Here I am again! Perhaps I should wait a little before posting story after story, but I can't help myself. I really want to try my hand at an OC based fic and I am liking where this is going. I intend to keep my dear Edie as un-Mary-Sue-ish as possible, but I am trying to be good to her too. This fic will pretty much follow the events of Crisis Core, but will be based on the perceptions of Edie. Not only will it explore her unclear romantic feelings for Zack, but will give an external view of Zack's development throughout the game.
I own nothing but Edie Leone. I hope you like it!
-It's Not Fair-
Mako-blue eyes surveyed me while I sat at my desk, helpless, and unable to react.
"Are you even listening to me?" my superior asked, eyebrows arched and ignorant to the smiling idiot behind her.
"Loud and clear," I all but retorted in a carefully monotonous tone which I hoped didn't betray my almost unbearable amusement to said idiot behind the death-staring bitch.
"Good, don't let me catch you sleeping on the job again. We may not be SOLDIER, but our position in the company is not without its consequences," It took me a great deal of inner strength to resist rolling my eyes while the woman in front of me refused to let it go. So what? I had taken to resting my eyes for, like, five, maybe fifty minutes? It's not like I couldn't get around to all of the paperwork afterwards-why couldn't the damn SOLIDIERS finish their own paperwork rather than palming it off to us lesser beings?
"My apologies, it won't happen again," this caused the man-no, boy-still undetected by my supervisor, to quirk his eyebrows in amusement. Smug bastard.
Satisfied with my answer, the woman before my desk turned to leave and almost collided with Zack Fair who was standing in the doorway to my tiny, shoebox of an office. Said supervisor blushed furiously as she found herself caught up in Zack's strong arms, all hostility she had previously been directing at me, gone from the uptight woman.
"Hey, gotcha Lyndah," he winked down at the woman in his arms, "Hope you don't mind. I just came to consult with Ms Leone. Loads of paperwork this week-you know how it is," and he continued to smile widely at my supervisor, who was oblivious to anything else as the strong and, I must admit, rather attractive teen held her against him. The whole thing was almost unbearably hilarious but I was careful to remain professional in spite of the situation.
"N-no, of course not," she blinked owlishly behind her thick framed, harsh rectangular glasses. The woman had to be at least 4 years older than Zack, but I suppose most women were unable to resist the SOLDIER 2nd class' charms. She looked noticeably disappointed as Zack carefully pulled her away from him and he stepped towards my desk.
"See ya round, yeah, Lynny?" I could practically see her melt under his heavily seductive gaze. Ooh, boy, is he good.'Lynny' seemed to remember herself as she nodded weakly and stepped from the room as Zack closed the door behind her, still smiling wickedly.
As soon as the door clicked shut, I burst out laughing-I couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Gaia, Zack. That was laying it on a bit thick, wasn't it?" I smirked at my good friend, mischief burning in his eyes.
"Jealous are we, Edie?"
"Puhlease," I drawled, rolling my eyes, "She's a little too old for you, don't you think?"
"She's only, what, 20?"
"You're 16!"
"Age is just a number," he winked, "Hey, you're not too old for me," he waggled his eyebrows at me, causing me to giggle.
"Yes, but I am way too good for you, puppy" I teased, only half-heartedly. Said puppy feigned heartbreak, his left hand gripping the left side of his chest whilst a ridiculous pout resided on his face. He really was too adorable for his own good. I sighed internally.
"What are you doing tonight?" he asked, leaning against my desk, "Want to get something to eat?"
"'Spose so. What did you have in mind?"
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
"So, is there a particular reason you wanted to go out or should I just assume you couldn't be bothered cooking for yourself and weren't willing to ask me to cook for you again?" I teased as a waitress set down burgers and fries before us. Zack sat across from me in a tiny booth, in an equally tiny diner we had found on Loveless Avenue. He stuck his tongue out at me.
"Ha! No, no," he said, practically bouncing up and down in his seat, "I have news! Big, big news!" I laughed; his positive energy is always so contagious.
