Ch.2

The skies overhead were darkening.. It wasn't late into the evening or anything, far from it. The sky was filled with dark rain clouds, just waiting to release their rain at any moment. It seemed the skies themselves wanted to express their sadness for what was happening below on the ground.

Zack heaved out a breath as he dropped to one knee. He had taken out so many men… so many young men killed by his blade. So much blood… yet he wasn't done yet. But he was so tired…

He looked up to see that there were three men left as well as a helicopter. They slowly were closing in, not firing right away.

"They just love making this tense don't they…"

The helicopter flew overhead, only supplying light for the infantrymen that were closing in on him. Zack could already feel his strength failing him. The sword already felt way heavier than before.

"Can't give up… not yet…" Zack murmured, trying his best to lift his sword up.

He was already out of all potions and he didn't have any cure materia anymore. Not that he thought they could do much for him at this point. He had so many wounds… so much blood loss. He wasn't sure if any of those things could heal him up enough.

Even then, a potion or a cure materia could not heal fatigue, and for the first time in a very long time Zack was extremely tired. Soon the infantrymen would be close again and they would most likely go straight to shooting as many bullets at him as they could.

"Maybe… this is… I can't win…"

Zack hated to think such thoughts, but there was nothing else he could figure out from this situation. It was cruel and unfair to him and he knew that Shinra intended it to be that way. If he couldn't take out the remaining three as well as deal with that last helicopter… then he would be…

'Because I like you.'

Suddenly he could hear the words from Cloud cycling in his head. The words that Cloud had spoken to him when he finally started to wake back up.

'Always have admired you… You inspired me… made me feel happy and confident again. Handsome too…'

Zack sighed to himself. "Cloud… dammit. I never even got time to figure out what to tell you…"

'Never was able to tell you before… I love you.'

Suddenly there was a fluttering in his stomach once more. The fluttered tried to seemingly eat away at him, but quickly it changed into something else. It moved up into his chest and began to swell, giving him a rather comforting warmth.

"He loves me… and I…"

Though the final men were still approaching, Zack briefly closed his eyes. He needed this moment to think. It seemed to be coming to him at the worst time, but everything started to seem clear in his mind.

"I want to protect you Cloud. I can't imagine letting you out of my sight. Not after everything we've been through. And now the thought of messing up and dying… I'd be leaving you alone and hurt. I'd be breaking my promise… I can't let that happen."

That warmth flowed throughout his entire body. A new sensation of strength that he thought was all gone finally filled him. It almost shouldn't have made any sense. He should have been at his end here with no way to recover quickly, but now there was a surge of feelings riding in him.

"I cannot die. I need to live. To keep my promise to Cloud… and to tell him…" Zack breathed in as deeply as he could.

He narrowed his eyes and saw that the infantrymen were carrying some potions and materia on them. He knew already that a few of the men had been using materia during the battle. Though it wasn't supposed to be given to Infantrymen to use, he figured that this battle must have been an exception to that. He could only hope that one of those was a cure materia.

"I gotta tell him I love him too!"

With all the strength Zack had left he swung his sword as hard as he could at the first man closest to him. It only took a split second to cut him down. Right away he charged as he could hear the bullets being fired from the remaining too and he had to do his best to dodge the bullets that were now practically raining on him.

He picked up the potion and did his best to chug it down while still trying to dodge. Many of the bullets were still hitting him, but the potion was doing what it could to heal up the newest wounds.

He still grimaced each time a bullet either grazed him or actually hit him. But he didn't stop there. He tumbled forward and snatched up the materia that had rolled out from the dead infantryman's pocket.

"I'm not giving up! I won't die, not like this!"

He didn't waste any time on equipping the materia and using it to heal himself. Feeling many of his more dire wounds being healed up, his strength seemed to rise again. He kept his thoughts locked all on the same thing though.

It wasn't just about not wanting to die, that was just a side note. What he really focused on was getting back to Cloud. Everything was about Cloud now and he couldn't get the kindhearted blond out of his mind. Every moment or conversation they ever had filled up in his mind. There were not all too many, but Zack was cherishing each and every one of them. Now he wanted more. To create more moments with Cloud and spend time with him… how nice that would be after all of was all he needed to keep him going, and it seemed to be pulling him through.

With his strength restored a little he used the energy he had to slice through the remaining two guys. His body was still sore and screaming at him every step he took, but he refused to cave in. The two infantrymen were taken completely by shock. Neither of them were expecting such a sudden burst of energy from the one they were designated to kill.

It didn't take long for Zack to do enough blows to the remaining men, leaving them dead on the ground. Now all that was left was the one remaining helicopter, which Zack was entirely unsure of how to handle.

Though he noticed the remaining materia that was still on the helicopter. His strength had recovered slightly, but it was not enough to take it out like he had for the first one. He needed to try and do something else. Quickly he used the cure materia again before looking through what materia was left.

