Wow, this is really the last chapter… I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it- and to The Stained Narrator and xSTARTxSOMETHINGx, thanks so much for the help and the challenges. I'd be nowhere without you crazy kids!

So, without further ado, I present the finale of

"Apples"

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Chapter Seven

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"I love you, Cid."

Cid leant back in his chair, sighing as he looked at Zack, upside down. "I know you do, Zack. I love you too."

Wrapping his arms around Cid's shoulders, Zack leant over to kiss him on the forehead. "It'll be worth all this hassle when you're in space," Zack reassured him. "Trust me." Cid took hold of Zack's fingers.

"I know..."

"Fair!"

Zack froze, fingers curling into Cid's shirt. "U-uh..."

"Fair!"

"I-I'll be right out..." Zack called back over his shoulder. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised apologetically, before leaving Cid on his own in the darkened room.

In only three months' time, Cid's workload had become next to unbearable. He never got morning breaks now, and barely managed to get out for lunch. Not that it mattered, because as the weather steadily got worse, Zack and his troop retreated from the fields for more advanced indoor training.

Sometimes they used to see each other at night; Zack sneaking out of the barracks to check up on Cid, who was working even at night and practically living in his office now. The visits eventually stopped as well; Zack told Cid over the phone that the SOLDIERs were sick of being taught by a sleep-deprived instructor. Today was the first time in ages that Zack had appeared.

Cid sighed and tried to refrain from bashing his head off the desk. It was hard to believe he'd ever been able to afford to run off from work into Midgar with Zack. He smiled briefly at the memory. He could hardly wait until the project was finished so he could take Zack out for more days like that.

The pilot shook his head. He couldn't think like that. Space was his dream, not just another job to get done. All the same, at this stage, with the goal so close but with so much work left to do, it was easy to wish it was all over. Cid tried and failed for the umpteenth time to focus on the papers before him.

"C'mon," he muttered, pulling a cigarette from the packet he'd taken to keeping in the strap of his goggles and lighting it with a match. "Back to work. C'mon, c'mon..."

---

"Honestly, Zack, what are you thinking? Do you expect Cloud to cover you every single time you feel like seeing your boyfriend?"

Zack looked down, scratching one leg with the other foot. "I- he just seemed so depressed, and I thought-"

"Don't bother making excuses. You have a duty, and it's not something you can just leave to someone like Cloud."

"He's a First-Class, Seph! Same as us! He can take care of things fine, and he offered to cover for me every time! You gotta stop thinkin' of him as some kid!"

Sephiroth closed his eyes and sighed. "You are dismissed. It's too late to start any new drills. Go back to your room and don't leave it again."

Zack gritted his teeth and gave a half-assed salute. "Sir, yes sir," he sulked, wandering off in the direction of the barracks.

---

"I love you, Cid..."

I love you too, Zack.

"...but you see, I'm gonna die..."

What the-

"...unless you find me an apple."

An apple?

"Not just any apple, but the apple in the boot..."

Boot of what...?

"Go find General Sephiroth, because Cloud's wearing the boot..."

What the hell are you talking about?

"...and the golden chocobo wants to eat the apple too, so wake up Captain, Captain, wake up, wake up-"

"Captain, wake up. You're sleeping on your desk, Captain. There's a pencil stuck to your forehead, Captain."

Cid's eyes opened to see a young engineer gazing worriedly at him with a pencil in his fingers. "Uh, I took the pencil off, Captain..."

Blinking, Cid slowly took the pencil from the young man before him. "Uh. Yeah. Thanks, kid."

As the kid shuffled out of the darkened office, Cid looked at the sheets of paper on his desk, trying to find his place. Scanning numbers and letters, he stopped suddenly. He was done?

Wow. He must have fallen asleep just after finishing. He glanced at the clock hanging on the wall- it was half-three.

Would Zack still be awake? Cid pulled another cigarette from his goggles. Even if he was, Cid didn't know which room was his, nor did he know whether he would be allowed into the barracks. It wasn't likely. He lit the cigarette and took a long, soothing drag, switching on one of the computers that sat in the shadows.

