"C'mon, Cloud, don't just ignore me!"
"I told you I didn't wanna play."
"Well we gotta do somethin' to pass the time. Look, I promise I won't dare you to do anything too ridiculous."
"I won't be doing any dares; I'm not playing."
"Truth then?" Nothing but silence in response, "Pwease?" Piercing blue puppy-dog eyes.
A long-suffering sigh from the blond, "Fine."
Zack's face lit up with that classic cheeky grin. He would never admit it, but Cloud loved that look, especially when he helped inspire it. He almost smiled himself, but managed to retain his usual neutral expression.
The SOLDIER made an exaggerated show of coming up with a question, before finally asking, "If you could have one wish come true, what would it be?"
Cloud paused a moment, and then in his usual monotone, "Dunno. Never really thought about it."
"Nuh-uh, Strife, that answer ain't gonna fly with me, you can do better than that." He crossed his arms and attempted to look stern.
"But I really don't know."
"But you gotta have dreams, Spikey! It's like Angeal always says, 'If you wanna be a hero you need to have dreams'."
"I don't want to be a hero."
Zack looked taken aback, "Why not?"
"Because heroes die."
~~...o*0*o…~~
Cloud looked sadly at the Buster Sword. "I know what I'd wish for now, Zack. Do impossible dreams count?"
He paused, almost as if he expected a response, before looking up at the sky. Zack's dream had come true, he became a hero. But Cloud wanted more for him than that.
"Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."
~~...o*0*o…~~
Note:
"Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."
is a quote by Babe Ruth in The Sandlot