rinoa's, Edea's and Mine. But in Rinoa's, there is only two: Edea's and Ultimacia's." Adel watched as Zell shivered again. "Ultimacia's passed on to Edea, now a sorceress twice. Edea's to Rinoa, Rinoa's….3/4 to me," Adel hissed, remembering. "You saw, you know what I took. What has she left? Just a trickle of status changing magic. And as we fought, I chose you to inherit all I had." Adel paused. "Almost all," he corrected.
Zell's eyes were closed, Adel's natural charisma getting to him. "I don't want them," he murmured. "Take them back."
"I can't, unless you come back to me," Adel whispered. "And if you try to go to Rinoa, what will she say? What will your friends say? Their Martial Artist, their fighter, now ten times as powerful as his Commander's lover?" He kissed Zell's neck and the boy stiffened. "Come join me, Zell."
"Why?" Zell demanded, trying to shake free of Adel's hold.
"Don't you want to be free?" Adel managed to ask before the link was broken. He smirked. Foolish boy. He'd give in, his heart was weak and his mind was defenseless.
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Seifer had emerged only partway of their conversation, to see Zell leaning back into someone who wasn't there, obvious frustration on his face and somehow, Zell was caving in. His eyes were shut and his body shivered. "I didn't want your powers," Zell said to no one. "I didn't want Rinoa's or Edea's or Ultimacia's!"
Seifer looked at him sadly, knowing Zell couldn't see or hear him, but still feeling horrible. Adel must have drawn from Rinoa and then given the inherited powers to Zell. Not only would Zell get Adel's and Edea's and Ultimacia's power, but every time a new sorceress was made she added a power, and Zell probably could heal status changes like Rinoa could. Zell would have his own abilities, too, but Seifer wondered how powerful Zell was, if he was radiating this much with the choker on. No wonder Zell seemed so upset.
Seifer put on pants and slid behind Zell, holding Zell to his chest as the conversation drifted off. Zell blinked, looking up at him.
"What…how did you…" Zell's curiosity died down and he sighed. "This is a sorceress thing, isn't it?"
Seifer nodded. "It's how they talk to each other, to warn, to communicate. It was quite useful when they were being persecuted."
Zell tried to forget the warmth of Seifer's chest as naughty thoughts crept up. "Am I…them?"
Seifer shook his head, reciting what Ultimacia had told him. "Every time a new sorceress comes she has her own power, Zell," Seifer replied. "Even if you give your powers away, your gift will still retain. It's added to your power and mimicked by Sorceress's to come after you. But it's still yours."
"So..." Zell looked defeated. Helpless. Seifer could relate.
"You aren't them." Seifer reassured him. "You're brand-new. You can be anything. You've got four sorceresses in your blood now." He ran his hands through Zell's hair as he spoke, effectively calming the martial artist. The said blonde grinned, thoughts running through his head.
"How is it you used to rile me, but now you make me feel…" Zell trailed off, looking for the word and not really caring if he found it or not.
"Tranquil?" Seifer offered, starting to unzip Zell's dress. Zell nodded, not noticing the zipper sound or the hand on his back, so Seifer continued. "I…I can't just let you die, Chicken. You can only be tormented by me." He held Zell tightly for emphasis. "And I'm not heartless, I'll have you know. Neither are you, despite the people you've inherited from."
Turning to face the gunbladist and oblivious to the fact that the movement caused his dress to slip down to his waist, Zell looked at him deeply. There were questions on his mind, and Seifer knew he would speak them. "How can I not be? I mean-"
Seifer suddenly pressed their lips together before either could think about it. Soon, each realized they did not want to slip away, and so Zell adjusted himself as Seifer fell on top of them, tongue meeting tongue and lips meeting lips. Seifer held Zell possessively while Zell held him needily; all was alright for a moment with the two.
Seifer pulled apart quickly, ashamed. Zell was not his to protect, his to make feel better, no matter what Seifer's heart was telling itself. And besides, Zell had been subject to all sorts of horrible things while with Odine! This wasn't going to make it any better!
Zell had felt peace, surprisingly enough. He'd felt happy and secure and he wondered briefly about Seifer being his knight before he brushed the thought away. Seifer didn't know Zell was attracted to men, Seifer was just trying to be comforting. Seifer was just trying to be nice, the way Zell had always wanted Seifer to be.