He stabbed in his username and password. Right... all he had to do was send a message to Palmer's crew confirming that the work was complete, and then he could go home. Then again, his nap hadn't refreshed him much, and he wasn't sure if he could be bothered driving all the way back to his house, or even if it was safe for him to.

There was a sudden ding as the 'new message' icon began to bounce at the bottom of his screen. "Oh, fuck," he muttered around the white stick. "If this is more work for tonight..."

But it wasn't. The address wasn't one he knew, but he recognised it as a SOLDIER's from the string of numbers at the end.

Cid's heart gave a leap as he opened it.

"Dear Cid.

I have a day out on Thursday with Seph and Spike. You should come with us. They'll be off doing whatever they do, so they won't mind. Seph can get you off work.

Love you.

-Zack xxx"

Cid- sleep deprived as he was- almost dropped from his chair. Thursday, Thursday... two days from now. He smiled to himself, before stubbing out the half-smoked cigarette in an ashtray on his desk, stumbling over to the battered old settee in the corner and collapsing on top of it.

---

"M-Mr Zack, sir?"

Zack looked around for the source of the timid voice, seeing a pale brown-haired woman in a white coat, looking completely out of place among the loud, buzzing SOLDIERs in the hall.

"Yup, that's me," he called back, striding over to the woman. "What can I do for ya?"

"My name's Shera... I-I'm from the space project," she explained, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the roar. "Cid's been sick all day-"

"What? You mean he- OI, CUT THAT OUT!" Zack wheeled around mid-stride to reprimand a rogue cadet. "Enough! If any'a you brats casts one more Haste, I swear-"

He turned back to the woman with a sour look on his face as glowing clocks began to swim once more through the hall. "Err, you were saying?" he shouted over the now-hyperactive babble.

"Um, yes, Cid's been sick," Shera repeated. "He woke up a while ago and asked me to tell you that he'd-"

A SOLDIER crashed into the wall behind her, twitching in a crumpled heap at an unnatural speed. Zack pulled the boy up by his collar and hurled him back into the crowd.

"Err... that he wants to come with you tomorrow. He thinks he'll be alright- he's been working too hard, so I've-" here she had to start shouting to be heard through the din, "been covering for him."

Zack moved forward and hugged the engineer, grinning. "Thanks, miss, you're a dear," he bellowed, and she smiled briefly before hurrying out.

"Who was that, Zack?" Cloud suddenly howled, jogging up from the other side of the hall. "New love interest?"

"Shut up, moron," Zack bawled back. "Or I'll tell Seph you're proposing tonight."

"Idiot!" Cloud shrieked. "It was meant to be a surprise!"

Zack stared at him, before Cloud stuck his tongue out, giggling, and disappeared back into the blur of bodies.

---

"So..."

They'd been marching along in silence for so long, Cid finally felt obliged to take a stab at making conversation, however flimsy a stab it was. No one responded, Zack only giving him a small smile.

Cloud had his arm tentatively linked with the General's, gazing up at the man's passive expression. Zack was walking happy enough between the couple and Cid, leaving the pilot feeling somewhat isolated.

"Uh, so what's the plan?" Cid asked quietly, talking more to Zack than the whole group.

"It's a picnic," Cloud chirped merrily as Sephiroth lifted the basket he held in his other hand. "We're gonna find a nice sunny place to eat."

Cid nodded idly, inching closer to Zack. "Sounds nice." He was really dying for a smoke, but he feared what the consequences would be of smoking in front of three immensely powerful health-conscious SOLDIERs. Instead he chewed on the inside of his cheek, watching the grey terrain pass beneath his feet.

"Here looks good!" Zack suddenly exclaimed as they reached a sparse grassy patch, taking the blanket from under his arm and throwing it out over the ground. Sephiroth laid the basket neatly in the centre, Cloud pulling paper plates and plastic cutlery out. Cid, standing awkwardly at the side, noticed Cloud's footwear bore a suspicious resemblance to the boot Cid encountered on his very first day.

