Disclaimer: All characters except Harley, Tempest and Winchester belong to Square Enix, I just brought them out to play!
000
Everything was a blur. One minute he was staring at Angeal's smiling face. The next he was staring up at a dark green ceiling and something was covering his nose and mouth. His chest felt terribly heavy, but he could still breathe, although the air smelled funny. He tried moving his limbs, they were sluggish, it took too much effort, and he felt so tired already. Perhaps he would just sleep a little longer…
000
There was only darkness when he opened his eyes again, except for a pillar of light radiating from his bedside. Angeal was sitting there smiling down at him. Zack gaped in disbelief as a beautiful white wing sprouted from his right side.
Zack's eyes followed a stray feather as it floated down into his hand. "I'm dreaming."
"Yes, you are," Angeal said gently, running a hand through Zack's hair. Not in the usual "puppy" ruffle, but a smooth caress that slid down to Zack's cheek and along his jaw to his chin where Angeal tilted it up so Zack's face would meet his own. "But it is a good dream."
Slowly Angeal leaned his face down and gently pressed his lips to Zack's. The younger soldier felt a warm sensation running up and down his spine and then into his groin. Zack opened his mouth allowing Angeal entrance even before his mentor asked. Angeal's tongue gently brushed the inside of Zack's mouth and across his tongue. But just as Zack began to melt completely into the kiss, Angeal pulled away. Zack whimpered as the warmth of Angeal's lips left his and looked at him with expectant eyes.
"It's time for you to wake," He explained gently.
"I don't want to wake I wanna stay here with you," Zack begged.
"And I want to stay here too, but you must wake now. Wake up Zack …. Wake up….
Zack let out a small groan as he opened his eyes. Angeal wasn't there. Zack's eyes snapped fully open and he sat up with a start looking around frantically for his mentor. He instantly regretted the sudden movement as the whole world around him began to spin and the side of his head pulsed with pain. Zack held his head between his legs and after a few the throbbing pain in his head stopped and when he lifted his head the world had stopped spinning.
Still Angeal wasn't there. It had been just a dream, but oh what a wonderful dream. He'd had fantasies about Angeal before, being a sixteen, going on seventeen year old boy it was not so unnatural. He was willing to admit he had a bit of a crush on his mentor, but then a lot of people did, after Angeal was one of the elite of the elite and very handsome to boot. Zack assumed his dreams had resulted from that or perhaps from a desire to see his stoic, controlled mentor let go of his inhibitions once and awhile.
However, this one was different from the other fantasies, which usually involved Angeal rather animalistically tearing off Zack's clothes and the two of them getting right to it like rabbits. Even though they had only kissed in that dream, it felt more intimate, more… real.
"Welcome back to the land of the conscious," a tired but cheery voice knocked Zack out of his reverie.
Zack looked up and saw Dr. Harley standing in front of him, the man looked weary but his smile was warm nonetheless. Zack felt a little embarrassed that the doc had snuck up on him so easily. At least the staff had put him in some clothes after the operation.
"Uh, thanks." Zack absently rubbed the back of his head. "How'd it go?"
"See for yourself," Harley grinned as he lifted back part of the blanket that covered Zack's ankle. "It looks as good as new on the x-rays as well."
The young soldier let out a small gasp, his ankle looked like nothing had happened. "Wow, you guys are good."
"Well not to brag, but yes, yes we are," Harley smiled. "Though I admit we had some help from a couple of cure materia. But if I were you I would wait a little more before trying it out, you might still be groggy from the operation. We want to monitor you for at least another few hours. Also we want to you to just plain rest up. I know how you SOLDIERs can't stand to sit still for too long, but you've got too if you want to get back on your feet quickly."
Zack smiled and nodded. "Thanks doc. Oh and uh thanks for the clothes too."
"Well it is a bit chilly this morning," Harley chuckled.
"Morning?" Zack's eyebrows shot up. "How long have I been out?"
"Since about 1700 hours last night," Harley said casually. "The operation itself took five hours and then the recovery period from the anesthetic, plus you dozed off and on for awhile before you fell asleep fully."
"Oh…" Zack murmured. "I guess that's why Angeal isn't here."
"Yeah," Harley nodded. "General Hewley and the others went to take back Pachua, haven't heard any official news yet, but the outcome should come soon. But in the meantime," He reached into the back pocket of his scrubs. "He left a little memento for you."
