Ch.4

Eventually Zack had planned his plans to Kunsel as best as he could. It had taken a bit but he knew that Kunsel was patient and would listen to everything Zack had to say. Once he was finished Kunsel nodded and started to look thoughtful.

"All right. Well as I said before, Shinra knows you are probably not dead. They still may be looking for you but they still got all their other plans going on. Best thing right now is to lay low until you can properly figure out that mercenary thing."

"Right, I got ya there. I think I could use the rest anyways."

"Good you're using your head there and not continuously jumping into danger," Kunsel teased before he stood up. "I'll make some calls. See if I can get you a place to stay."

"Great, thanks Kuns."

While Kunsel went to make his calls, Zack let himself fall into his thoughts about all of this. The sound of having a proper place to rest and relax honestly did sound really nice. He had already thought about it before, but he was so tired. From the months on traveling and fighting monsters, to taking down the infantrymen, he felt so exhausted. Not physically, but instead mentally. It was hard to keep his thoughts straight anymore and still everything in his mind that was constantly running around made it all the more confusing in feeling. Even though he knew he should try and rest, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about nearly everything else.

He thought of Kunsel, the only friend he had left now, who was basically his secret insider for Shinra information. He thought about his plans to get revenge on Shinra. So much trouble and pain was caused in his life because of them and he wanted to get back at them for it. But he knew that would take time. That was a whole other thing that wrapped around his mind on how in the world he was ever going to plan something like that.

He thought of Aerith… Aerith, his former love and now friend. He still thought about her and still couldn't get her out of his head yet at the same time he couldn't find those same feelings he once had. He was sure they were there before, but everything was starting to feel muddled the further he tried pressing on it.

Then there was Cloud. Adorable little Cloud who still was suffering from the mako poisoning. Cloud… the one who admitted his feelings upon waking up from months of being catatonic. Those thoughts were beginning to feel foggy as well. Everything had seemed so clear before back when they were still outside of Midgar. Zack had thought he had sorted out everything and that he could just keep on moving with his life in this new direction.

Everything feels so out of place and off putting and Zack couldn't understand it. The further he dug into it, the further it made his head hurt. He just wanted things to make sense and be all right but for some reason he couldn't stay worrisome thoughts off about every single thing.

"...ck…"

"...Zack…"

"Zack!"

Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly. He turned to see Aerith looking at him with a concerned expression. "Zack, are you all right? You weren't listening to anything I said."

"Oh, you were talking? Sorry… I guess I must have zoned out pretty badly," Zack said as he laughed sheepishly. "And yeah, I'm fine."

Aerith hummed, narrowing her eyes slightly. She wasn't so easily fooled by Zack's avoidance of the subject of his own wellbeing. "Zack… I can tell there's something on your mind. What is it?"

Zack shook his head. "Nah, honest it's nothing to worry about. I'm just…" Zack started to rub his hand over his face, hoping maybe that way his mind would be cleared up. He didn't know how exactly that would work but it was all he could hope for. "Just tired. I haven't had any good sleep in days… but I'm sure now I'll be able to rest easy!"

He was clearly hiding again. Hiding his thoughts and feelings behind a solid brick wall. Despite always being there for Zack before and always lending a ear when he needed it, there was still so much that he kept hidden. Sure he had told her many things before and opened up about some of his feelings, but there was still so much he tried to lock away. He didn't seem to care though even though Aerith had told him before that it wasn't smart to bottle things up like that. All he wanted to do was smile for everyone else and look like he didn't worry at all.

Aerith sighed. "Zack…"

"I'm serious, Aerith. I'm going to be fine. I just need some time to relax. You'll see."

"All right. If you say so." If Zack was choosing to be this stubborn, Aerith knew that there would be no winning for now. She would have to try again later if this persisted after Zack got his well deserved rest.

Ater that was over, Kunsel had finished up with his calls and headed back over to them. "Okay, got you set up with a small apartment down here in the slums. Sector 7. It isn't going to be anything grand of course, but it's all I could get."

"Hey, a place to stay is a place to stay! Thanks buddy! I have no idea how you do it, but boy am I thankful! You know, if you weren't in SOLDIER I'm sure you would have been quiet the Turk with the way you get all your stuff."

Kunsel shrugged. "I just have my way about things."

"The man of mystery as always." Zack laughed. "You hear that Cloud? We'll finally have somewhere to sleep that isn't the ground!"

Cloud didn't reply. He laid there quietly while his chest slowly rising and falling. Zack couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "Heh, he still must be pretty tired. Well I guess it will be all the more surprising when he wakes up."

He started to gently ruffle Cloud's hair. "He's just so peaceful when he sleeps. Like nothing has happened at all. I really hope he can recover soon."

