Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. It is the property of Square-Enix. This is purely for the fun of writing and for people's enjoyment.
Title: A Decent Life
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): None but it may be portrayed as a Cloud/Zack fic. Personally, I think it's just expressing their strong bond as friends.
Word Count: 2,366
Warning(s): There's some bullying and a mention of urine towards the end but other than that, it's not too bad.
Summary: Cloud looks forward to the one thing that makes his life worth living.
Dedication: To Cloud for being able to make it through his entire ordeal stronger than ever before.
A/N: I wanted to write this One-Shot for a while now. It takes place during Cloud's Shinra days. It's supposed to show how everything during those days seem to repeat itself in Cloud's eyes and how he grew tired of it all. However, there was ONE person he didn't mind seeing every day. This fic was originally only for French viewers but since I had a few people want to see the English version, I said, "Why not?" XD The French version was translated by KimieVII and she did a wonderful job at it. Take a look for yourselves! :grins: Also, Italics are what the characters are thinking. You only get to see Cloud use it though. Enjoy!
A Decent Life
The sound of the alarm startled him awake as it did any other day. The familiar sound of the siren ringing must have meant that it was already five in the morning. Once again he had to rise from what little sleep he received the night before. Once again he had to enter a shower that sprouted out nothing but cold water at this time of day. Once again he had to face all the grueling activities that were laid out before him.
He slowly pushed himself off of the comfortable warmth of his bed, slowly dragging his feet and carrying his belongings to the shower room his entire floor had to share. After an arduous ten-minute shower of nothing but freezing dampness pouring onto his skin, he quickly dressed himself in his uniform that all grunts are expected to wear. Not making any conversations with any of his peers, typical for the young blonde, he swiftly makes his way down to the cafeteria only to take one slice of toast and to report himself in the main hall where the rest of his unit was waiting for their next batch of tedious tasks.
Loud chatter could be heard from the group. Meaningless talks about what they planned to do on their free time, if they finished any of the work that's been given to them the day before, and what is to be expected from them today. All but one stood talking amongst themselves. The blonde did not see a use for such discussions this early in the morning nor did he ever. He was an outcast, rarely ever paid attention to. The only thing he was acknowledged for was when he did a job well done in filing reports, being on guard duty, or anything else he was assigned to.
When the commanding officer took his place at the front, the blue-eyed boy sighed a breath of relief. He was eager to get his work out of the way so he'll be able to go back to his room and get some alone time. Perhaps, even catch up on his sleep. Anything to get away from the repetition of the day.
"Finally, Cloud Strife." The commanding officer looked around to see if the officer he called was present and accounted for.
"Yes, sir." The blonde's response was loud and clear, as any soldier's should.
"Good. On time as always, I see." He gave a slight satisfied smile before continuing with telling his subordinate his assignment for the day. "Our janitor is home sick today. We need someone to clean the restrooms, take out the trash, and so on."
"I understand, sir. You want me to go find someone who fits that caliber. Correct?"
"Actually, the higher ups told me to get you to do it." As if sensing the younger officer would not appreciate what has just been told to him, he readied himself for an outburst from the blonde.
Instead, the sapphire-eyed soldier shrugged and walked up to receive the form, which contained his assignments written in bold letters. "Right away, sir. I'll be sure to get it done in no time."
The older officer smiled at him and placed one hand on the grunt's shoulder, as he always did to perk the young man up. "Head up, soldier! It's not as bad as it sounds. Soon you will be able to get yourself in a much better role here."
So you've said for the past two years.
With a sigh and a faint smile to his commander, he turned and walked to the direction of the janitor's closet. As notorious as this job was, he wasn't surprise to hear it from his kinder-than-most superior. After all, he had done worse jobs. For instance, last summer he had to help fix a sewer pipe that broke and wouldn't allow any of the toilets from the whole city flush down. However, he wasn't actually expecting that, once it was fixed, all the polluted water to come rushing down on him.
How dull… everything is always the same. Why can't something new and exciting happen? Am I to go through the same routine for the rest of my life?
Cloud was now in the upstairs restroom with his sleeves from his uniform rolled up, cleaning the toilets. He was just about finished when a group of senior officers walked in, wearing muddy boots, talking loudly for all within a forty-mile radius to hear. They each did their business and, purposefully, missed their target, which resulted in a yellow puddle of mess.
"Looks like you have more work to do, Princess!" The leader of the group chuckled as he headed for the door with the rest in pursuit.
The poor blonde was furious. He was nearly done with his chore only to be thrown right back to the beginning. He clenched his fists as he slowly exhaled. There was no point in getting upset at them now. The deed was done and even if he did let himself get disconcert, there was nothing he could do about it. The way things worked was the lower class always had been abused from the upper class. He was used to it by now, even if he did let it get under his skin at times. Just another occurrence he had to deal with that came with the replication of the day.
