Sixteen: Silence is golden
[Zell has hit upon an innovative way--sort of--to counteract the effects of the JD plot. He's taped his mouth shut. Occasionally he will make "Mmm-ing" noises, but so far has not blurted out anything he doesn't want known to either Dante or Selphie. There is a pad of paper next to him with notes jotted down--the two on this page say "Shut up, Dante
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Fixed it! It was getting too damn quiet around here.
It wasn't like Dante needed a reason to tease Zell---no, he didn't need a reason other than he liked the way he flushed from cheeks to ears and shifted around like a child that had to pee when he was embarrassed---but this was special. How often did he get to hear what was going on under that blond mop, straight from his mouth?
Zell's lips were worn red and puffy from the tape, giving Dante's normally scattered mind something to concentrate on. Oh, and concentrate he did, waiting for whatever wisdom or filth was going to pour out of his meek little friend.
This was like Christmas!
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Have you no concept at ALL of privacy?! There are things I don't want to share, okay? Not with you, not with ANYBODY.
Zell hadn't been this angry since, well, the last time Seifer had been an ass to him. He was actually shaking, although from anger or the fear of what he might say, he wasn't sure. Everything was boiling over--the lack of sleep, his denial of the fact that he definitely had post-traumatic stress disorder, and on top of that all his confused feelings about Dante.
Hitting him would do no good, but he really, really wanted to. As it was, he was pretty sure something was going to break in the next few seconds.
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Aww, c'mon. You know I don't judge. We're friends! Share and share alike. I'd tell you anything you want~♥
The teasing was easy, fluid and right. Worry stuck to his ribs, though, because Zell honestly looked pissed at him---and what was being said didn't exactly set well with him. Dante was great at playing stupid---had spent most of his teen years perfecting it---but he was far from being stupid. He understood what hard times did to shape people, understood in a way that only a kid who had seen his brother and mother murdered in front of his eyes and had been left to cope and grow up on his own could understand. Dante wanted to tousle his hair, distract him and make all that tension seep back out of him, but he was helpless to say anything right.
Zell deserved him not to screw this up, even if his honesty was compulsory.
Seriously, though? You can hit me if you want. You can hit me a lot, if you'd just cheer the fuck up.
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Okay. I'll talk. I'd rather say this when I have control over it.
So, I haven't told you a whole lot about me. Went through a war, kicked a lot of ass, fought two or three Sorceresses, depending on how you wanna define it. Here's some other quick stuff: I'm a war orphan. I spent a year on the street on my own, when I was four or so. And where I come from, demons are just myth, really.
[takes a deep breath] I'm scared, Dante. Like I said, I fought insane and maybe evil Sorceresses a few times. That last one, I barely came out alive. The stuff she put on us was horrible. But I've been reading Sam's books, and a lot of them mention what happens to good fighters that fight real evil without taking any precautions. Stuff... stuff can get into them, little fragments of that evil, and it starts growing.
[Gestures expressively] All of this. The nightmares, the manic energy, the not-sleeping. I thought it was just PTSD, because I beat a lot of soldiers who were just doing their ( ... )
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How the hell is it that you look for all this good and shit in other people, but all you seem to see is what could POSSIBLY, MAYBE be evil in you? Hell, I've got a genetic predisposition for evil and that doesn't bother me. I've got---I've got Vergil and I don't spend my nights up going "OH ME, OH MY, I MIGHT TURN EVIL AND KILL SOMEONE".
NEWSFLASH, boyscout: you can't kill me. So long as you keep me around, I'll make damn sure you don't go nutso and kill things, okay? Unless we can poof back to my world, 'cause then I'd set you loose on a bunch of lesser demons and let you pound this all out of your system. It works pretty damn good for me. Had a bad day? Kill some demons. Miss Mom? ( ... )
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I...I never said I could kill you. And I'm sorry you had to hear all my dumb fears, okay? I don't know much about anything like this. I wasn't... I wasn't going to tell you. [sits down heavily]
[The next comment is muffled by Zell's hands] I don't want you--or anybody--to sleep with me just to make me feel better. I want them to do it because they, you know, WANT to.
Zell was really getting sick of being told his his opinions, fears, ideas, EVERYTHING was dumb in some way. Dante had been "safe" about that, so the blow was unexpected and hard. He sort of wanted to cry, but that would prove Dante's point, wouldn't it? A weak human kid. A weak human kid that had helped save his damn world. He clenched his teeth and remembered the hours and hours, thousands of them, that'd he'd spent in painful drill. Karate hadn't come naturally to him at first--too small, afraid of his ( ... )
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Shit. It's not---it's not stupid, okay? Yeah, it friggin' scares you shitless and I get that. I do. You're like, this super-kid who doesn't stop, and I like that. I guess I won the genetic lottery when it comes to stuff, but you're almost good enough to keep up with me, and that's something pretty badass, y'know? Like, I've never seen a human do that before. You just don't stop trying and liking people, and---fuck, you like Vergil and even I don't like him most of the time.
You're...good. You're like, good. So when you go all "I might be evil", it doesn't friggin' make sense to me.