The taller man rolled off the man under him. "You should take your shower," he stated, almost shaking. Zell hugged him, surprising them both.
"Thank you, Seifer," he told the ex-knight before disappearing into the bathroom. Seifer nodded, deciding he'd protect Zell no matter what. Even if Adel was going to kill Seifer for it, even if Zell rejected him. Even if he wasn't the best knight before, he could still try to be, Hyne damnit!
A sound met his ears, and he looked up. Zell was calling to him. "Seifer! I can't get the rest of my dress off!" Seifer closed his eyes to try and act professional, and inhaled.
He could do this.
Seifer opened the door, seeing bits of delicious flesh and a very flustered Zell . Zell blushed, pulling up the dress though he hadn't minded minutes before. "I can't get it off."
Seifer motioned for Zell to turn around, and undid the zipper. "You naked?" he asked, but the zipper exposed all of Zell's back and Zell's briefs. Damnit, he thought. He slid off the dress and Zell hopped into the shower, pulling the curtain.
"Give me your briefs, Zell, and I'll wash them for you." Seifer chuckled as briefs went flying over the shower curtain. He picked them up and sniffed them, pleased that they smelled good. The water turned on and Seifer knew it was time to go.
Seifer was still obsessing over the fact that Zell was in his house as he placed Zell's laundry in with his. The dress would have to be dry-cleaned, and in the meantime, he'd just think.
He turned on the washer as soon as the water stopped, knowing the washer would cause the shower to turn ice-cold instantly. Seifer walked by the door to get clothes for Zell, swallowing as he wondered what Zell looked like naked. "Chicken!" Seifer yelled, a little too loudly. "I've got a shirt for you."
The door peeped open and Seifer darted into the bedroom. Zell looked out. "Thanks, Seifer." Seifer searched for his largest shirt for Zell to wear, and then decided for the shorts he'd shrunk the first time he did laundry and his smallest shirt. He knocked on the door. "Seifer?" Zell called, but it seemed worried. "Seifer?"
"I'm right here, Zell," Seifer called.
"Get out!" Zell yelled suddenly, and Seifer backed away from the door. "You aren't supposed to be here!"
Adel, Seifer realized, Adel was trying to find Zell again. "Zell," he called, opening the door. Zell held a towel around his waist, trying to back away from someone. Seifer came up behind him, placing the clothes on the sink counter. "Zell. He's not real." Zell's gaze faltered from unfocused, so Seifer continued. "Listen to me, Zell. Come back to me."
There was a struggle on Zell's face, and soon he saw Seifer in the mirror. "Seifer?" he asked, and Seifer sighed in relief. Zell's eyes closed. "Thank you."
"No problem," Seifer told him, cradling him.
Zell blushed, looking at Seifer through the mirror. Seifer seemed so content suddenly, so Zell didn't pull away. But the breath on his neck was getting awkward. "Seifer?" he asked.
"Hmm?" Seifer stated, and Zell rolled his eyes.
"I'd like to get dressed," Zell told him bluntly.
Seifer nodded, blushing deeply. "Of course," he stated, leaving and shutting the door.
Zell collapsed on the toilet lid, shaking. This was freaky. How the hell could Seifer do this to him, without one of those damned potions?
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Zell felt like a bird, welcoming the wind on his face. He had climbed up on a mess of concrete blocks and steel beams for building many more floors to the building, and it was like a jungle gym on this roof. To him, anyway, Seifer was calling him down, as he had been for the past two hours.
"Zell? I know you're happy and all, but, please come down. I can't catch you if you fall from over there."
Zell leaned over a little, laughing as Seifer cringed. "You're a worry-wart!" he called out, jumping in between the beams and sometimes letting a little power go for effect. He felt free, and unknowingly, he captured Seifer's eyes and the attention was growing deeper. He laughed, coming down halfway.
"Don't do that, Zell. When I said fresh air I didn't mean adult playground." Seifer grumbled some more, leaning against the door to the inside. Zell laughed and Seifer's heart lightened a little.