The surgeon held out a small stuffed moogle with a note attached to it. Zack took it with wide eyes. Angeal? His Angeal? A stuffed animal lover?
"Take good care of that," Harley said pointedly at him. "I know Angeal's had Scruffy at least since he was your age."
"Scruffy," Zack murmured, removing the note.
"I'll let you two get acquainted, I need some rest myself." Harley chuckled and walked away quietly.
Zack tucked scruffy under his arm and read the letter.
"Zack,
I hope you are feeling well. Harley informed me your leg will be fully recovered and as good as new by the time you are fully awake. I know I said I would be at your side, but the battle to retake Pachua is upon us and they need my strength. I hope this little good luck charm of mine will suffice in my absence. His name is Scruffy and he seen me though a lot of battles and even took a bullet for me. I promise I will be back soon.
- Angeal"
Zack felt a lump rise in his throat and his eyes begin to water. Angeal had taken the time to write him a note and leave a precious memento for him. His mind flitted back to his dream of Angeal speaking so kindly, so softly. Zack could imagine him speaking the words of the letter in that same voice. It soothed him and the same time made him feel so sad.
He realized he missed Angeal terribly and wanted nothing more than his mentor to walk through the doorway of the medical unit and hold him, kiss him just as he had done in the dream.
Zack mentally scolded himself for thinking those thoughts. He had be strong like a SOLDIER, not weeping every time Angeal walked away, plus he should not be thinking these thoughts at all, Angeal was his mentor not his lover right?
Zack slumped back against his pillow. It was all so confusing. He held up Scruffy to his face. "Nice to meet ya' Scruffy. Since I can't hug Angeal, can I hug you instead?"
The toy made no protest and even seemed to smile at him, so Zack tucked him under his arm and shut his eyes, hoping deep down that he would have the same dream again, and it wouldn't be only a dream...
000
Zack awoke to the sounds of cheers and whoops from outside the medical unit. Zack sat up, slowly this time, and called to one of the medics passing by.
"Hey, what's going on?" Zack croaked out, his vocal cords still waking up.
"Don't know, haven't been outside yet," The medic said hastily before dashing off to tend to another patient.
Zack was slightly miffed that he'd gotten the brush off, but no doubt the medic had to see to something important. However the medic did not get very far, for on the other side of the curtain separating Zack's bed from the others he could hear the medic being addressed by someone else.
"Do you know if Zackary Fair is awake yet?" a calm voice asked.
For a split second Zack's heart leaped, for he thought it was the person he'd been longing to see. However, he quickly realized that the voice wasn't deep enough to be Angeal.
From around the corner appeared a young man not much older than Zack himself. His dark brown hair cropped short in back then the longer bangs dyed bleach blonde in front carefully molded so they would not block his vision. Zack knew he'd seen this face before, but he couldn't quite place it.
"Oh good you are awake," The other SOLDIER smiled, grabbing a nearby stool to sit down next to Zack. "You probably don't remember me, I'm Lieutenant Anton Tempest. I aided you in the fight before."
"Oh yeah!" Zack beamed at him when the face finally clicked to the memory. "Thanks for saving my ass man, er, sir."
"No problem, it's what SOLDIER teamwork is all about." Tempest grinned. "I got a message from General Hewley. He says if he is not back by the time you are released from the med unit, you are to hang out with me and my group until he gets back. He said he wants me to make sure you don't get into too much trouble."
Zack rolled his eyes. "Angeal…"
"General Hewley is a good man, you're lucky to under his wing." Anton's smile grew calmer, almost thoughtful.
Zack smiled back fondly. "Yeah I know, but sometimes I wish he would trust me a little more."
Tempest nodded slowly. "I see... Well I've said what I came to say. So I'd better get going and let you rest."
"Wait," Zack caught the other man's wrist as he got up. "I've rested long enough. Could you stay and talk with me for a bit? I mean if you don't have something pressing right away."
Tempest considered Zack for a moment. The boy looked so pitiful at the idea of being left alone, Tempest couldn't fight it. He sat back down. "I can stay for a bit. Anything in particular you want to talk about?"
"Yeah, what was the commotion about a little while ago?" Zack raised an eyebrow.
"Oh we just received news that Pachua is now back under SOLDIER control." Tempest grinned.