Thankfully it was just what he needed… an elemental materia. He only had enough focus to try this once, and he hoped that it was going to work. When the helicopter made it's round and got closer to Zack, he made his attack.

Lightning shot out and struck the helicopter head on. A moment later he could hear shots coming from within the machine and the helicopter surviving out of control. Zack had to push himself to get out range fast enough before the machine came crashing down.

Zack closed his eyes despite facing away when he heard the explosion from the helicopter. Just another couple of deaths to add to his list… he really honestly hated doing all of this but Shinra forced his hand.

"They wanted me dead… after all I did for them this is how they 'thank' me. Really nice…"

Now that the grounds were quiet, the rain finally started. The rain hit against his skin, stinging some of the open wounds that had not been healed by the cure and potions. It only made sense as it seemed these infantrymen were only given the minimal level for healing items. They were just easily expendable unfortunately.

Zack stayed still though as he let the rain was over him. Eventually he would heal up, SOLDIERs had that enhanced healing ability, but it was just going to take him some time at this point. But knew one thing that was far more important… he had done it. He had won. If there was nothing else to come… be could finally be free.

Zack looked around the land again. All the blood was being washed away by this rain, making it seem as if it never even happened.

Suddenly he saw something off in the distance. Something moving closer… and it was a very familiar blond that he knew too well.

"Cloud!"

Zack ran forward as best as he could until Cloud was wrapped tightly in his arms. The impact made his muscles ache and scream once more, but Zack ignored it for the time being. The warm swelling filling had returned and Zack embraced every second of it. It made everything feel so much better.

"Zack… you're… you're bleeding."

Zack pulled Cloud back a bit, seeing that there was now some blood stained in his light blond hair. "Oh, sorry Spike. But it's okay. I'm going to be okay."

Cloud pursued his lips together. He didn't look too convinced. He kept eyeing all of the blood that still was all over Zack's body. So many bullet holes in his clothes, revealing various wounds. Some were healing, but many had not yet and were still open and bleeding slightly.

"Hey…" Zack cupped Cloud's chin and titled his head up. "I told you. I'm going to be okay. I promised I'd come back didn't I?"

"Yeah. You promised," Cloud agreed.

"And now I've kept my promise."

Zack stared into the deep blue eyes that were Cloud's. Though there was that warmth, now the fluttering returned to his stomach. Thinking of Cloud was what got him through the last part of that battle. Finding his feelings and putting them in place to give him the strength, but now he found himself too nervous to say anything.

"Am I really…" With his free hand, Zack stroked Cloud's cheek gently and he didn't seem to protest it. The blush quickly did return though faster than ever.

Zack laughed softly at Cloud's embarrassment. It was still extremely cute to see. There was no denying that. "I guess after all this… if I really want to know…"

Zack leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against Cloud's for a moment. In those few seconds that it happened, everything felt a whole lot lighter.

When their lips parted Cloud's face was practically burning red at this point. "Z-Zack?!"

Zack laughed, trying to act as cool and casual as he could. If he could tease Cloud this easily over these things, then he felt like he was going to have a lot of fun. Plus with teasing Cloud, he could easily use that as a way to cover up his own embarrassment.

"What? Can't give my thanks to you? You were what pulled me through the battle. If it were for you and your feelings… I may not have had the strength to make it."

"O-Oh… I g-guess… um… th-thanks? No...ah… y-you're welcome?" Cloud asked, still far too flustered to get his words straight.

"Oh no," Zack laughed. "Did that kiss break you? And we were so close for you recovering."

"Hey! I'm not broken!" Cloud shouted, quickly snapped from his embarrassment. But a second later it returned just as fast. "I just… I didn't think you would…"

Placing a hand on top of Cloud's head, he ruffled the soft spikes. "It just took me a bit to figure things out Cloud. Sorry if I made you wait or worried about it."

"So you mean… you…?"

"Yes. I love you too, Cloud. I want to protect you and keep you by my side. Can't imagine it any other way."

Cloud embraced him after that, no longer worried by the blood. "Thanks Zack."

Zack gently patted Cloud on the back of the head. "You're welcome."

Now that the rain had cleared up, the two men walked closer to Midgar. There was no one to stop them now though Zack still kept a close eye on everything around them.

"Zack…" Cloud's voice came softly as he walked right by Zack's side.

"Yeah, Cloud? Something on your mind?"

Cloud hummed in agreement. "Something I remember…"

"You're remembering stuff? That's great to hear!"

Cloud's walking pace slowly down. He stared down at the ground while continuing to walk. "I guess…"

"Well what is it then? You can tell me." Zack reached out to Cloud once he saw him falling behind. He placed an arm around the blond and pulled him closer.

