Megumi-chan: I'm back with another chapter, and this is when Zack and Cloud show up! Yay~

Claim: I own Mei and any other original characters that may show up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Zack or Cloud, nor any of the other FFVII characters. Square Enix does.

~*~Log II: Arrival~*~

Slender fingertips traced over the dim silver picture frame, and soft smile quirked at pale pink lips, corners curving upward as blue green eyes softened. Mei reached over and plucked the picture from the nightstand, bringing it to her for closer inspection.

The simple polaroid was of her and an taller dark haired male, both smiling for the camera, despite the sun that beat down behind them. Mei's lips parted. "Zack...you idiot. I miss you." The picture frame fell into her lap as her hands rose to shield her eyes, hoping to stem the sparkling tears that pushed at the edges of her eyes. "Come home..." Twin droplets of sparkling silver slipped through her slender fingers to land on the protective glass of the photograph.

Mei sniffled, shoulders shaking as she desperately tried to stem the tears, stop them from flowing down her cheeks as her breathing hitched, bangs swaying against her forehead in a gentle caress. Lowering her hands once her tears had been momentarily stopped, she wiped away the droplets of liquid from the glass and placed it back on the nightstand before rising from her bed.

Wiping the last of her tears from her eyes, Mei exited her room and headed down the narrow wooden staircase, aged oakwood creaking beneath her weight as one slender hand trailed over the chipped railing. Entering the kitchen, Mei grabbed a small tea pot and placed it on the back burner, filling it with water before lighting the metal coil beneath it and leaning against the counter as she waited for the water to heat up.

Glancing out the window, Mei's blue green eyes met with pitch darkness, the sun having already faded away from the sky, shrouding the small house and surrounding forest in a blanket of shadows. Mei's eyes slid shut as she sighed quietly. It was lonely, to say the least. Silence was her only companion since her mother had passed away, and Zack hadn't visited in more than a year. Just what the hell was that idiot doing, anyway?

Mei was brought out of her thoughts by two sharp knocks at the front door, and her eyes snapped to the large retangle of wood, and the two knocks repeated again, this time more urgent. Mei grumbled something under her breath and leapt off the counter and headed towards the door. The knocking persisted again.

"Alright alright, I'm coming!" she snapped irritably before reaching the door and swinging it open with enough force to nearly rip it off it's rusted hinges. "What the hell do you-" Irritated blue green met with all too familiar mako. "...Want." finished Mei weakly, and her eyes widened in disbelief, irriation melting away instantly, as if it had never been there.

She stood there for a few momets before her lips parted again. "Z-Zack? Is that you?" she asked in a trembling voice, hardly daring to believe it as silence filled the air again for a few seconds before the soft, comforting voice that she had missed so much replied,

"Yeah. It's me."

Mei backed up. "Come in." she said softly before turning as the sound of boots stepping heavily reached her ears, and she placed a few tea leaves in the pot of warm water before turning back around so that she could see her best friend once more.

She could see him more clearly now that he was out of the dark, and she blinked at the subtle- and not so subtle- changes that her friend had gone through in his absence. He was taller, something that Mei internally pouted at, now she would never catch up! But he was somehow more mature, not the silly, joking goof that he had once been. A large buster sword was strapped against his back, a lock of dark hair hanging down in his face as he turned to her. But there was one thing that stood out the most.

Heaved over one large shoulder was a younger male- probably younger than Mei herself- with spikey sunshine hair and dull, glassy mako eyes that glinted in the artificial light of the room as Zack sat him in a chair. Noticing her gaze, Zack smiled softly. "His name is Cloud, by the way."

Mei blinked. "Oh." she breathed as Zack straightened up, and she hesitated before darting forward and nearly tackling him as her arms wound around him, and she buried her face in his chest as his own arms wound around her, holding her close. "I missed you." she whispered, soft voice trembling with tears as she looked at him, and his eyes softened.

"Sorry." he replied, holding her close as he repeated his words, "I'm sorry."

Mei broke away, a ghost of a smile playing around her lips as she turned back to the tea and poured three cups before bringing them to the rickety old table. "If you don't mind me asking, Zack, why are you and Cloud here? I thought you were in SOLDIER." she spoke, and Zack lowered his gaze to the surface of the table.

"Something's come up. Cloud and I defected, they were going to do experiments on us." Zack looked up, mako gaze serious. "Can we stay here for a bit?"

Mei nodded silently, smiling gently as she replied, "Of course. Just wait a minute, okay?" Without saying anything else, Mei rose from the table and grabbed a roughly sewn sack off the counter and stepped outside for a few moments before coming back in, sack empty. At Zack's inquiring gaze, Mei elaborated, "Cloaking Materia."

Zack blinked, raising an eyebrow. "When did you get ahold of cloaking materia?" he questioned, and Mei giggled, holding a finger up to her soft pink lips.

"That's a secret." she said in a teasing tone, though Zack had the feeling that there was more to it than that. Letting it drop for now, he watched as she stepped into the hallway. "Mother didn't change your room from when you stayed here, and there's a spare room that Cloud can use." she said as she pulled a few blankets out of a closet. Zack looked around.

"Where is Satsuki?" he inquired curiously, and Mei fell silent, shoulders slumping as she lowered her gaze. Zack frowned. "Mei?"

"Mother...died a year ago, Zack." she answered softly before looking back up and smiling brightly, though the mako eyed boy knew it was fake. "I'm going to get the beds set up, okay?" she turned and headed down the hall slowly, Zack's gaze trained upon her narrow back.

Mei had grown taller while he had been gone, though that wasn't all that had changed. Her hair now reached her mid back in glistening sheets of mahogany brown, face no longer as childish, ears pierced with small pieces of pale saphhire, most of the light and happiness gone from those sparkling blue green depths. She was dressed a black mid thigh skirt with matching shorts beneath, bindings running down her legs and a sleeveless black leather shirt that showed off her slender, well muscled arms.

Zack frowned. Where was the small girl he had left behind? The one with a too skinny frame, short brown hair and a sarcastic comeback to everything? Lowering his gaze, he chuckled wryly. 'She grew up, I guess.' he thought, looking back up as soft footsteps approached him, and Mei's face entered his vision.

"Zack? Is something wrong?" she asked, worry written on her soft features as she frowned, and Zack shook his head with a small smile.

"No, nothing's wrong. Thanks." he said, and Mei shook her head with a smile.

"It's not a problem, so don't worry about it, 'kay?" she spoke, and she giggled as Zack nodded. Yawning softly, Mei took a seat and propped her head up as she gave her friend a lazy smile. "So, whatcha been up to since you left? 'Cause I don't think blondie will answer if I ask him."

Zack chuckled and smiled warmly. "Now, where do I begin..."

~*~*~*~*~

Zack smiled gently at Mei's sleeping face, brown bangs hanging in her face as her chest rose and fell gently, soft lips parted slightly as she continued to sleep. Standing up, Zack lifted the sleeping female into his arms easily, her weight nothing compared to when he had to lift Cloud up, though the fact that she didn't weigh that much sort of worried him.

Heading up the stairs, Zack turned towards Mei's room and opened the door, a nostalgic smile spreading across his lips as he glanced at the soft mesh of glacier blue and white, and he stepped towards Mei's bed, laying her down before covering her up with the blankets. Glancing over, his eyes softened as he saw the picture on her nightstand. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss against her forehead before turning and leaving.

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Ending Notes: Again, please review. ^^