Original: More to Believing than Seeing
Jan. 26th, 2010 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elvenavariTitle: More to Believing than Seeing
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
avari_maethor
Summary: They say that seeing is believing… but Zell needs more than being seen to keep from fading away.
Rating: PG
Warning: Light hinted at shounen-ai.
Disclaimer: The characters of Sammi and Zell belong to Uzazi.
Dedication: To my Catch. We love you.
More to Believing than Seeing
“You aren’t real!”
Zell looked at Sammi aghast, his gold eyes wide. He had been teasing her, as he usually did, but had failed to notice Sami getting annoyed. One misplaced joke and she had started yelling at him. It wasn’t uncommon for Sammi to get annoyed with him but she had never said those words before.
“Wh-what do you mean?” Zell choked out.
“Ugh! See? You don’t listen! You never listen! You aren’t real, you have never been real, you are an imaginary character Zell! You are imaginary and I don’t believe in you!” Sammi yellowed.
Zell could only stare at her… he was already breaking, fading, he could feel it. He struggled to find the words. “You… you don’t believe that Sammi… you can’t believe that.”
“Oh but I do Zell. I believe that you are a figment of my imagination and nothing more,” she stated. He had to leave. He couldn’t fade in front of her. Slowly he turned to leave the house, as his hand rested on the doorknob he glanced back at her.
“I’m sorry Sammi,” he whispered before leaving.
---
Zell sat on the stone wall that separated the beach from the town. He didn’t know how long it would take to fade completely, right now he was transparent, he could see the stones of the wall through his hand. It had been three hours since Sammi had said that.
“You aren’t real!”
Tears gathered in his eyes.
“I don’t believe in you!”
And the tears fell. Some hit his hands as they fell, he hadn’t faded enough for them to fall through them yet. He didn’t want to fade! Sammi had promised to believe in him forever and… and she had lied! It wasn’t fair… wasn’t it enough that he had already lost his family? He wasn’t going to get an honorable death in battle… no, he was going to fade while crying with no one believing… no one remembering…
There was a gasp and something dropped. Zell looked toward the sound and saw a bucket of sea shells on the ground. By the bucket was a set of feet, Zell let his eyes travel up the boy’s body. Tan skin, brown eyes and black hair… he was maybe 16? 17? But that didn’t matter, what mattered was the shocked look on the boy’s face. Normally Zell wouldn’t have given this body a second look but there was something about him… something that drew Zell’s attention.
“Are you... a…” The boy started.
“A what?” Zell questioned when the boy paused longer than necessary.
“A ghost?”
Zell wanted to laugh but the boy’s face was so serious he couldn’t. Instead he smiled softly and shook his head, blue hair falling in his eyes. “I am no ghost. But I guess you could consider me one if you wanted to since I am fading,” Zell replied.
The boy came closer. “Fading?”
“Dying for my kind basically.”
“Your kind?”
Zell smirked and glanced at the boy. “I’ve never met anyone as curious as you.”
The boy blushed a little and glanced away but only for a moment. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m an imaginary character,” Zell stated. “One no one believes in.”
“Is that why you’re fading?”
Zell nodded and two tears fell again. It was Zell’s turn to gasp when the boy reached out and wiped the tears away. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to stop you from fading,” the boy told him. “I believe in you…” He trailed off realizing he didn’t know the other’s name.
“Zell.”
“I believe in you Zell.”
Zell’s eyes widened as he felt his strength returning. Holding up a hand, he watched in amazement as he went from being transparent to solid once more. “Wow…” He looked at the boy who was now smiling at him. “You… you just saved my life…” Zell whispered.
“I’m glad, you’re to cute to fade,” the boy said winking. For the first time in a long time Zell found himself blushing. Once he had gotten over his shock Zell’s own flirtaous personality came back. Grinning he leaned in so that he was pretty much nose to nose with the boy. Now it was the boy’s turn to blush.
“Well, if I’m so cute then I should know the name of my savior,” Zell stated.
“Uh… m-my name?”
“Yes your name oh mysterious one.”
“Well… some call me Catch,” he answered slowly.
“Catch? Like… what’s it called? Oh! A catch-22?”
“Yeah, like that,” Catch answered with a smile. Zell thought it over for a moment before nodding.
“I like it!” He declared and Catch chuckled.