That dream... maybe it was a sign. All he needed was a golden chocobo and an-

"Hey, catch!"

-apple, which Zack had just tossed him. "It's like our thing, isn't it, these apples?" Zack grinned, sticking his tongue out at Sephiroth and Cloud. "What's your thing, guys?" Teasing ignored, Zack tore a bite out of another apple, dragging Cid by the jacket sleeve down onto the ground with him. "This is gonna be fun!" Zack cheered, mouth full.

Sephiroth sniffed, pulling sandwiches from the basket. Cloud gave a weak smile, with a plate in his hands that bore a giant red jelly bigger than his head- hair included. Noticing Zack's expression fall, Cid spoke up.

"Course it will be, Zack," he grinned, raising his own apple to his mouth.

---

"Can't see any stars," Cloud remarked. Sephiroth turned his head slightly to look at the blonde. "So what?" The sky was dark blue with a rippling, translucent green veil trailing from Midgar.

"You could see a lot of stars back in Nibelheim, that's all," Cloud commented lightly, shifting closer to Sephiroth. "Least it's warmer out here, though- hey, hang on..."

Cloud half-sat up, looking around over the remains of the picnic. For the majority of the day, Cid had stayed by Zack's side, barely saying a word, apparently intimidated by the great General Sephiroth's presence. Now the two were nowhere to be seen.

"Maybe they just wanted to be alone," Sephiroth offered, stretching a little. "I've told you before, Zack can take care of himself."

---

"Isn't this perfect?"

Cid hummed in reply, tugging gently at one of Zack's spikes. "Can't wait to get up there."

Lying out here under the night sky had rekindled Cid's dream of going into space. He almost wanted to get back to the office to get more work done, but not quite- not when Zack was lying warm under his arm like this. They had left Sephiroth and Cloud a while ago, wandering around Midgar's outskirts until they'd settled on this spot.

Zack pressed closer to Cid, rolling on top of him. "Love you, Zack," Cid said in a low voice as Zack shuffled up so they were face-to-face. Grinning, he kissed the man below him, rolling them both over in the dust. "Let's go back," Zack murmured as they broke apart. "Let's go to my apartment."

---

This was it.

Cid took a sharp intake of breath as he took in the sight before him. This was really happening. A shiver ran along his spine. His hands were shaking.

"Captain?"

Cid snapped out of his reverie and turned to the woman beside him. "What? What is it?" He tried to keep the edge out of his voice.

"Captain, it's just..."

As she trailed off, Cid's attention slipped back to the rocket before him. It shone brilliantly in the sunlight, piercing the endless blue behind it. Tomorrow, Cid would be sitting in there. Tomorrow Cid would be sitting in space.

"...and I think it might cause some trouble."

"What- what was that, Shera?" The pilot was now focused on her once more.

She didn't seem to mind much. "Th-the oxygen tank, Captain. Tank eight. We were running a check yesterday, and we found something wedged inside it..."

Cid had a sudden feeling of impending doom. "A boot, right? A nasty, half-fried, mud-caked old boot, right?"

Shera blinked behind her glasses. "Yes, it was. You're so smart, Captain."

"Yeah, yeah. So what's the problem? If you need to get it out, I can manage that..." So it hadn't been Cloud's.

"No, that's not the problem. We got it out, but I'm just concerned that there might be lasting damage done to the tank..."

Cid waved a hand dismissively. "I found the same damn thing in the Highwind ages back. Didn't do any damage there. Don' worry 'bout it. "

"But Captain-"

"That's 'nough about it, Sher. If we delay any more, ShinRa could cut off our funds an' the whole thing could end up scrapped. I ain't lettin' that happen."

---

"Jeez, Cid, I really wish I could be there."

Zack leant against the wall beside the phone, twirling the cord around one finger. "Yeah. I'll be there tomorrow, definitely. I'm not lettin' you go off into space without saying goodbye, man! Dunno when I'll get there, though..."

He paused for a moment. "Nope, I won't be able to go with you from Junon. Got a drill in the morning... but I'll head out as soon as it's over. Yeah. Alright, see ya then. Love you too. Bye."

