Apr 26, 2009 20:11
The Level Three screamed as it was obliterated by her innocence. Lenalee smiled, took a step, and fell deep into the ocean. Water slid against her skin, cool and calming. As she sunk deeper, the burning in her legs inched upwards, then slowly began to fade. She opened her eyes, looked up to the night sky, and swore she saw Lavi flying overhead.
Her temples began to throb, then. White light flashed across her vision, blinding. Lenalee swore someone was reaching towards her in the guise of a silhouette, right before the darkness came, curling gently at her edges at first, then enveloping her completely.
--
She woke up standing. There was nothing but a vast expanse of white in front of her; no water, no ship, no Lavi racing towards her with his panicked green eye and his arms open. She looked down at herself and froze. The burns on her legs were gone, the skin smooth and unmarked. When she touched her hair, it was still long, and her uniform was still intact.
Someone coughed behind her. Lenalee whirled and found herself staring up at a set of great golden gates. Behind them, a city bustled. Next to them, a man with dark hair and slightly dishevelled wings waved.
“Hey,” he said, “I’m Zack.”
She gave him a once over and paled. “I’m dead.”
Zack chuckled nervously, his wings fluttering in sharp jerks. “Uhm,” he went, “yeah, about that.”
“I’m dead,” she repeated, suddenly aware of the heavy weight on her back. She reached behind her and felt soft, downy feathers. “Oh no.”
“Wait, before you freak out,” Zack said, approaching her. She took two steps back for every one he took forward. He stopped, sighed. “Oh man, I hate doing this.”
Lenalee eyed him, and then he was behind her with his hands on her shoulders and his breath in her ear. “Calm down, Lenalee ,” he whispered, and removed one hand from her to gesture towards the gates. They opened noiselessly. “Welcome to Heaven.”
Her head spun and her throat tightened. He was too close, and everything was too much. When he pulled back, she stumbled forward and put her hands on her knees.
“I died,” she hiccupped. Zack crouched in front of her, his eyes gentle. She kept her gaze on his shoulder and choked. “I don’t want to be dead.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, patting her head. She burst into tears.
--
The city was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside. The buildings were so tall, they rose up through the clouds, all glass and marble. Lenalee caught her reflection in one and winced: red-rimmed eyes, messy hair, pale face. Her hands shook where she had them clenched against her thighs. Zack, for the most part, was silent, something that didn’t seem to suit him. She struggled to find something to say.
“Where are you taking me?” she finally asked, trying to keep up. He cast her a sidelong glance and slowed down, the corners of his lips quirking. She pouted and nearly walked into someone. He chuckled. “Don’t laugh!”
“Sorry,” he said, sounding anything but apologetic. “I’m taking you to your apartment.”
Lenalee blinked. “My apartment?”
Zack nodded. His wings, unlike the other angels’ that she’d seen, never stopped moving. They twitched and flicked in an almost-rhythm. Lenalee watched the tensing of his shoulders whenever they rose and wondered how hers looked.
“You’re going to be here for forever,” Zack explained, pausing in front of one glass building and ushering her into the lobby. His grin was crooked and slightly sad. “You’re going to need a place to stay, you know.”
Lenalee twisted her fingers together as they approached the front desk. The girl behind it looked very small, curled up on her seat with her bleach-blonde hair and tiny wrists. When Zack tapped on the desk, she put away the sketchpad in her lap and titled her head at them with a gentle, broken smile. “Hi, Zack,” she said, her voice lilting. Blue eyes met hers. “Hi, Lenalee .”
She handed Zack a key, her fingers slim and tight around the metal, and as they walked away, she said, “Please say hello to Roxas for me, Zack.”
“I always do, Naminé,” Zack threw back, and stopped walking. Lenalee tapped the back of his hand. “Hm?”
“How does she know my name?” she asked, then paused. “Actually, how do you know my name?”
Zack grinned at her and pointed to the ceiling, which Lenalee realized was thousands of feet up. “The big boss man told me, of course.” He leaned towards her and lowered his voice. “See, I’m kind of your guardian until you get the feel of things here. Naminé knows your name because I had to sign you up for an apartment.”
Lenalee cocked her head at him. “Guardian?”
“Yeah.” Zack looked up and stretched his wings. The muscles in his arms and neck flexed and strained. “You don’t know how to fly yet, do you?”
“I’ve only been dead for a couple of hours,” she replied, voice catching imperceptibly. She held back the tears. “I barely even know how to get out of this building.”
He laughed and picked her up smoothly, his hands under her bare knees and against her back. “I’ll help you out then.” He winked at her, and rose into the air. “But only this once.”
Lenalee held onto him tightly, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. They went higher and ended up in a floorless hall. Doors lined the walls on either side of them, some coloured, some patterned; a couple even had ornaments.
“They’re meant to represent the people living in them,” Zack explained. “The longer you’re here, the more elaborate your door becomes.”
On what she assumed was the third floor, there was a boy hovering between two doors, his wings moving in lazy, swaying motions. Zack shifted behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist tightly and waving with his free hand. Lenalee looked between her dangling legs and the lobby below in muted horror. “Hey, Roxas!”
The boy turned to them slowly, his face blank. “Hey, Zack.”
Zack put his other arm around her waist so he was hugging her from behind and said, “Naminé says -”
“ - hi,” Roxas finished, shaking his head. “Just like she does every morning. I know, Zack. Now stop terrorizing your charge; she looks like the dead - oh, wait.”
“Funny,” Zack called, as they went up another level, but he moved his hand back under her knees. Lenalee clutched him even tighter than before. “Sorry about that, Lenalee . I forgot you weren’t used to the whole height thing.”
She squeaked in response, and watched Roxas continue to hover in the hall. Zack muttered something under his breath and said, “He’s waiting for someone. Or someones, I guess I should say.”
She leaned back a bit to look at him. “Who?”
Zack shrugged. “I don’t know. I know one’s still alive, though. The other one… well, the other one died, but wasn’t exactly a good person, so he has to prove he deserves a place up here.”
Lenalee bit her lip and frowned. “Will… will he have to wait a long time?”
“I don’t know. But he’s already reserved those two apartments for them, so if he believes they’ll show up one day, then we should, too.”
“Okay,” she said. Zack paused on a floor and started to the right. He stopped in front of a plain white door, and put his arm around her waist again. He pulled the key Naminé had given him out of his pocket and fit it in the lock. The door swung open and he set her down on stable, carpeted ground. She caught a glimpse of the door across from hers before he hustled her into what she assumed was the living room: dark blue with a sword keychain hanging from the doorknob, and the name Lockheart scribbled in the corner.
“Well,” Zack said, spreading his arms wide, “this is it. What do you think?”
The room was big, with white walls and white furniture. A large sofa sat in the middle with a white coffee table. The entire right wall of the room was one giant window - angels flew past, smiling if they caught her eye, and one even waved. The hall behind them led to more rooms, but none of them had doors. Lenalee turned to Zack and smiled politely. “It’s nice. Very, um, white.”
He snorted and sat down on the couch. It turned dark blue. “That can be fixed.”
She raised her eyebrows and sat down next to him hesitantly. Zack stood up after a minute, but the couch stayed the same. They both blinked.
“Well,” he said, “I guess we’re pretty alike.”
“Apparently,” she said, and when he sat back down beside her, a bit closer than before, they both smiled.
[character] lenalee lee,
[fandom] final fantasy,
[character] naminé,
[crossover],
[fandom] d.gray-man,
[alternate universe],
[character] roxas,
[relationship] zack/lenalee,
[character] zack fair