"Awesome!" Zack cheered, startling a couple of nearby medics, so he lowered his voice. "Course it was almost a given with Sephiroth and Angeal there."
"And General Winchester," Tempest added.
"General Winchester?"
"Expert in firearms, explosives and other munitions," Tempest said calmly, though there was a prideful smile on his face.
Zack quirked an eyebrow. Anton talked about Winchester the way he talked about Angeal. A mischievous grin spread across Zack's face. "You admire him?"
"Very much," Tempest nodded, and added a knowing wink. "About as much as you admire General Hewley."
"Uh yeah," Zack looked away to hide the blush forming on his cheeks. He made a quick move to turn the conversation back onto Tempest. "So Winchester was your mentor?"
Anton's face saddened a little and he shook his head. "No, but I wish he had been when I was younger." He let out a humorless laugh. "Ironically, Winchester took my mentor's spot as Lieutenant General after he…"
Tempest trailed off suddenly, swallowing hard.
"After he…?" Zack repeated gently. "Was your mentor killed?"
Anton shook his head, his voice was still calm and stoic, but there was an edge of iciness in it. "That would be too honorable a way to go for him."
Zack furrowed his brow. "What happened?"
Tempest gave him an apologetic, but serious look. "I would rather not talk about it, if you don't mind."
Zack nodded slowly, not satisfied at all with the answer, but he did not want to push and prod someone who was being nice to him. "I understand. How about a change of subject?" He looked tempest up and down. "How old are you?"
Tempest blinked in surprise. " Well that is quite a change of subject, but if you wish to know, I am twenty."
Zack's jaw nearly dropped. "Dude, that's only three years older than me, and already a first class?"
Tempest nodded calmly. "Was elevated about a year and half ago, I think circumstances more than anything else rushed me through the program. But I'm still alive and got a promotion on my own two feet out here in Wutai, so I must be doing something right." He chuckled.
Zack's eyes widened even more. "That means you were 18, 19 at the time?!"
" Eighteen and a half," Tempest shrugged. "Sephiroth still holds the record though at sixteen."
"Yeah, well that's the General." Zack waved it off. "We can't put him in the same category as us mere mortals."
Tempest laughed. "Very true. Now what about you?"
"What about me?" Zack raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, is it safe to assume that this is your first deployment?" He asked.
Zack blushed, looking a little forlorn. "Is it that obvious?"
Tempest shook his head. "Your third class uniform gave you away."
"Oh," Zack murmured feeling a little bit better. "Yeah, it's my first."
"Don't worry." Tempest patted Zack on the back. "On my first time out here I took a big piece of shrapnel to the shoulder and it ripped up my rotator cuff really bad."
"Rotator cuff?" Zack asked, wondering if he should take that optional anatomy and physiology course after all.
"Basically, it's all the muscles around your shoulder. They work together to make your shoulder move." Tempest explained, rolling his shoulder for emphasis. "But I remember my first OR, even when they transfuse blood into you and use cures on the incisions, you still feel wasted."
"Yeah, it really sucks," Zack grumbled resting his head on his hand. "I say we call for another subject change. So other than saving my ass, what do you like to do?"
Tempest chuckled. "You won't believe it."
"Oooh really?" A sly grin crossed Zack's face. "Something good? Go on! What is it?"
Tempest rubbed the back of his head looking a little embarrassed. ""Well some of my fellow soldiers and I, when we're not all stationed off in separate places, he kind of formed a rock band"
Zack's eyes went wide and he looked absolutely delighted. "Dude! Now recognize your name! Are you the same Anton Tempest, who's the lead singer from "No Man's Land" the underground SOLDIER band?"
Tempest nodded.
"Dude! My friend Kunsel is such a big fan, he is gonna freak when I tell him Anton Tempest saved my life!" Suddenly Zack began searching the bed and the pockets of his patient gown. "Damn there's got to be something around here you can autograph for him."
Tempest chuckled. "I wouldn't worry too much, 'No Man's Land' may not last.
Zack looked crestfallen. "How come?"
Tempest shrugged, his shoulders slumping after they had finished their rise. "Well with all the extra duties as a first class SOLDIER and a lieutenant and with all of us deployed in different places and having leave at different times it's hard to get together to record new songs. Ozzie Hendrix our lead guitarist is the only other one in this encampment, and that was just by shear chance, his company came to reinforce us."