He took his cleaning supplies and began to work once more. The bathroom was halfway done when he heard the door being opened for a second time.
I won't let them do it this time. If I am to be severely punish for this later then so be it.
He raised his mop way over his head and swung it down as hard and as fast as he could muster the moment he saw a body approach the first stall. In spite of this, he was only blocked by one arm and greeted with a huge grin baring teeth.
"Whoa there! I'm not toilet scum. There's no need to mop me away." The First-Class SOLDIER backed up just enough for his friend to see clearly the person who stood before him. Apparently, the blonde was working a little too hard for his own good. "Man, you need to take it easy."
The azure-eyed boy smiled vaguely whilst setting down the cleaning utensil. "My apologies. With an appearance such as yours, it's easy for someone to mistake you as froth."
"Look who's talking! As if looking like a Chocobo is normal." The youthful spirit playfully muses Cloud's hair, making it wilder than it previously was.
"Zack! Quit it!" The flaxen-haired boy drew a bright chuckle from the pit of his stomach that made his black-haired companion grin with delight.
"What? You afraid it's going to get out of place? Trust me. It's not. You put on way too much hair gel for it to get messy." His smirk grew with each passing moment he spent with the fair-skinned boy.
A tiny glare escaped on Cloud's face, obviously not too happy with that last remark. "I do not use hair gel. My hair just happens to be this way."
"And how it's natural is beyond me!" Zack shrugged and nudged his buddy to loosen up. After a moment of laughter from both men, the older one grew strangely serious which worried Cloud to a great extent.
"What's the matter?"
"I heard what those jerks did to you before. They had no right to treat you like that." The cerulean eyes met with his much younger azure ones, placing one hand on the arm of his mate.
Cloud gave a faint smile, trying to reassure his friend. "Don't worry about it, Zack. It's no big deal. It happens all the time. No use getting bent out of shape about it."
"You're wrong. It is a big deal. I don't want anyone mistreating you ever." His grip became tighter as his eyes showed a sign of sorrow that was rare for someone with an upbeat personality.
The sixteen year old felt such joy having someone care for him. He never knew what it was like having someone, other than his mother, look out for him the way Zack did. It was a wonderful feeling and he did not want it to end. The firm touch, the emanating look in his superior's eyes, and the warmth he felt as he stood there. He would give anything to make this moment last for a lifetime.
After what seemed like an eternity, the light-haired young man gently placed his own hand on top of Zack's and calmly gave his gratitude. "Thank you, Zack. It means so much to me how much you care. But seriously, don't worry about it. I'm ok with it. Besides, it was just a few toilets." He gave a soft chuckle, hoping that would be enough to convince the stubborn man that he no longer felt dire.
Zack was not biting into such obvious bait. He cocks his head to the side and raises an eyebrow so effortlessly, which made the younger one tremble nervously. "So piss smell does not disgust you one bit?"
"Well…"
"Okay! That settles it. We are going to get revenge!" With his infamous grin returning on his face, he appeared somewhat diabolical as a plan started to form in his mischievous mind.
"What? No. I said let it go. We don't-"
Now excited, the First-Class SOLDIER raised one hand up in order to hush up his junior. "I will have none of that. Now, I need you to get eight jars of peanut butter, eighty feet of rope, and two hundred bags of Chocobo feathers. Once you have that, meet me in the Sector Five Slums. Leave the 'Luring of the Prey' to me. This is going to be fun. Vamonos, amigo!"
"What do you plan on doing?" After a moment of thinking it over, he decided not to pry too much into the mind of one so imbalanced. "Never mind. I don't want to know. Maybe we should just go somewhere to relax once I'm done here."
The mad solider merely shook his head violently. "Never! You are to do what I say."
"But... "
"That's an order!" With one last ruffle of the blonde's hair, Zack turned on his heel and marched straight out the door.
"Wait… how am I to carry all that stuff there?" The sapphire-eyed boy tried yelling after the mind-set-on-destruction man but his words could not reach him.
"Oh well. Nothing can stop that guy once his mind's made up. Well, I guess I should go shopping after this."
Letting out a sigh for the millionth time that day, he quickly finished cleaning up the lavatory and rushed out of the building with his wallet in hand. This time, it was he who felt excitement growing in his chest. No matter how uncomfortable he felt playing pranks on his elders; he always felt a soothing calm whenever he was around Zack. Every single day Zack would appear right before Cloud and give a nod or a wink that would keep the blonde going for the rest of the day.
That's right… Zack is a reoccurring image in my life. Heh… suddenly, repetition doesn't seem to be such a problem anymore.
With his newfound realization, Cloud swiftly ran to a market that contains everything he's been "ordered" to get. Wondering if he has enough Gil, he simply smiled to himself with the recollection of his comrade.
Life's not so bad after all. In fact, I have a pretty decent one.