“So tell me about yourself, you seem to be pretty established for an imaginary character.” Zell sat back and popped his fingers.
“It starts like this…” Zell told him everything; his family being murdered, working for the bad guy, meeting Sammi, everything up to their fight.
“She said that?” Catch questioned with wide eyes.
Zell nodded, “I felt like I was breaking.”
“Well not anymore. C’mon, you need a place to stay right?” Zell nodded. “Then you can stay with me.”
“Really?” Zell questioned in surprise.
“Yeah, I have my own apartment,” Catch answered. Zell blinked and studied Catch for a moment.
“How old are you? You don’t look over… fifteen,” Zell told him.
Catch sighed. “I get that a lot. I’m actually seventeen.”
“Isn’t that still young to have your own place?”
Catch shrugged. “My mom and I don’t get along well so she pays for half and I have a job for the other half,” he answered. “How old are you by the way?” You don’t look over twenty-three.”
“I don’t know,” Zell answered.
“You don’t know? How can you not know how old you are?” Catch asked as they started to walk to his apartment.
“We don’t keep track of our ages the same way you do,” Zell answered.
“Oh, well I guess that makes sense. What about other things? Like eating? Sleeping?”
“I sleep now and then but it’s not required as much for me as it is you. I am… fascinated by humans eating. I try it sometimes but it’s more for pleasure than necessity,” Zell explained.
“Wish I could be liked that. I stay hungry all the time!” Catch exclaimed. Zell laughed.
“You’re funny,” he commented.
---
“So this is my place, it’s not much but I hope it’ll be enough,” Catch told him as he flipped on a couple of lights in his apartment. Zell looked around taking everything in.
“You have a collection of books, it’s perfect,” Zell answered.
“Yeah… I have a friend who is a librarian. Books are one of the most important things to her.”
“Will I get to meet her?” Zell questioned. Catch scratched his head as he thought.
“She usually drops by once a week to bring new books and sometimes cook but I never really know until I get her text,” Catch answered. Zell nodded as he continued to look around.
“Where do you sleep?”
“I thought you didn’t have to sleep a lot.”
“I don’t, just curious,” Zell replied. He grinned wickedly at Catch and the boy blushed without realizing it. “Are you afraid of me sleeping with you?” I promise I don’t bite… much.”
Catch squeaked at the mental image that gave him and his blush deepened. Zell’s grin, widened as he watched the other’s reaction. Slowly he approached, circled around so that he was now behind Catch before wrapping his arms around him. Catch nearly stopped breathing when he did this. Zell leaned in next to Catch’s ear, breathing on it lightly.
“You…are… so…easy…” Zell whispered before letting him go. When Zell lay on the couch with his hands behind his head, Catch allowed himself to breathe normally again.
“Y-you were teasing?!”
Zell flashed him a smile. “I am a tease Catch.”
Catch gaped at him for a moment before mumbling something and disappearing into another room. In his host’s absence Zell closed his eyes and relaxed. He was exhausted from his ordeal earlier and now even the sounds coming from the other room could stop his eyes from staying closed and sleep from claiming him.
---
A week had passed before Sammi noticed Zell’s absence. She had been enjoying the peace and quiet that only came when Zell wasn’t around. Sammi gave him a couple of days past when she noticed he wasn’t around to appear before she called his name.
“Zell.”
Sammi waited… and waited, Zell did not appear. At first she was worried that something had happened to the character, but as member after moment passed that worry turned into annoyance. Surely Zell was just playing a trick on her.
“Zell! Show yourself right now!” Still nothing. “Zell…”
---
“That smells good. What is it?” Zell questioned leaning over Catch’s shoulder.
“Beef stew,” Catch answered. “It’s hard to stir with you standing over my shoulder.”
“That’s not the only thing that’s hard,” Zell teased bumping Catch’s hip with his own. Catch blushed and watched as the other hopped up to sit on the counter. “Can I do anything to help? I think I’ll eat this tonight.”
“You could chop those carrots there,” Catch told him nodding at the four carrots that lay beside Zell on the counter. Zell nodded and picked up the knife that lay beside the carrots, chopping them into round bits. Catch watched, it amazed him how easily Zell had fit into his life. Sure, things were awkward between them sometime’s but otherwise… things were pretty easy. Catch enjoyed Zell’s company.
