No, I'm not dead. I just haven't been feeling Final Fantasy lately.
After seeing the FFXIII NA announcement trailer, I'm back though. :3
I'll reply to the reviews you guys left for chapter 5 tomorrow, I'm exhausted XD
Leave a review?
Also, if you guys stuck with this, I love you!
I don't own FFVII.
--
Cloud walks Aerith home from the dance, as Zack leaves soon after without an explanation, and Tifa apologizes to the new couple, but joins their raven-haired friend.
As they approach her porch, Cloud feels his hands start to get sweaty, and he wipes them on his pants, hoping the excessive contact between the rough fabric and his palms isn't that noticeable to Aerith.
As she places a hand on her doorknob, she turns to face Cloud. "Where does this leave us?" She asks, biting her lower lip in thought. Cloud has the sudden urge to kiss those lips again, but he refrains, and wipes his hands on his pants again.
"I . . . don't know Aerith. I mean, I'd like us to be something more, but I don't want to hurt Zack's feelings . . ." Cloud trails off, and suddenly the train that controls his thoughts shoots off as Aerith gives him a peck on the lips. He feels like he's defying gravity.
"I think Zack will be more than happy for us once the . . . shock of it wears off. He's always supported us in anything that either of us has chosen to do, right?"
Cloud sighs as Aerith clasps her hands in front of her, waiting for an answer. "Yea. You're right Aerith. He just wants us to be happy right? Besides, he's leaving in the fall."
Aerith's eyes lose their glint of happiness when Cloud mentions Zack leaving for SOLDIER. "I don't know why he didn't tell us . . ."
Cloud shrugs, biting his tongue. He really doesn't know why Zack hadn't told either of them. He was usually the one telling the two of them everything that was going on in his life. Lately, Zack's just been a little off of his normal self.
When Cloud notices Aerith's hurt expression, he grasps her tiny hand in his larger ones. Despite being a year younger, and small for his age compared to the other boys, Cloud still managed to be bigger than Aerith. "Don't worry, it'll be okay."
Aerith forces a smile as she makes eye contact with him. "I hope so. I really hope so."
--
Zack insists on walking Tifa home, even though they have to pass his house to get to her own. Zack's not entirely romantic about it, and Tifa doesn't mind, but it's nice to know that someone cares about her well-being.
When they pass Zack's house, and Zack keeps walking, Tifa stops and calls out to him. "Isn't this your house?"
Zack whirls around, and his hair looks more messed up than it did a few minutes ago, and his eyes look a little more wild. It's not animalistic though, it's just a stark contrast to the dead Zack that left the dance. "Yea, but it's not yours."
Tifa pulls off her heels to catch up to the older teen as she laughs. "I don't need an escort home, Zack." She then places a light hand on his bicep. She can feel the muscle underneath. Then, sincerely, she adds, "Thank you, though."
Zack shrugs out of her grasp and jams his hands into his pockets. "Never said you needed an escort, but I need some fresh air."
Tifa doesn't bother to point out they've been outside all night, and instead chooses to walk next to him, taking three steps for each of his one.
When they reach Tifa's house, he follows her up the front walk and onto her porch. "Sorry I've been difficult all night, Tifa. Thanks for putting up with it."
Tifa turns around and stares at him, and can't help herself when she gets on her tip-toes and kiss him. It's hard for any girl not to. Especially with his violet eyes so icy right now . . . there's something about that that just calls to Tifa.
She pulls away rather quickly when she realizes Zack isn't kissing back. When she looks at him again, embarrassed, his facial expression is one of sadness. Tifa knows she isn't the girl Zack wants to be kissing.
She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and gives him a rueful smile. "It hurts, doesn't it?"
"I'm sorry, Tifa."
Zack then slowly turns around and walks down her front yard, and it hurts Tifa just to see him walk, his pain a cloud that hovered over everyone, and everything around him. Despite only living her for a short time, she knows what the real Zack is like. And not seeing the real Zack, the Zack that does everything short of defying gravity, it hurts.