"Just give it time Zack, I'm sure if he made it this far he'll continue to improve."

"You're right! But now you gotta show us the new place." Zack bent over to scoop up Cloud into his arms. He was still so light and easy to carry. Either that or it was all in Zack's strength… maybe it was both.

No matter the way he kept him cuddled up close. Quickly he turned to Aerith And gave her the broadest smile he could give. "We can come back to visit right? I think your flowers were really helping Cloud."

"Of course. I'd love for you two to stop on by again." Aerith returned the smile and nodded her head.

"We'll be back soon then!" Zack said before he headed towards the doors to the church.

"I'll catch up with you in a minute. Just gotta tell Aerith something I almost forgot about," Kunsel said before he walked over to Aerith.

Zack nodded and then stepped outside of the church, figuring whatever it was he didn't need to listen in on. Once the two were alone, Kunsel placed a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be all right?"

Aerith nodded again. "Yes. It will be like before, just need some time. But this time it will be better. He's alive, and I think that is what matters most."

"Yeah, you're right about that."

Aerith gave Kunsel a soft smile, looking at his slightly distant gaze. "What about you though?"

"I mean I'm trying. I just didn't expect to see him like… I mean…" Kunsel sighed while lowering his head. "I may have slightly overheard you two when I came by."

"Oh Kunsel. I know, I didn't expect it either. But Zack seems happy and we should support that."

Kunsel straightened up and smiled slightly. "You're right, and it's like you said, Zack's alive and that's the best thing to come from all of this. But hey, if you ever just need to talk about all this, you know I'm the guy to come to."

Aerith laughed. "Thanks, Kunsel. I'll remember that."

After that Kunsel headed out of the church to find Zack at the bottom of the stairs, still holding a sleeping Cloud in his arms. Kunsel had to take in a deep breath before he proceeded down the stairs and over to Zack. "All right, you ready to had out? We need to make it out to Sector 7, hopefully won't draw too much attention with you two still in uniform. Probably should get you guys some new clothes. You have any gil on you?"

"Yeah I got some. Haven't counted it all yet, but I am sure I can get something at least."

"Then let's make that our first mission. Probably should get some food as well, when was the last time you properly ate?" Kunsel asked as the duo began to walk further into the slums.

"Ah… well I've had some stuff here and there. Enough to get by obviously. It was harder for Cloud though, cause you know… I could only really feed him soft things and you can't easily find soup out in the wild. But we managed to pull through it."

"We'll make that the second mission then. Come on, let's get a move on."

After some searching through shops, Zack and Kunsel had gathered the necessary supplies that Zack and Cloud were going to need. Throughout all of it though Cloud still was fast asleep. Internally Zack was starting to worry as since Cloud had woken up he had been sleeping normally. Now he was just zonked out in the middle of the day and showed no signs of easily being woken.

Zack's worry currently was easily readable as he was far too distracted thinking about Cloud to realize he was showing off more emotions than he would have liked. "Hey Zack, relax. Cloud will pull through. You believe in him don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Zack exasperated loudly than he expected. "I'm just worried about him having some relapse or something. Those first few months… where he was so lifeless… it was torture. I couldn't do anything to help him but carry him along and just keep hoping he would get better."

"And now he has. Just give it time. You said that he just recently woke up, right? There is still probably a lot of mako in his system making everything foggy. But I am sure he will continue to get better each day."

Zack's expression shifted quickly, going back to his default cheerfulness. "Yeah! You got this Cloud." Zack smiled as he adjusted Cloud's a bit, who now was being carried piggyback style.

Kunsel and Zack kept on moving through the city, taking what they needed to get to travel to the other sector. Eventually they reached Sector 7 and Kunsel led the way to where most of the apartments were. Once they got to the area Kunsel went ahead to get the keys from the landlord.

From there they went to the apartment and Kunsel unlocked the door for Zack. Once the lights were switched on Zack saw that it was a fairly small apartment. The living room and kitchen were basically one room all together. Though there were at least three doors, two on the right and one on the left. Zack could only figure that one had to be the bathroom and the other two probably bedrooms.

Walking in further Zack headed over to the couch and set Cloud down onto it. He then took the bags from Kunsel that held the clothes while Kunsel went to put the food into the small mini fridge.

"This is great." Zack said as he flopped onto the couch next to Cloud. "Seriously Kuns, I don't think I can thank you enough. I can't wait to sleep in an actual bed tonight!"

Kunsel smiled to himself as he finished putting away everything. Once he was done he walked towards Zack. "Well I guess that means you are ready to crash for the evening?"