“Are you staring because you want you kiss me?” Catch sputtered and Zell laughed.
---
Sammi hated it. She missed Zell. Missed his teasing even though she had found it annoying most of the time. Figuring he probably wouldn’t have gone far, she had been searching for him over the past few days. No one she asked had seen anyone that resembled Zell until she got near the beach market.
“Ya’h, I seen ‘em,” a fruit vendor told her. “Always ‘ere wit another boy. ‘Ought the were together way they acted and all.”
“When was the last time you saw them?” Sammi questioned.
“Earlier t’day I reckon… yeah sold ‘em some fruit just a bit ago. If ya look round ya might find ‘em.”
Sammi’s eyes widened as she started to look around. “Thank you!”
---
“We could make…” Catch started but stopped to think for a moment.
“What?” Zell questioned.
“Well if we could find-“
“ZELL!” Catch looked up just as a girl with green hair crashed into Zell hugging him. “Oh Zell where have you been?! I was so worried!”
“Sammi…” Zell said, Catch wondered if Zell knew how dead his voice sounded.
“Now that I’ve found you we can go home,” she said. Catch wanted to deny the feeling of panic that rose in his chest at the thought of Zell leaving… but it was in his eyes and Zell saw it. Zell gently pried Sammi’s hands away from his shoulders.”
“I’m not going with you,” he stated. Sammi gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Zell ignored this turning his attention to Catch. He smiled and ruffled Catch’s hair a bit. Sammi blinked and shook her head. She couldn’t believe this!
“What? But Zell you need our connection to exist in this world.”
“No. I don’t. You broke our connection the night I almost faded because you said you didn’t believe in me.
“Oh Zell, I didn’t really mean that. I was just annoyed.”
Zell shook his head. “You believe it enough for our connection to break.”
“But Zell…”
“Catch saved me. He believes in me.” Zell took hold of Catch’s hand. “I’m staying with Catch.”
“But you belong with me.”
“Not anymore. Goodbye Sammi. Shall we go Catch?” Catch nodded and they turned walking away from Sammi. When they were out of earshot Catch looked at Zell.
“Thanks for staying with me Zell.” Zell grinned and raised Catch’s hand kissing the back of it, Catch blushed.
“I would have missed that blush.”
Author:
avari_maethorSummary: They say that seeing is believing… but Zell needs more than being seen to keep from fading away.
Rating: PG
Warning: Light hinted at shounen-ai.
Disclaimer: The characters of Sammi and Zell belong to Uzazi.
Dedication: To my Catch. We love you.
“You aren’t real!”
Zell looked at Sammi aghast, his gold eyes wide. He had been teasing her, as he usually did, but had failed to notice Sami getting annoyed. One misplaced joke and she had started yelling at him. It wasn’t uncommon for Sammi to get annoyed with him but she had never said those words before.
“Wh-what do you mean?” Zell choked out.
“Ugh! See? You don’t listen! You never listen! You aren’t real, you have never been real, you are an imaginary character Zell! You are imaginary and I don’t believe in you!” Sammi yellowed.
Zell could only stare at her… he was already breaking, fading, he could feel it. He struggled to find the words. “You… you don’t believe that Sammi… you can’t believe that.”
“Oh but I do Zell. I believe that you are a figment of my imagination and nothing more,” she stated. He had to leave. He couldn’t fade in front of her. Slowly he turned to leave the house, as his hand rested on the doorknob he glanced back at her.
“I’m sorry Sammi,” he whispered before leaving.
Zell sat on the stone wall that separated the beach from the town. He didn’t know how long it would take to fade completely, right now he was transparent, he could see the stones of the wall through his hand. It had been three hours since Sammi had said that.
“You aren’t real!”
Tears gathered in his eyes.
“I don’t believe in you!”
And the tears fell. Some hit his hands as they fell, he hadn’t faded enough for them to fall through them yet. He didn’t want to fade! Sammi had promised to believe in him forever and… and she had lied! It wasn’t fair… wasn’t it enough that he had already lost his family? He wasn’t going to get an honorable death in battle… no, he was going to fade while crying with no one believing… no one remembering…
There was a gasp and something dropped. Zell looked toward the sound and saw a bucket of sea shells on the ground. By the bucket was a set of feet, Zell let his eyes travel up the boy’s body. Tan skin, brown eyes and black hair… he was maybe 16? 17? But that didn’t matter, what mattered was the shocked look on the boy’s face. Normally Zell wouldn’t have given this body a second look but there was something about him… something that drew Zell’s attention.