"So spill already, puppy!" I exclaimed, adopting Angeal's-a SOLDIER first and Zack's mentor-nickname for the bouncy teenager. It's spot on, I must admit. Restless and zero attention span-yeah, spot on.
"Angeal's recommended me for first!" he all but squealed. I had to laugh at the girlish expression before setting aside my amusement and squealing in delight myself.
"Wow! Zack, that's fantastic!" I jumped up from my seat, which was rather difficult in such a cramped space and thrust myself across the table, hugging him tightly. Without thinking I gave him a swift kiss on the cheek which I don't think he expected, because as I pulled back, I caught a look of shock coupled with rather pink cheeks on my friend's face. Ah, shit. Awkward.
"So, you're being dispatched to Wutai tomorrow? Aren't you nervous?" I asked Zack, referring to what he had mentioned to me earlier. I scoffed down part of my burger which was, unfortunately, almost half gone, in an effort to hide my own akwardness. All it achieved was making me choke.
"Are you kidding?" Zack exclaimed, all awkwardness seemed to disappear, his own mouth full of fries and ketchup, "I am so excited! I'm going to prove to Angeal that I deserve his recommendation and, and, and," Zack paused briefly, only to stuff a handful of fries into his mouth, "Director Lazard is overseeing the mission, so, you know what that means? I'm going to get the opportunity to impress him too. Oh, yeah!" Bits of potato and sauce went flying from his mouth and it took me much effort not to shudder externally.
"General Rhapsodos is meant to be in Wutai," I commented thoughtfully. The auburn haired, SOLDIER general was known, not only for his formidable fighting skills, but for his penchant for LOVELESS-an incomplete, but very famous 5 act play. Plus-the man was a complete babe. At my mention of the general, Zack became strangely somber.
"But haven't you heard? Genesis went missing a month ago." Uh, no... I hadn't heard. "There's been a mass desertion at SOLDIER-and don't worry," he added, spotting my puzzled look, "I only just heard, too."
"Hrmm," I muttered thoughtfully. My position in Shinra may not have been as important as that of a SOLIDER or Turk, but basically being a secretarial slave to Lazard's PA had some perks. When I wasn't doing what Lyndah Carwell considered 'beneath her', which mainly consisted of verifying SOLDIER paperwork (Misson briefs and a whole lot of other shit I hardly cared for), I was mostly well informed of all the going on's inside of Shinra, and most of Midgar.
"Well, if it's serious enough for Shinra to keep it so hush hush..." I trailied off, chewing on my lip, "I wonder what's going on there."
"Yeah," Zack said a little nonchalantly, I furrowed my eyebrows at his seeming disregard for the issue "Well, in the meantime, I'm going to show Shinra just how loyal I am to this company. I have honour," and if it weren't for the grin spreading across his face, he would have sounded a little bitter.
"Yeah, well, while you're at it, SOLDIER boy," I said grinning back at him, "Could you learn to chew with your mouth closed. I'm wearing your meal."
And as I flung the remaining chips on my plate, which were drenched in sauce, over the table with the intention of hitting my dear friend, I watched in horror as they completely missed their mark and hit a burly man sitting in the next booth. Rather than get angry, as I expected him to, he seemed to think it would be a laugh to retaliate with a rather sloppy plate of some indistinguishable form of goop. The idiot seemed to share my lack of hand-eye coordination whilst the rest of the diner seemed to share his rubbish sense of humour, resulting in a full-scale food war.
Needless to say, we're not welcome there anymore.
And as we stumbled out of the diner clutching our stitches of laugher, and heading for the Goblin Bar around the corner, Zack stopped me abruptly and stood very, uncomfortably close.
"Uh, personal space, Zack?" I almost stuttered. Rather than respond he lifted a hand, and, for a split second, I actually thought he was going to embrace me. Instead, he ran a hand down my cheek and then stuck said hand in his mouth.
"The goop's Chocobo Stew," and he cracked up again and stumbled around the corner towards the bar, laughing maniacally. I stood still in all my food-drenched glory.
Yep, he's my best friend.