FOREWORD: This is an ongoing fanfic. To start reading from the beginning, click here.
Series: Final Fantasy VIII (8)
Pairing: Zell Dincht & Squall Leonhart
Theme: 30 Kisses #6 - The space between dream and reality
Status: part 4 and ongoing
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Search keyword: ff8_where_i_belong
Notes: Loads and loads of apologies for such a late update on this and a very unfulfilling one too. T_T It's short too, I'm sorry!!!
Morning creeped quietly into the bedroom from outside the window, and the sleeping chocobo stirred from within. His nose twitched unconsciously, and slowly, Zell aroused from his deep slumber. The last moments of sleep were comprised of a mass of dreams, mostly regarding his childhood in the orphanage. Ever since they all regained general knowledge of their past, Zell had been dreaming about those days every so often. Those days were filled with both confusion and joy: confusion because he didn't know what he did or what had happened that left him without parents, and yet joy because he wasn't alone.
However, the only dream that he could remember upon waking was the one where he wandered from his tiny bed over to Squall's because he was scared of the thunderstorm that plagued that night. Even back then, Squall was never very sociable, but then again neither was Zell, except when Matron coaxed him out. His dreams were as vivid as if he was reliving his past bit by bit, and Zell could clearly recall the scent of damp wood and the chills that shot up his spine every time the lightning flashed outside or the thunder roared. He hated having the bed nearest the window, and on nights like this, he wished he could fall asleep before the lightning and thunder could keep him awake. On quick little feet and wearing a loose, long nightshirt like everybody else, the short little blonde scuttled about the room looking for someone who wasn't fast asleep. In the corner of his eye, Zell caught some movement over in Squall's bed, and he quickly tiptoed over to his bedside, holding fast to the blanket in his arms that trailed a little behind him on the floor.
The teary blue-eyed boy tugged on the blanket draped across the other boy and whimpered when lightning filled the room after thunder sounded loudly a second before, and Squall peeked an eye open at what was bothering him.
"Are you awake..." Zell meeped in a tiny, quivering voice.
He heard a low sigh and then a sniffle, but Squall didn't say anything.
"I'm scared, are you?"
Squall shook his head and rubbed his eyes.
"Then why are you crying?" he whispered. He was always being called the crybaby, especially by Seifer, but never once had he seen Squall crying.
"I'm not crying," was the response, but nevertheless, Squall was still sniffling.
"It's okay to cry, Matron said so. Just don't cry in front of Seifer, he'll pick on you too."
The figure huddled under the blankets nodded and wiped his face a little with the soft fabric. The thunder outside roared again, and Zell whimpered loudly, burying his face into the bundled cloth in his arms. He felt a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him into the side of the bed, and despite that it wasn't Matron's hand comforting him, he felt slightly better.
"Get in," Squall's quiet voice ushered, and Zell nodded timidly and crawled onto the bed. Squall pulled Zell under his blanket and unraveled Zell's blanket so that they had two blankets over them instead of one. Without the blanket in his arms, Zell instinctively wrapped his small arms around Squall and pressed his forehead against the other boy's. When the lightning flashed again, Zell shivered and hugged Squall tightly. The brunette pulled the blankets over their heads and silently cradled the shivering boy in his arms, who was slightly smaller sized than him.
Zell looked into Squall's face, and, although it was dark, he could faintly see that his eyes were red. He reached out and rubbed away the shining moisture on the side of his eyes, which elicited a small smile from Squall. Wrapped in each other's warmth and foreheads pressed together, the two boys drifted off to sleep, and before little Zell passed into his dreams beyond dreams, he heard Squall whisper, "Sis..." in his sleep.
It seemed odd to Zell that he woke up to the present time when he fell asleep in his dream as his younger self. Even though it was a buried memory from so long ago, he could still smell the soap on the laundry sheets and Squall's scent. Ironically, he still smelled the same, except with the additional smell of leather that he wore all the time. The boy yawned loudly and stretched, rolling onto his other side so that he was facing the door now. Suddenly he realized that the pillowcase he had been sleeping on smelled faintly like Squall. Puzzled, he pulled it from under his head for examination. He chuckled to himself at the thought that Squall inherited his body odor from his father, as weird and nasty as that might be.
After lazing about in bed for a few more minutes, the blonde sat up and put down the pillow next to him before stretching widely. Like the many other nights he had flashback dreams like the ones he just had, he made it a duty to put them out of his mind as soon as he got off the bed. Zell bobbed his head up and down a few times to shake off what sleepiness was left and ruffled his disheveled hair from not showering the night before, he bounced up onto his heels and shadowboxed for a good ten minutes before heading out for his morning workout alone. Or so he hoped Squall would still be asleep.