"Probably. I did a lot of walking the past few days anyways. Could use the rest."

"I'll leave you to do that," Kunsel started to turn around but then he stopped. "Oh, I guess we should probably look into you getting a new phone that isn't tied to Shinra's network. That way I can contact you with my private number and keep on touch better. Especially if you are serious about that mercenary thing."

"Totally. If I find a way to take on Shinra to get back at them for what they did, I'll wanna make sure that you are safe and out of the way. Though… Why don't you just leave? You could join us."

"It's a nice offer, but as I said before things are tight at Shinra. There's a lot going on and there aren't too many SOLDIERs left you know. It might raise too much suspicion if I just up and left, but if I can figure out a plan, I'll take you up on it."

"Ah yeah, well I'll wait for that time then," Zack said before he stood up. "Guess you gotta get back?"

Kunsel gave a nod while headed towards the front door. "Yeah, but I'll try and stop by tomorrow if I can. Just take it easy for now, okay?"

Zack chuckled while running a hand through his hair. "I don't think I know the definition of easy anymore."

Kunsel let out a snort. "You've forgotten that much already? Guess I gotta reteach you everything don't I?"

"Hey!" Zack pouted dramatically. "I'm not that forgetful."

Kunsel rolled his eyes at the comment. "Sure you are, mr 'I can't remember where the meeting room is'."

The two men kept staring at each other, neither saying a word after that. Seconds later they broke into laughter. It was a good and long bit of laughter and Zack enjoyed each second of it. He couldn't remember the last time laughter made him feel this good. It was just natural and normal.

"Yeah yeah, I get it. But I'm older now, I should be able to remember more, hopefully."

"We'll see how that goes then," Kunsel replied before he finally opened the door. He then turned to face Zack once more and smiled. "It's good to see you again, Zack."

"Good to see you too, Kunsel."

Before Kunsel even said anything else he gave Zack a sudden hug. Zack blinked a few times, surprised by the suddenness of it. Kunsel was holding onto him tightly while burying his head against Zack's shoulder. He had never known Kunsel for being a hugging type of person, but this was the second hug in the day from him. Both times the hug was tight and yet still comforting. It almost seemed strange but then he had to factor in that it had been 5 years. A lot can change in that time, and he was one of Kunsel's best friends.

After a moment Kunsel still didn't let go, he just kept on hugging Zack as he did. Zack cleared his throat slightly after that. "Kunsel? You okay there?"

He could hear a long sigh from his friend. "Yeah… I'm fine. Just making sure this is all real. That you're really here."

Zack could sense that there was a bit of uneasy in Kunsel's voice… some worry that came with those words. Zack wasn't entirely sure why though. But either way, he slowly placed a hand on the back of Kunsel's head. He could only hope that would ease whatever Kunsel was feeling. "Hey, I'm here. I made it back and I am pretty certain I am real."

Thankfully he was able to get a laugh from Kunsel. "It's good you're back. I really…" Kunsel paused, letting his words linger in the air. "I'm just really happy to see you again."

Though Zack wasn't a good expert on reading others with their words, he had a feeling that wasn't what Kunsel really wanted to say. Whatever it was though he didn't seem like he wanted to bring up, so Zack thought not to question it. He didn't really think it was right to just suddenly go prying into someone's thoughts like that, considering he kept so many to himself.

"Me too," Zack finally replied.

After that Kunsel finally let go and straightened up. There was a look of worry in his face but after a few deep breaths he was able to clear it out. "See you tomorrow."

"See ya, Kuns."

Once the door closed he could hear some faint murmurs coming from Cloud. It seemed that he was finally waking up from his nap. Walking back over to the couch, Zack stood in front of him. "Hey, guess you're done sleeping? If that's the case I guess I should start making some food for us. Though…" Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll admit I'm not the greatest at cooking. Thankfully Kunsel made sure we bought a lot of things that we can just heat up to eat."

Cloud's eyes finally opened, blinking slowly. "Sounds good."

"Right! Let's see what I can make for us!"

Zack marched over to the kitchen area and opened up the fridge to figure out what would be best to eat. He couldn't help himself from smiling again, now feeling like everything could get on a nice track of things being peaceful. Well… as peaceful as they could get until Zack figured out a way to be a mercenary like he kept going on about. But that would be for another time.

It may just be my little headcanon, but in Crisis Core when Zack is leaving for Nibilheim you can either tell Kunsel that you're going to miss Aerith or you can tell Kunsel that you love him. To which for the love option Kunsel starts by saying he didn't know Zack cared but then stops and says that Zack is just joking and it's just Aerith that he is thinking of. So just a little HC that Kunsel likes Zack and all and cares for him.