"I remember… you talked about a girl… Aerith. I thought that… she was your…" Cloud stopped after that. His voice was becoming weak and he was sure if he tried to finish, it would break.

Zack nearly tripped over his own feet. His heart twisted slightly and then felt heavy. Now both of them had come to a dead stop in their walking.

"Oh… Aerith… I can't believe I nearly forgot…"

Zack sighed deeply as he let his thoughts sink in. He had started this journey to Midgar with Aerith as his focus. She was what he kept holding on to… she was what kept him going. But then that changed at a point and Zack knew exactly when that was and what the cause was. It was all before Cloud even admitted his feelings. The realization Zack had about Aerith but shoved away to deny what he feared most happened all the way back in Banora.

"I… I don't know what Aerith must think of me anymore. She sent me letters for four years while we were stuck in that manor… but then she stopped. I don't know if that meant she was giving up on me or moving on… or if it was just too hard for her at that point. It wasn't super clear in her final letter…"

Zack took in a sharp breath. He never thought he would get to talk about it, but with Cloud awake there was no better time to try. Taking out a piece of paper from his pocket he read over the last letter again.

Zack,

How are you?

I wish I knew where you were.

It's already been four years now.

This is the 98th letter that I've sent to you, but I don't even know where to send them anymore.

I really hope that this final letter that I am writing gets to you.

By the way, the flowers are selling very well.

They make everyone so happy, thanks to you, Zack!

-Aerith

Zack had read the letter probably a hundred times over at this point, yet he could not get a clear meaning on it. All he knew was that Aerith had stopped writing letters to him after four years.

"I'd wanna believe she never gave up on me, but now it's been another year… five years… After half a decade of waiting, I wouldn't put it past her if she wanted to move on from me. It probably felt like a lost cause to keep waiting when she had no idea what happened… That's why she probably stopped writing. Why write for a lost cause after all?"

Slumping his shoulders Zack let out another long sigh. He placed the letter back in his pocket, too hurt to reread it again. "I bet she has given up on me at this point… I failed her and probably really hurt her even if it wasn't entirely my choice with what happened."

"Oh… Hmm… Well… even if you don't know what her feelings are anymore … I'll never give up on you."

Zack started to smile once more as the warmth filled his chest again. A few tears trickled from his eyes as he let everything sink into his mind. The tears didn't make him sad though. In fact it was the complete opposite. The words were so simple yet they moved him deeply, bringing him to tears.

"Since when did I get this emotional over just some words? I guess I never gave enough time to think things over and it just kinda built up… either way…"

Leaning forward Zack pressed a gentle kiss on top of Cloud's forehead. "Thanks Cloud. I really needed to hear that."

Cloud was already blushing by the time Zack stood back. "You're… you're welcome."

"We're still going to go see Aerith of course. I gotta explain my absence either way," Zack replied as he looked at the city before them. "I'm sure she doesn't hate me at least, I'd hope not."

"No one can hate you," Cloud replied before the two of them started to walk again. "You're too likable."

Zack laughed. "How come you always know what to say to cheer me up?"

Cloud just shrugged. "Don't know…"

"Hmm maybe it's cause we're both backwater boys. We just got that understanding between each other."

"Maybe…"

"Aw but you're right. Aerith wouldn't hate me. I'm sure she will be happy to see me again. Though now I'll have to explain about you too. I'm… I'm sure she'll understand." Zack paused, reflecting back to Aerith and every moment he had ever spent with her. "She was always good at that sort of thing. Yeah! She always was so understanding. Even if she gave up waiting for me, I know she'll understand! In fact…"

Zack grinned at Cloud, his entire mood shifted back to extremely cheerful. "I'm sure she'd be glad to meet you!"

"You think?"

"Sure! I bet she'll agree that you're cute as well. But you're already mine of course."

"Z-Zack…"

Cloud tried to bury his face into his turtleneck, but it wasn't extremely effective. It didn't work as well as his own infantry scarf had done in the past. He could hear Zack laughing again, no doubt because of his face burning with embarrassment.

But this was what he got for telling Zack his feelings. It was bad though. Even if he kept feeling embarrassed with his heart pounding at every compliment Zack made, he wouldn't trade it for anything else. Zack actually loved him back, and that was more than enough. He had never expected to ever have his feelings returned.

Ever since meeting Zack he assumed he'd never be able to admit it. He'd hide in the shadows with his feelings, keeping them hidden in the dark. But now he managed to tell Zack the truth. It was still all hazy to him and he wasn't even sure how he managed to do it. But it was dome and now he had the feeling he was going to have to deal with teases from Zack ten fold. But still, he wouldn't have it any other way.

So how many of you thought I was still going to have Zack die? XD I thought about keeping it that way, but my urge for Zack to live is much stronger! I am not sure currently if I will add any more to this, but if you are interested in seeing more let me know!