Zack nodded slowly. "I didn't think about it that way. Boy is Kunsel gonna be disappointed."
"Well never count the chocobos before they're hatched, anything a can happen." Tempest smiled again. "So now that you know about me, what about you?"
"Well I like motor biking. They've got that badass track to test the military motorcycles at the ShinRa compound. What a rush!" Zack practically bounced in bed.
"Been in any of the ShinRa races?"
Zack nodded vigorously. "Yeah and won a couple too, and I've done some of the stunt competitions. Though Angeal doesn't approve, he's afraid I'll be reckless and break my neck."
"I have to agree on that one, you've got more nerve than me." Tempest shook his head, and let out a small laugh. "I only ride the bikes to get from one place to another. Though I have to admit the "rush" effect is quite nice."
"Amen to that!" Zack pumped his fist into the air, and winced when it tugged on one of his IVs.
Tempest winced too. "Gotta watch those. It's even worse when it gets pulled out, cause you also get yelled at by one of the medics."
Zack covered his arm. "Thanks for the heads up," he whispered.
"Hey, what's that?" Tempest pointed to the stuffed moogle at Zack's side.
"Oh, a little memento General Hewley left to keep me company." Zack grinned holding up Scruffy.
"General Hewley? Really?" Anton poked Scruffy gently.
"Full of surprises ain't he?" Zack chuckled.
"Yes," Tempest smiled fondly at the toy, though Zack noticed a slight sadness in his eyes. "Does General Hewley treat you well?"
Zack beamed at all the good thoughts of Angeal and he hugged Scruffy close. "Yeah. He can get on my case a lot, but only because he cares and wants me to be the best I can be. And in truth he puts up with a lot of stupid stuff from me. "
"So he's just as honorable and noble as he seems." Anton's smile grew even more, but so did the sadness in his eyes.
"Yes, he is," Zack said looking down at Scruffy. "I wouldn't want anyone else."
Tempest's eyes shifted to the floor. "Wish my mentor had been as such."
Zack looked up at him surprised. "He wasn't?"
"Just that, well the slums of Midgar aren't kind, even to children. I had hoped when I was accepted into SOLDIER I would meet better people than that." Tempest said softly and sighed. "For someone to have shown me kindness after so much unkindness, might have been nice…"
Zack could feel his heartstrings being tugged and he reached out to place a hand on Anton's shoulder when the other man shook his head and smiled, though he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I'm sorry I said too much. You've got enough on your shoulders without hearing my sob story." He glanced at his watch. "Should probably get going. You take care now. When they release you from the med unit, just ask for Lt. Tempest."
"Okay! Thanks for keeping me company lieutenant," Zack brightened up and waved as the other soldier exited the med unit.
Despite the good face he had put on for Tempest, Zack couldn't keep his mind from wandering back to his worries about Angeal. He wondered if since the battle was over, it would be okay to call Angeal.
Zack reached for his uniform, fold upon another chair next to him. He reached into the pocket of his fatigues and pulled out his cell phone.
Being his mentor, Zack of course had Angeal's number on speed dial. He waited with baited breath as the phone rang hoping for an answer.
"General Hewley's phone," A smooth but unfamiliar voice answered the phone, which made the hairs on the back of Zack's neck stand on end, it was definitely not Angeal.
"This is General Hewley's student, could I talk to the general please?" Zack asked firmly.
"Zack, it's Genesis." The voice answered smoothly, but held none of its owner's drawling intonations. Instead, Genesis sounded monotone, almost numb. "Angeal can't talk now. He's been wounded badly."
"Wounded…" Zack murmured, feeling as if some one had poured liquid nitrogen down the back of his shirt.
"He and his men went to take the temple on the cliff. Suddenly the whole thing exploded and collapsed." Genesis remained eerily stoic, like someone whose emotions had been so startled they receded into the background and wouldn't come out until the danger was over.
Zack tried to keep his voice steady, but his whole body was shaking. "But Angeal's going to be okay right? He's gonna pull through and be fine right…?"
There was a long thick pause that seemed to suck all of the air out of Zack's lungs so he couldn't breathe, until Genesis finally answered.
"I don't know…"
000
*Evil Laugh* I am the master of the cliffhanger....