“Are you... a…” The boy started.
“A what?” Zell questioned when the boy paused longer than necessary.
“A ghost?”
Zell wanted to laugh but the boy’s face was so serious he couldn’t. Instead he smiled softly and shook his head, blue hair falling in his eyes. “I am no ghost. But I guess you could consider me one if you wanted to since I am fading,” Zell replied.
The boy came closer. “Fading?”
“Dying for my kind basically.”
“Your kind?”
Zell smirked and glanced at the boy. “I’ve never met anyone as curious as you.”
The boy blushed a little and glanced away but only for a moment. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m an imaginary character,” Zell stated. “One no one believes in.”
“Is that why you’re fading?”
Zell nodded and two tears fell again. It was Zell’s turn to gasp when the boy reached out and wiped the tears away. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to stop you from fading,” the boy told him. “I believe in you…” He trailed off realizing he didn’t know the other’s name.
“Zell.”
“I believe in you Zell.”
Zell’s eyes widened as he felt his strength returning. Holding up a hand, he watched in amazement as he went from being transparent to solid once more. “Wow…” He looked at the boy who was now smiling at him. “You… you just saved my life…” Zell whispered.
“I’m glad, you’re to cute to fade,” the boy said winking. For the first time in a long time Zell found himself blushing. Once he had gotten over his shock Zell’s own flirtaous personality came back. Grinning he leaned in so that he was pretty much nose to nose with the boy. Now it was the boy’s turn to blush.
“Well, if I’m so cute then I should know the name of my savior,” Zell stated.
“Uh… m-my name?”
“Yes your name oh mysterious one.”
“Well… some call me Catch,” he answered slowly.
“Catch? Like… what’s it called? Oh! A catch-22?”
“Yeah, like that,” Catch answered with a smile. Zell thought it over for a moment before nodding.
“I like it!” He declared and Catch chuckled.
“So tell me about yourself, you seem to be pretty established for an imaginary character.” Zell sat back and popped his fingers.
“It starts like this…” Zell told him everything; his family being murdered, working for the bad guy, meeting Sammi, everything up to their fight.
“She said that?” Catch questioned with wide eyes.
Zell nodded, “I felt like I was breaking.”
“Well not anymore. C’mon, you need a place to stay right?” Zell nodded. “Then you can stay with me.”
“Really?” Zell questioned in surprise.
“Yeah, I have my own apartment,” Catch answered. Zell blinked and studied Catch for a moment.
“How old are you? You don’t look over… fifteen,” Zell told him.
Catch sighed. “I get that a lot. I’m actually seventeen.”
“Isn’t that still young to have your own place?”
Catch shrugged. “My mom and I don’t get along well so she pays for half and I have a job for the other half,” he answered. “How old are you by the way?” You don’t look over twenty-three.”
“I don’t know,” Zell answered.
“You don’t know? How can you not know how old you are?” Catch asked as they started to walk to his apartment.
“We don’t keep track of our ages the same way you do,” Zell answered.
“Oh, well I guess that makes sense. What about other things? Like eating? Sleeping?”
“I sleep now and then but it’s not required as much for me as it is you. I am… fascinated by humans eating. I try it sometimes but it’s more for pleasure than necessity,” Zell explained.
“Wish I could be liked that. I stay hungry all the time!” Catch exclaimed. Zell laughed.
“You’re funny,” he commented.
“So this is my place, it’s not much but I hope it’ll be enough,” Catch told him as he flipped on a couple of lights in his apartment. Zell looked around taking everything in.
“You have a collection of books, it’s perfect,” Zell answered.
“Yeah… I have a friend who is a librarian. Books are one of the most important things to her.”
“Will I get to meet her?” Zell questioned. Catch scratched his head as he thought.
“She usually drops by once a week to bring new books and sometimes cook but I never really know until I get her text,” Catch answered. Zell nodded as he continued to look around.
“Where do you sleep?”
“I thought you didn’t have to sleep a lot.”
“I don’t, just curious,” Zell replied. He grinned wickedly at Catch and the boy blushed without realizing it. “Are you afraid of me sleeping with you?” I promise I don’t bite… much.”
