Zanvis: ALIVE. (Part two of Apocalypse AU!)

Chapter Eight: Zane.

     Dull green eyes stared into Zane's as they sat across from each other. Travis looked as tired as Zane felt, but that could have just been because of Travis's... sickness.
     The silence in the room was absolute, overpowering Zane's thoughts and making him more uncomfortable than he already was.
    If he focused hard enough, he could see that, in Travis's eyes, there was a faint light. There was still hope to bring him back.
     "Zane?" Travis mumbled. His voice startled Zane, but his fear was replaced by waves of different emotion. "I thought we were talking."
     "Oh, uhm, yes, sorry." Zane reached for the can that he had brought with him and the spoon, using the spoon to quickly open up the can. "Are you hungry?"
     "Yes." Travis's answer was immediate.
     Zane held the can and spoon out to him, but noticed how shaky Travis's hands were as he reached for them.
     "I'm afraid you'll drop them.." Zane said quietly, pulling his arms back. Travis's expression shifted to one Zane had never seen before. "How about I feed you? Is that okay? It's just.. your hands are shaking... and.."
     Travis scooted forward, still staring at Zane intensely. His eyes looked like they were colored differently. Instead of the bright, shining eyes edged with darker green, his eyes were dark green with darker edges. The dark circles under his eyes made them appear sunken in and tired.
     Shaking his head, Zane took some of the fruit- he hadn't noticed what was in the can until just now, and struggled a bit due to his own shaking hands- and held the spoon out to Travis.
     Instantly, Travis put his hand around the spoon to eat the fruit off of it. He snatched the can out of Zane's hand and started shoving fruit in his mouth. Zane watched with a blank expression.
     "We have more. A lot more, actually..." Zane spoke softly. "Uh.. we.. we missed you."
     Travis paused, stared at him, then resumed gulping down the fruit.
     "I missed you. A lot," he said, his voice much more powerful and emotional now.
      Travis looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
     "How is your arm doing?" Zane, you're terrible at this.
     Travis tugged his sleeve up showed it to Zane, then, of course, continued eating. For the most part, the skin on his arm was smooth and pale, just like the rest of his skin. There was still a bit of darkness around the bite and a mark where the bite was, and there was definitely scarring, but it looked better. So, so much better.
     "That looks great.. how do you feel?"
     "Tired. Hungry. General feelings."
     Zane cleared his throat nervously, and Travis lowered the can and spoon. He still kept them tight in his grip.
     "Why did you try to bite Garroth?"
     That same expression as before covered his features. "I don't know." He scarfed down more fruit, apparently not wanting to talk anymore.
     "I.. I want an answer, Travis... I'm afraid... that they're not going to let you stay here anymore... if they think you're dangerous."
     "I am dangerous. So are you. Aaron is too. Aphmau is not. Neither of those other two are."
     "How do you know that for sure? You haven't met either of them."
     "Garroth ran away instead of defending himself. The other one just.. sleeps."
     "That doesn't explain why you tried to bite him."
     Travis stabbed the spoon into the can and put it down, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "I told you. I don't know."
     "Well... can you tell me what you felt when you tried to bite him?"
     "My heart was racing and I couldn't think."
     "So you were in love with Garroth?" Zane cracked a slight grin. He wanted to joke around, but he didn't know what he would do if Travis said yes.
     "No. It's different."
     Zane sighed. He was expecting a joke in response, and wondered if that had been taken away from him when he was turned. He scoffed internally for listening to Aphmau.
     "How did she... fix.. that, anyway?"
     "Fix what?"
     "How did she turn you back?"
     "Magic."
     That was the same response Aphmau had given him. "Uh.. tell me more."
     "Well..." Travis said slowly, "She did it once while I was awake. She told me to be completely still and not move at all and then put her hand on my arm where the bite was. I think this was closer to now than it was the beginning of me turning. I was able to think and see and feel."
     Zane leaned forward. "And then what? What happened when she touched your arm?"
     "My arm went numb and I could think clearer. The room was dark, so I couldn't see exactly what she was doing. You are very close to my face."
     Zane blinked. What in the name of Irene was Aphmau doing? Actual magic?
     Zane's thoughts snapped back to Travis when he placed a light kiss on Zane's forehead. Zane felt his eyes welling up at this.
     "What- why are you- are you crying? Why are you crying?" Travis's worried voice made his tears spill over.
     "I missed you! So much!" Zane sobbed, smiling widely through his tears and throwing his arms around Travis's shoulders. Travis tensed, then put his arms around Zane.
     "I missed you a lot, too, Zane."