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Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Zeta Project'. I do not own any of its characters. I deeply appreciate Robert Goodman as the creator of 'The Zeta Project' and all 'The Zeta Project' team. So it's just a fanfic.
As English is not my native language, I want to thank Anime and Manga Lover for her editing help on this story.
In this story Zee has a material covering over his synthoid's body. More details about this idea, you can find in Chapter Three of book 1 of my fanfic 'You Need Me".
At Sunset
Chapter Two
by Iglika
Ro's point of view
Our last day.
Our last sunset together.
The dinner at Wade's home. Zee was in such a good mood, he looked at me smiling, he even managed to tell jokes, we said goodbye to Wade and then we took a long walk on the beach.
At sunset.
And when we walked on the beach…
I had rolled up my jeans and I had taken off my shoes, I enjoyed approaching the waves and letting the warm water wash my feet.
Zee changed the hologram of his clothes, instead of the bright green shirt, he wore a white T-shirt and he wore jeans instead of his short blue pants and he made his jeans and feet look like mine – as if he had rolled up his jeans as well and he was barefoot too.
We walked on the wet sand, we splashed in the shoal, we laughed and even screamed when we pushed each other toward the waves, then we ran back on the dry sand. I tried to trip Zee and, laughing, I tried to throw him down and into the water, unsuccessfully of course, and he tripped me as well, quite successfully, but before my body fell helplessly into the water, he caught me by the hand and by my waist and he pulled me away from the water completely, then he took my shoes and he pretended to throw them away into the ocean. We chased each other back and forth on the strip of wet sand, then we began to pretend that we didn't know each other. I walked ahead of Zee, collecting little mussels, and when he out-walked me I tried to step on his footprints before the waves managed effacing them, then…
Then…
He hugged my waist and I hugged his waist too and we walked side by side and we looked how our legs, equally dressed in jeans, walked in one accord as I tried taking in big steps instead of making two steps on his one.
Afterwards we had sat down on the warm sand; my feet had to dry up. The sun wasn't that bright anymore, but still - Zee frowned comically toward the sun as a real human, who can barely watch straight toward the sun. I laughed, looking how, because of his wrinkled nose and the little bit heightened left corner of his lips, he looked like a growling dog.
I kissed that corner of his lips and he hugged me, kissing me back, but I slipped out of his arms, laughing. I wanted to see his eyes, his bright, deep, blue eyes.
Then I put on my shoes, Zee pretended that he was tying up his shoes too and I began nudging him with my elbow disturbing him in his "work". I absolutely loved teasing him.
He took my hands and, laughing, he pretended he wanted to throw me into the water, I laughed too, then we went to the pier and we stood there, at the end of the pier, for a very long time we stood there with our backs to the coast and we looked to the horizon.
I kissed Zee on the cheek, just because; because I was able to do this, because I could kiss him whenever I wanted to.
Yes, I could kiss him, just like he could kiss me too. It had begun somehow naturally, without any dramatic explanations, without any promises. Zee was too shy to say anything at all and I was a too sarcastic person, I didn't like speeches which were too romantic, so not long ago, actually after our adventure with West in the train, he had kissed me for the first time, without saying anything. It was so natural, it was so natural just like when he began wrapping his arm around my shoulders or just like when we often walked hand by hand.
It was so natural.
Maybe because he was so real.
And I liked it when he kissed me and I liked kissing him as well. His lips were so real, his skin was so warm and soft. I liked the fresh scent of his skin and while we stood on the pier, it was amazing, his skin smelt of freshness and seaweed. I kissed his neck. Zee gently wrapped his arms around me and he kissed me too.
We stood on the pier a few minutes, his arm was still around my shoulders, we looked at the sunset, we looked at the calm ocean in front of us. It was green and deep under the railing and navy blue, like Zee's eyes, in the distance and this golden sun-path over the water, these orange, purple, red and golden clouds. We looked toward the horizon, we looked at the sunset, we looked at the ocean and it was like we were on some boat, in the open sea and we were surrounded by water and water only.
Then we went back to the beach and we sat on the warm sand again, wanting to look at the sunset over the ocean for just a bit more time.
I turned though and I laid on the sand, with my head on his lap. I wanted to look at his deep blue eyes again.
I took a seaweed's blade and I tickled his cheek. His sensations weren't exactly human's, but he was able to feel thanks to his detectors. I really loved teasing him. He laughed, he took the blade from my hand, bent over me and kissed me.
I promised not to torment him anymore, but I still smiled and he knew I was about to invent something else and he was right, I lifted my hand and with my forefinger I began to 'draw' his face, gently touching his black forelock, which was being waved by the wind now. I touched his forehead, his nose, his cheeks, his lips.
He slowly bent over me again and he gently kissed me again, as an answer.
But…
On our way back, when we had to leave the beach and go to the airport, Zee had become different.
He had become so thoughtful, so sad.
I thought he tried to just look tired as if he was a real human, he always tried to look like a real human, I had no idea that he had taken his own decision and he was experiencing our separation already…
Now it was still sunset.
The longest sunset in my life.
My lonely sunset.
Without Zee.
And…
I needed some dramatic explanation right now, I needed to know that he understands what our hugs and kisses meant; I needed to know that he knows what he feels towards me, I needed him to tell me what he feels. I needed him to say openly that he would come back to me because he loves me.
I needed him to open that door and to come here.
I needed him to be with me right now, I needed him to hug me.
A strange, unexpected sound.
Someone had inserted an electronic key into the door…
The NSA? Bennet? Have they caught Zee and now they came to catch me as well?
I didn't move.
I didn't try to run, I didn't even try to go out to the balcony. Why should I run from the NSA? If they had caught Zee, if they had killed him by reprogramming him, nothing mattered anymore.
The electronic key unlocked the door…
"Zee!"
I ran toward him, throwing myself onto his neck, pressing my face against his chest, "Zee…"
"I love you, Ro. I can't live without you" his arms hugged me tightly, "I have no reason to live without you."
"Neither have I. I love you too, Zee." I smiled, lifting my face to look at him, to look into his navy blue eyes.
I received my dramatic explanation. I received my dramatic moment and I knew we both needed it.
He kissed me gently and so real and we kept kissing in that long, long-awaited hug.
At sunset.
The end
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