Catch squeaked at the mental image that gave him and his blush deepened. Zell’s grin, widened as he watched the other’s reaction. Slowly he approached, circled around so that he was now behind Catch before wrapping his arms around him. Catch nearly stopped breathing when he did this. Zell leaned in next to Catch’s ear, breathing on it lightly.
“You…are… so…easy…” Zell whispered before letting him go. When Zell lay on the couch with his hands behind his head, Catch allowed himself to breathe normally again.
“Y-you were teasing?!”
Zell flashed him a smile. “I am a tease Catch.”
Catch gaped at him for a moment before mumbling something and disappearing into another room. In his host’s absence Zell closed his eyes and relaxed. He was exhausted from his ordeal earlier and now even the sounds coming from the other room could stop his eyes from staying closed and sleep from claiming him.
A week had passed before Sammi noticed Zell’s absence. She had been enjoying the peace and quiet that only came when Zell wasn’t around. Sammi gave him a couple of days past when she noticed he wasn’t around to appear before she called his name.
“Zell.”
Sammi waited… and waited, Zell did not appear. At first she was worried that something had happened to the character, but as member after moment passed that worry turned into annoyance. Surely Zell was just playing a trick on her.
“Zell! Show yourself right now!” Still nothing. “Zell…”
“That smells good. What is it?” Zell questioned leaning over Catch’s shoulder.
“Beef stew,” Catch answered. “It’s hard to stir with you standing over my shoulder.”
“That’s not the only thing that’s hard,” Zell teased bumping Catch’s hip with his own. Catch blushed and watched as the other hopped up to sit on the counter. “Can I do anything to help? I think I’ll eat this tonight.”
“You could chop those carrots there,” Catch told him nodding at the four carrots that lay beside Zell on the counter. Zell nodded and picked up the knife that lay beside the carrots, chopping them into round bits. Catch watched, it amazed him how easily Zell had fit into his life. Sure, things were awkward between them sometime’s but otherwise… things were pretty easy. Catch enjoyed Zell’s company.
“Are you staring because you want you kiss me?” Catch sputtered and Zell laughed.
Sammi hated it. She missed Zell. Missed his teasing even though she had found it annoying most of the time. Figuring he probably wouldn’t have gone far, she had been searching for him over the past few days. No one she asked had seen anyone that resembled Zell until she got near the beach market.
“Ya’h, I seen ‘em,” a fruit vendor told her. “Always ‘ere wit another boy. ‘Ought the were together way they acted and all.”
“When was the last time you saw them?” Sammi questioned.
“Earlier t’day I reckon… yeah sold ‘em some fruit just a bit ago. If ya look round ya might find ‘em.”
Sammi’s eyes widened as she started to look around. “Thank you!”
“We could make…” Catch started but stopped to think for a moment.
“What?” Zell questioned.
“Well if we could find-“
“ZELL!” Catch looked up just as a girl with green hair crashed into Zell hugging him. “Oh Zell where have you been?! I was so worried!”
“Sammi…” Zell said, Catch wondered if Zell knew how dead his voice sounded.
“Now that I’ve found you we can go home,” she said. Catch wanted to deny the feeling of panic that rose in his chest at the thought of Zell leaving… but it was in his eyes and Zell saw it. Zell gently pried Sammi’s hands away from his shoulders.”
“I’m not going with you,” he stated. Sammi gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Zell ignored this turning his attention to Catch. He smiled and ruffled Catch’s hair a bit. Sammi blinked and shook her head. She couldn’t believe this!
“What? But Zell you need our connection to exist in this world.”
“No. I don’t. You broke our connection the night I almost faded because you said you didn’t believe in me.
“Oh Zell, I didn’t really mean that. I was just annoyed.”
Zell shook his head. “You believe it enough for our connection to break.”
“But Zell…”
“Catch saved me. He believes in me.” Zell took hold of Catch’s hand. “I’m staying with Catch.”
“But you belong with me.”
“Not anymore. Goodbye Sammi. Shall we go Catch?” Catch nodded and they turned walking away from Sammi. When they were out of earshot Catch looked at Zell.
“Thanks for staying with me Zell.” Zell grinned and raised Catch’s hand kissing the back of it, Catch blushed.
“I would have missed that blush.”