Dante kept his distance, hands shoved down deep in his pockets, and frowned at an unoffensive spot on the carpet. He didn't like that he'd hurt Zell, especially so unintentionally. Why couldn' ( ... )
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I wanna smack Vergil half the time. I just think he needs somebody annoyingly persistent about making friends in his life. Since he doesn't seem to have any.
I think I can keep up with you just because I'm so damn stubborn. [laughs a little] I mean, who else do you know who's moronic enough, when told that somebody is half-demon, to go "yay, let's spar!"?
Anyway, you're right. I'm probably just being paranoid. Too much reading stories that never, ever have a happy ending. Sam's book collection is morbid.
I, ah. [flushes scarlet from his neck to hairline] I guess you didn't.
[long silent pause] Do you. You know. Want to?
Oh fuck. Zell could not believe what he had just said. He really, REALLY wasn't sure if he was ready for whatever Dante said in reply. For that matter? He didn't think he was ready to have sex, because he was too damn embarrassed about the entire concept, except his hormones kind of did a good job of trampling that down when it looked like it ( ... )
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I DO smack him, usually. Him and me, we're not so good at dealing with people. That's okay back home, 'cause we've seen each other once in the last two decades, and I deal a lot more with killing shit dead. Kicking ass, taking names, getting laid. I don't really have to make "friends".
And Vergil? Vergil doesn't make friends. He conquers them, the bitch.
He realized he was babbling---for him---but it was only because he felt a little off-kilter. Usually, things were a lot easier than this. He said hi, he schmoozed, he wooed, he got laid, he left, life went on. But he liked Zell, and not only in the most obvious ways. The kid was fun to have around, and he would have made him his sidekick or something had they been in his world. He had spunk. He made him smile for stupid reasons.
Dante couldn't quite puzzle out what the difference was, but there was one.If you start wanting blood, then we'll reevaluate your eviltude. Okay ( ... )
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Vergil's not conquering me~. Even if he killed me, I'd come back and HAUNT him. And then he could never, ever get rid of me. It'd be great, except for the getting killed part.
Wanting blood? Like a vampire? I'd make the worst vampire EVER. [starts to laugh, looking genuinely cheerful again] I would probably only take donations.
[is now bright red again, thank you Dante. XD] I, um, no! It wasn't. And you're really gross sometimes. [lightly punches him]
Zell was extremely happy this had flipped around so well. He really didn't have many friends outside of the orphanage gang, not ones he trusted with everything. Dante, as strange as he was, had sort of crept into his heart when he wasn't looking and now he trusted the damn guy. He was still sort of shocked Dante liked him at all, since he was really cool and all. He couldn't figure out why Dante said he didn't have ( ... )
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If he killed you, him and I would have to have a talk. And by talk? I mean I'd have to hunt him down and beat the shit out of him. He doesn't get to kill you, and nobody but me gets to kill him. This is just the way it goes.
Nah, not like a vampire. Just, like, when you smell human blood, it...you like it, a lot. It affects you. Why do you think demons attack humans usually, anyways? It ain't because we dislike your faces or whatever. [frowns, then shrugs] Just don't bleed around me too much and you won't have to see how it makes me.
I'm not gross. I'm awesome. You just haven't seen how awesome, yet. Believe me, I'll make sure you're well-versed before long, since you're gonna keep me around and all.
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[shrugs a little] This is all new to me. My world, monsters attack anything, but it sounds like your demons are a lot more picky. And since I generally try to make not bleeding copiously my general state, things should be okay.
...Unless you nick me with Rebellion when we spar.
You're awesomely gross. [leans on Dante, abruptly going ragdoll on him]
The information about Dante's reaction to blood wasn't new, but it worried Zell anyway. They probably shouldn't spar with blades anymore--they'd be lucky so far, but eventually Zell was going to move the wrong way and take a hit. And with a blade the size or Rebellion, it likely wouldn't be some small nick.
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I'll be careful with you~♥. Believe me, the great thing about demonic influences on your genetics and fighting style is that you hit what you want, and only what you want, 98% of the time.
Rebellion won't bite...unless it wants a taste of you. And considering it's my sword, it probably will one of these days. Don't worry---I'll put Rebellion in the corner until it promises to be good again.
Damn straight I'm awesomely gross.
[pulls Zell over a little more, yawning]
A nap was sounding good at that time. All of the dramatics and emotional bullshit took a toll on Dante's usually unflagging energy---he couldn't keep up with this whole sharing and caring thing, even if it was worth it in the end. Zell was small and warm against his side, and that was actually good enough for now.
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Lucky~. I usually can do that as well (not as well with weapons) but it's never an absolutely sure thing. I once almost knocked Quistis out when we were sparring. But what I said about me moving in the wrong way stands. It does happen occasionally.
... Rebellion is sentient? I knew your other swords were, but not that one. And, uh, I guess we'll deal with that day when it comes.
Zell wanted to yawn in response to Dante's. Arguments took it out of him as well, and Dante was nice and warm. He hadn't slept for what seemed like forever.
He hoped he didn't drool on him, because it was going to take nothing short of a dragon bursting in to get him to move.
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