"Adult playground? That sounds dirty," Zell commented, setting his power free and sparkling up high. For a moment, it looked like he had wings.
"Zell, don't do that. It's like a flare, saying, 'Find me! Find me!'," Seifer sighed. Zell had argued it made him feel happy and they were just going in circles with this conversation.
"I'm happy," Zell retorted, moving up higher. Seifer sighed again and stood underneath him.
"You won't be anything dead," Seifer told him, and Zell stuck his tongue out at the taller blonde, looking down. Seifer looked breathtaking, the way the wind moved his hair, the way those green eyes met his. Zell reached for another beam.
He was falling suddenly. All he could think was, Oh, shit, now I'm gonna get found. He braced himself for the impact, hoping nothing would get too damaged.
Seifer caught him in a flash, keeping Zell from touching the ground. Zell's heart thumped wildly and he leaned back into the man who'd just saved him from messy hospitals and more chances to meet Odine.
"Thanks, Seifer," Zell stated, suddenly shaking. Seifer held him tighter.
"I told you not to do that," Seifer stated, muffled by the shirt on Zell's back. Zell laughed it off.
"But I have you to protect me, so I'm okay, right?" Zell looked for a response, twisting.
Seifer set him down instead, not meeting Zell's eyes. "Let's go inside," Seifer stated darkly. Zell walked up to him, tugging on his shirt.
"Seifer?" Zell asked. "What's wrong?"
Lots of things were wrong, Seifer thought. Zell wasn't being smart about being safe. Adel was alive. Odine had attacked Zell.
Zell wasn't kissing him.
"Nothing," Seifer told him, gathering Zell in a quick hug. "Let's go down for lunch, huh?" Zell followed, wanting to ask a question and knowing Seifer's answer all the same. He shut the door, inhaling.
Seifer noted the inhale and turned as Zell bit his lip. "Yes, Zell?" he asked, cocking his head.
"Would you…would you…protect me?" Zell mumbled, just loud enough Seifer could barely make it out.
Seifer was ecstatic. Zell was asking him, asking him for a second chance? "Like your knight?" Seifer asked, and Zell nodded, though the motion small. "Yes," Seifer stated right afterwards. "I mean, if you'll accept me and all, and if you don't mind a little teasing…"
Zell dove into Seifer's arms, almost knocking his new knight over. Suddenly there were kisses, and more kisses, and Seifer had to keep Zell from taking off his pants, double-checking to make sure the potion was truly gone. Zell gave a small pout, but Seifer simply told him that Zell didn't have to try and do anything dramatic for him.
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So now Zell was on the sofa, life suddenly returning to how it should be and throwing eggs at his dress, the way Seifer had told him to a dozen times. It did feel good, just like Seifer had told him it would. Seifer seemed to be right about most things, Zell noted, throwing another egg.
Arms wrapped him in a hug, mouth on his neck, avoiding the collar. "I finished it," his Knight said between kisses, which was not heard due to the giggles coming out of the Sorceress. "I finished it," Seifer said again, and Zell looked up at him. Hyne, he was beautiful, Seifer admitted to himself.
"What?" Zell asked, eager for a present of some sort. His head tilted and he threw an egg absentmindedly at the dress and missed, hitting old newspapers instead. Seifer handed him a little doll, and Zell almost squealed. "It's a…" his smile faded. "It's a… Odine," he said quietly.
"It's a voodoo doll," Seifer told him, wrapping his arms around the doll-holding, egg-throwing sorceress/martial artist. "Maybe what you do to it will happen to Odine."
Zell stated an "Oh," before looking at it, studying it wisely. Finally deciding on a course of action, the Sorceress bit of Odine's head and chewed it rabidly. After he grew tired of the taste of stuffing, he spit it into the pan collecting the egg residue at the bottom of his dress. Stuffing spilled, though only a little, and Zell took time in tearing each of the doctor doll's limbs off. With those he got up and walked past his Knight and ignored the odd look shot in his direction.
He opened up the electric knife and began slicing the poor doll into tiny, tiny bits, placed down the knife and stuck them in the microwave and set it on high for thirty seconds.
"Zell?" Seifer asked, and Zell hushed him. He was getting revenge.
