A/N: hum dee dumm dee darr. I hunger, someone fax me chocolate! Also, I am going to be completely busy for the next month or so.
Keystone chp. 7, the one where stuff happens. (11 oct 09)
--
Vincent's softly glowing eyes tracked Zack as the other man walked back into the campsite. Zack wilted slightly under Vincent's demonic gaze, flopping onto a log by the ashen remains of the campfire.
"I... I found Seph and Cloud," he sighed.
Noting the look on Zack's face, Vincent ventured, "You would have not, by any chance, encountered them in a compromising position, would you?"
"It could have easily been one..." Zack sighed. "This situation, it's..."
Vincent nodded. "It seems... I have been forced to accept that Cloud has a certain amount of romantic interest invested in Sephiroth."
"And Seph's definitely interested too- Cloud's good for him," Zack finished. "Um.... are you okay with this, Vincent? I mean, I know you and Cloud are close..."
"For the longest time, Cloud was the only element in my life which mattered, and I was the only one in that cursed town who actually respected Cloud. He's... he's a bit like a son, to me. Until you two came to the village, Cloud was very unhappy. But the emergence of these two new people that treated him like a human, joked with him and wanted to be friends with him- he's like an almost entirely different person. I've never seen Cloud this happy. So if someone is to steal his heart, then I think I am comfortable with Sephiroth doing it. He... he makes Cloud happy, and that's what matters."
Blinking slightly at what might have been the most Zack had heard the man speak, he added "Well- I know Seph, and I can tell that he basically adores Clo-"
"But if he hurts Cloud," Vincent interrupted , "I will kill him."
"Uh..."
Zack fidgeted a little in the tense silence.
"Want to... play a card game?"
Vincent raised an eyebrow at him.
"...Ever played fifty-two pickup?"
--
Cloud dodged a claw, scooting backwards a little. He felt incredibly overwhelmed- he'd helped kill monsters whilst guarding Keystone, but these were full-fledged beasts! And he didn't think they were entirely natural either, if their feverish eyes and the bile constantly dripping from their mouths were any signal.
He aimed a swing at a nearby tail, ducking yet another claw as the creature tried to attack him. He lifted the sword up to block, but instead just held it there dumbly as Sephiroth came out of nowhere and beheaded the creature. He gave Cloud the barest hint of a smile and a quick once-over with his eyes before disappearing to tackle the next beast. Cloud watched him in awe. Sephiroth moved with an amazing grace and struck like lightning. He looked at Zack, who twirled around his massive steel blade like it was nothing, and then at Vincent who shot his handgun at lightning speed, not a single bullet missing.
They... they're not human, Cloud thought to himself. His insides chilled for a moment, looking at the monsters then his companions. Then an image of the villagers of Keystone came to mind, jeering and tormenting. He was lucky to survive that long in the village, Cloud considered, thinking of the all the lynchings he had witnessed over the years. Then he looked again at his companions- strong fighters and compassionate people that cared for him, useless outcast Cloud. He knew which ones were more human in his eyes.
--
"Cloud," Vincent murmured, looking at him with an unreadable expression. They were alone, Sephiroth and Zack were making sure tonight's campsite was secure whilst the two of them laid a fire.
"Is there something you wanted, Vincent?" Cloud asked, with a niggling feeling that he knew what was coming.
"About Sephiroth and Zack-"
"And... and you too, right Vincent?" Cloud finished softly, looking up into his longtime friend's deep red eyes.
"Yes..." he confirmed, trailing off.
"What... what that scientist, Hojo, did to you and Sephiroth and Zack.... and the Imperial Soldiers I saw in the city, them too.... their eyes glow." Cloud edged forward slightly, resting his hand on Vincent's shoulder. "Vincent, what was Hojo trying to do? What did he get right, with the Soldiers?"
Stunned for a moment by Cloud's perception, Vincent found it hard to continue. "He... I believe he was trying to create a new, better breed of human. I... I was a failure in that experiment. Zack and those Soldiers are where he was victorious, I believe, in creating stronger humans."
"And Sephiroth?" Cloud breathed out.
"Sephiroth... he's something different. Something more like me than you. Something that belongs in myth, not in this world."
"But he- but he's here, Vin. And I lo- I l-like him a l-lot, and I know he's – you guys are all so much more human than the people in Keystone- you- you're my lives, you guys- and-"
Cloud was shaking, nearly crying, and Vincent folded him into his arms, feeling the fine tremors running through Cloud's tense shoulders.
"Ssh... sssh. Everything's going to be alright, Cloud." Vincent murmured. " We might not be human, but-"
"Who cares about what 'human' means!" Cloud shouted with a sob, into Vincent's shoulder. "It's not a-about what you're made up of, or who your parents are, or what colour your hair is, it's about what's on the inside. We're- we're all the same," he finished, whispering.
With a start, Vincent realized that it was possible that Cloud was one of the only blondes amongst the original occupants of Keystone. He rubbed Cloud's back soothingly. "Truer words were never said, Cloud."
--
Leaning against a tree a few metres from the campsite, Zack glanced up at Sephiroth. They'd heard the whole conversation thanks to their unnatural hearing, and now Sephiroth was staring into the distance with what was a mix of confusion and perhaps hope in there. Zack smiled to himself. He was right when he'd told Vincent that Cloud was good for Sephiroth, he mused.