Because although Zack doesn't realize it, his emotions are contagious to everyone around him. The way he is, people just can't help but feel what he feels. And when he hurts, people around him hurt, whether they know it or not.
--
Aerith doesn't see Zack for three days, so she decides to go visit him. She wants an explanation for his decision of joining SOLDIER. Zack's father quickly sends her upstairs, and is more than happy to see her.
She knocks on the door his room. When she hears a grunt of acknowledgement, she opens it and steps inside.
Zack is wearing gym shorts and no shirt, and Aerith eye's are instantly drawn to his stomach as he finishes his set of sit-ups.
Aerith has seen Zack without a shirt off on multiple occasions, and before it's never affected her, but now it does. Maybe it was because of the dance, or maybe it was because Zack has never been this in shape before.
He leaps upwards as he finishes and grabs a towel to wipe the sweat off his face. "What's up?" He asks, his voice cheery as he passes her and stands underneath his doorway. Without waiting for a response he jumps up and grabs onto the newly installed pull-up bar and begins to lift.
Aerith completely forgets what she came to talk about. Stumbling quite a bit, she manages to get out, "I haven't seen you since the dance, how are you?"
In between breaths, he replies. "I'm . . . good . . . never . . . better . . . you?" He lets out a loud exhale each time he pulls up, and Aerith has to sit on his bed when she sees the way his muscles flex.
"Fine," she says, smoothing the dress she's wearing subconsciously. She smacks the bed as she remembers why she came. "Why are you joining SOLDIER?"
Zack drops down and grins at her, cracking his neck. "Figured it'd be fun. It's basically the military, but the best of the best. Angeal is a General there! I'm also the first person from Gongaga to do it. I'm basically defying gravity!"
Angeal has been Zack's childhood hero ever since Zack watched the news about the war in Wutai. Strong, tall, and stoic, he was a role-model for young boys, and an item of lust for the girls.
"You could get killed!" Aerith suddenly cries out, and Zack sticks a finger in his ear and starts digging it around, mocking her for the volume with which she spoke.
"Come on," Zack jokes, flexing his biceps, "you really think someone could take this down?" When Aerith just stares at him, he takes her response negatively and grabs a shirt to put on. "I was only kidding. Besides, you and Cloud are together now, I don't wanna be the awkward third wheel."
Aerith grabs him and pulls him onto the bed abruptly, and he gives her a lopsided grin as he crashes down next to her. "What is with you?" she asks. "At the dance you couldn't stand to see Cloud and I kissing. Now you're joking about us being together?"
Zack leans back and lies down on his bed, sticking his hands behind his head. "Look Aerith, I just want you to be happy. I've already has this discussion with Cloud the day after the dance."
"I know you Zack. You're not happy. You're faking it."
Zack scoffs as he brushes her off. "That's a little cocky, isn't it Aerith? Assuming that I can't stand to see you and Cloud together?" He leans closer until their noses are touching. She can feel his warm breath on her lips. "Are you implying I want to be with you?"
"I'm just implying that . . ." Aerith can't remember what she wants to say and she goes off into a series of mumbles.
Zack places two strong hands, hands that are noticeably stronger than Cloud's, on her shoulders, and he pulls back slightly to rest his forehead on her's. "Look, Aerith, I'm your best friend. Cloud is your boyfriend. I'm fine with that. Just . . . don't tell me when you two do the nasty. Because that is nasty."
Aerith can't help but burst into giggles and she falls forward, almost tipping off the bed. Zack quickly grabs her and pulls her into his arms, and she wraps her arms around him, feeling his strong muscles. She can't remember the last time she's been this happy since she and Zack fought about Cissnei.
--
It's two weeks later, and Cloud and Zack are in downtown Gongaga, where only a few decrepit buildings stand, but it's sufficient for what Zack is trying to show Cloud.
Aerith offered to go, but Zack quickly explained to her that she wouldn't enjoy what he and Cloud were going to do. Cloud doesn't notice that ever since he and Aerith have been together have the three of them hung out as a group.