Hanging the phone up, Zack stuck his hands in his pockets and started to make his way up the corridor, heading for the cafeteria. Maybe he could find another nice apple to send Cid away with.

"Hey, Seph," he greeted, seeing the silver-haired man approaching. He slung an arm casually over his shoulders. "How you been?"

Sephiroth had a stressed, somewhat irritated look on his usually composed face, and Zack hastily backed off as those eyes turned to glare at him. "Uh, well I'll just be on my way-"

"Actually, I was looking for you. I have bad news, Zack." Zack froze, expression hardening.

"What is it? Has something happened?"

Sephiroth sighed, looking down. "Something's come up. It's an emergency mission, requiring you, Cloud and myself, as well as a few others from the guard."

Zack suddenly felt cold. "Don't tell me..."

"We're leaving tomorrow night. I'm sorry Zack, but there's no way you'll be able to go to the rocket launch."

"You're kidding me! Find someone else to go, I'm not doing it!"

"Zack, there is no one else-"

"I don't care! Do it by yourself! Don't you do this to me!"

"Don't be ridiculous Zack. You don't have a choice in the matter- neither of us do. People's lives are in danger. We need you."

Zack grimaced as he felt his eyes burning. Sephiroth saw it, placing a hand on Zack's shoulder in an unusually caring gesture. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do."

Zack turned and marched off down the hallway, disappearing into his room and slamming the door.

---

That was it. It was over. Cid slumped in his chair, still staring in disbelief at the unlit control panel before him. It was all over.

And for what? Angrily, he tore a cigarette from his goggles and lit it. All because that woman couldn't leave something be. Only minutes after he aborted the launch, the call had come. ShinRa was giving up on the space program. That was it. The end. Cid's dream was gone.

At least Zack hadn't been there to see it. Maybe the SOLDIER would have arrived sometime between the supposed take-off and the crash landing. Slowly, he rose from the chair and left the room, left the rocket and looked around.

Nothing. Only a handful of engineers looking at the sad tower, their own dreams dashed as much as his were. And Shera, that damned woman, right in the front. Cid closed his eyes and tried to control himself. He just had to spend the night here, and then he could go back and see Zack again.

He made his way down the stairs, eying the tents that ShinRa staff had set up after the crash. Even though the sun was only just setting, he chose one and climbed inside, ignoring the crew's condolences, ignoring Shera's apologies, and tried to sleep.

---

The doors to ShinRa HQ slid open, same as they had for months. The foyer still buzzed with workers coming and going. The stairs still led up to the office. The window still looked out to the SOLDIER fields, though it was now filled with some fresh faces. The office door was the same as usual, gleaming wood with a brass handle.

This would be the last time Cid saw any of it.

He opened the door slowly, almost savouring the small piece of familiarity. Then he made his way over to his desk and began to pack his things into a small briefcase.

He managed a smile despite himself- nearly all his worldly stationary had made its way in here. Pencils, erasers, rulers, compasses- even a pen with a rocket-shaped lid from God knows how long ago. Halfway through clearing the desk, he noticed a piece of paper with his name on it. Some kind of letter of apology from President Shinra? An invitation to tea from Palmer?

Cid opened it slowly, chewing his lip as he read.

"Dear Cid,

First off, I'm really sorry I couldn't make it to the launch. I heard about what happened from one of the cadets and I can't even imagine how bad you must feel. I wish I could be there for you in person, but this letter will just have to do.

Me, Spike and Seph were all called out for a top-priority mission. Something's up with a reactor in this tiny little place called Nibelheim. Cloud's really excited- it's his hometown, and he hasn't been back since he was fourteen. I should be back in a few days, a week tops. Until then, I hope you do OK, and don't get too down. Just remember when I get back we'll go flying, and it'll be really great and amazing.

Oh, by the way, this was the last one I found in the cafeteria, so I hope it's still nice by the time you find it.

Love Zack xxx"

Cid smiled as he glanced at his desk. Zack had left him an apple.

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-The End-

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