The now scorched and dried doll was taken from the microwave prison and to the sink where Zell set it on fire with magic, though he said no words. What was left of Odine remained in ashes, and Zell burned those, then gathered the ashes's ashes in his hand and flushed them down the toilet.
When he returned, he sat on the sofa and now aimed his eggs at the doll head in the pan.
"Those are some…primal urges there," Seifer commented, and Zell gave a cool shrug as a response. Seifer sighed and kissed Zell lightly on the neck. "Let's get this cleaned up, and then it's off to bed, okay?
Zell nodded, taking the dress and the newspapers and forming them into a bundle. The bundle went into the trash, and a new toothbrush entered Zell's mouth and left, and then Zell crept into the bed, cuddling next to the person who had made him feel safe in so long. It was ironic, he supposed, that it was Seifer, but he wouldn't argue. Maybe after this was all sorted out and he was no longer a sorceress he would…
Zell shut his eyes. He would always be a Sorceress, for all of eternity. Squall would hate him, and Rinoa would hate him, and Selphie would hate him and-
"Shh," Seifer told him, holding him suddenly. "It's going to be all right, Zell. Being a Sorceress isn't the end of the world."
Zell looked up at him, wanting to know how Seifer knew what he was thinking, and what to say. Seifer chuckled. "You're too readable, Zell." Too pretty, too readable, too…
Too wonderful.
Zell seemed to pick up on this and flipped Seifer over him, surprising the hell out of the Knight. "What-"
Zell pressed a finger to his lips. "I know you want this to be a romantic thing, Seifer. You know, the first day of a Knight and his Sorceress?"
"Zell, there's no way I'd ask you to do something like that," Seifer whispered to him, Zell's words cutting through his defenses. Something inside was tapping now, trying to get past the walls of emptiness inside him.
Zell kissed him in reassurance. "But I can't keep asking to get things without giving. You've been good, Seifer and… and…" He swallowed. "I want to come, Seifer, and look up and realize Odine's not there." So it was partially selfish. It wouldn't be a sacrifice.
Seifer's eyes changed and the thing inside him had broken down those walls, screaming, "I told you so!". He kissed Zell, both mouths hungry, and he pulled back. "You are absolutely sure?"
Zell nodded. "I won't regret this, Seifer. I promise." Seifer pulled off Zell's shirt, then, planting kisses down Zell's chest. Zell closed his eyes, trying to tell himself it was all Seifer.
When he opened them, Seifer was still there, chuckling. They were naked now, and Zell wasn't sure if it was because he was tired or because- he looked at the little pieces of glitter in the air. "What's that?" he asked, and Seifer shook his head.
"Your Power, Zell. As soon as you shut your eyes bits of stardust fell on us." Seifer sighed. "You all right?"
Zell nodded. "Huh." He didn't think it was his magic, his gift, and shrugged it off. Seifer was placing lube on his fingers, and Zell was curious how he found it. "What's that?"
"A birthday gift, from Raijin," Seifer told him, chuckling. "When he found out I was gay."
Zell inhaled as Seifer entered him with his finger, stretching. "Seifer," he breathed. That's right, he'd never asked- he'd just assumed Seifer was gay, probably from when Seifer kissed him on the bed earlier. Seifer had added another and Zell kept his gaze on him, knowing this wasn't Odine, this was someone who cared.
What are you doing, Seifer? Seifer asked himself, but Zell was begging him, and he wasn't sure why, but this felt right. He could do this, he could-
When had he fallen in love with Zell?
The thought emerged, but it didn't matter now, now Zell was ready and had tasted that spot within him and was a damn bit bitchy about it.
"Please, Seifer, please…" Zell cried, lifting his hips up. Seifer obeyed, pulling out his hand and pushing himself in. Zell suddenly held Seifer tightly, wanting him close. Seifer obeyed, kissing Zell to show he understood, and then began a rhythm that fit them well. Zell came first, face flushed and though he was not loud, he was tight, and that's what sent Seifer over the edge, almost at the same time.
Seifer pulled out and Zell cradled him tightly, not letting go, even in sleep.
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You've finished the second chapter, horray! Wasn't that freakishly long, especially for the normal amount of length my chapters have? Oh, well, hope to see you next chapter!