Cloud crosses his arms as he stands, staring at Zack. "So, what are we doing?" He's standing straighter than he used to, and there's an air of confidence that surrounds him that wasn't there before he and Aerith started dating. Sure, he was still best friends with Zack, but in the two weeks, he hadn't been picked on once, and it wasn't because Zack was there. In fact, though Cloud didn't believe it, rumor had it that Zack couldn't care less whether or not Cloud was beaten into a bloody pulp.
Zack gives him the characteristic cocky half-smirk. "Ever heard of parkour?" he asks.
Cloud shakes his head. Zack laughs and sprints forward, straight towards the building in front of him. Cloud stares at him, mouth agape, expecting Zack to just run straight into the brick. Instead, when a few feet away, Zack jumps up, places one foot onto the brick, and pushes off, propelling himself a few more feet higher and his hands grasp onto a tiny ledge that Cloud didn't see before.
Zack bobs up and down a couple times before pulling himself up onto the next tiny ledge. He does this until he gets to the top of the building. After clambering onto the roof, he turns to Cloud and shouts down to him, "Come on!"
Cloud just stands there, dumbstruck. What Zack just did seems incomprehensible. He just scaled a ten foot building by literally running up it.
Zack chuckles. "It's a requirement for SOLDIER." Lately, the motivation for everything Zack does is that it's a 'requirement for SOLDIER'. "It's not that hard. Just grab onto the ledges and pull yourself up."
Cloud nods and smiles at Zack. He takes a few steps back before sprinting forward. He jumps at the wall and pushes off of it, and grabs the same ledge Zack grasped onto only a few moments earlier. He grabs the next ledge, and the next, and works his way up the building, albeit at a much slower pace as Zack.
When he gets to the top, Zack grabs his wrist and hoists the blonde up. Cloud rolls on the gravel roof before sitting up.
"Now, to get to the next building," Zack says, gesturing to the building next to them. There's quite a large gap between the two buildings, but Zack seems confident.
He sprints forward again, and leaps as his feet reach the end of the rooftop. He goes sailing over the gap and as soon as his feet touch down on the next rooftop he drops down into a roll. "Remember to roll!" he calls to Cloud. "It reduces the impact."
Cloud slowly walks over to the edge and peers over. It looks a lot higher than ten feet from up here. "Come on!" Zack calls to him with an encouraging tone.
After a few minutes of contemplation, Cloud takes a chance and clears the gap, landing on the rooftop and rolling, ending up right next to Zack.
Zack offers Cloud a hand to help him up, and with a smile, says to him, "Easy, right? It's like defying gravity."
--
Aerith pulls away from the kiss and repositions herself on Cloud's lap. They're sitting on the armchair in Aerith's room, and they're lucky Elmyra trusts them enough not to come check on them.
She has a frown on her face, and it quickly brings Cloud back from the euphoria he was in. "What's wrong?" he asks, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
"Zack. He's leaving in a month. We need to plan a going away party."
Cloud bites the inside of his cheek. There were two reasons he wasn't saying anything. First, he was shocked at how Aerith thought up Zack's going away party while they were kissing, and second, he really wasn't good at planning parties.
Aerith snaps her fingers as she pushes herself out of the chair. "I got it, a surprise party!"
"A surprise party?" Cloud asks incredulously.
"Well why not? He's doing the impossible. He's getting out of this backwater town to go be in the elite," and then, quoting him, she adds, "He's defying gravity. He deserves something big!"
Cloud crosses his arms, furrowing his brows. Aerith doesn't notices they're not furrowed in thought. "Yea. Something big."
--
As you probably noticed, I fit "defying gravity" into each little segment. I'm going to start doing that. Make the title a phrase that I fit into every segment. It seems like something challenging and fun. Hope it worked!
So this chapter was mainly fluff, as will the next few chapters be. I'll admit, I like writing fluff, and it helps to develop the relationships between the three of them.
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-The Lone Wanderer