AN: I know it's been a while. I hate myself. I'm trying to write more. I hope to get another chapter up this week. Please let me know what you think.

~ Watch Me ~

Out With The Old

Rose gazed patiently across the table, a bemused expression firmly settled on her features.

So this was Zack.

It was like looking at a younger, more hyperactive version of her brother. Admittedly he was nowhere near as serious, but he definitely shared a few of Angeal's charming quirks. A love for all things Shinra and Sephiroth, to name a few. It was odd, like looking into one of those circus mirrors. Angeal was there, but he had been warped into this bright-eyed, bushy-tailed puppy.

Rose concluded that it was kind of sweet.

They talked, or rather, Zack talked, and the hum of the Troops and SOLDIER around them grew. More bodies flocking to the floor as the day got on it's way. Rose took another gulp from her soda, and Zack took the moment to drop in another load of information.

"So, yeah, I joined SOLDIER with the hope of one day being as good as Sephiroth. A real hero, y'know? Won't be long now!" Zack grinned, taking a dramatic gulp from his own drink, and slamming it down hard on the table. He shook his head at Rose. "You know, it really is weird that you're here."

"What? Why is it?" She half laughed, taken aback by the boy's sudden scrutiny.

Zack shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it's more thinking of Angeal, being any more than just Angeal. It's weird. Make sense?"

"I think, I know what you mean." Rose nodded, downing the rest of her glass. "I guess he doesn't talk about me much to you?"

"Not really." Zack confessed, lightly swiping raven locks from Mako eyes. "He's professional in that way. Private. You'd think he just popped up in Shinra, or that someone unpacked him from a box or something." He laughed, resting his elbows on the table.

Rose raised an eyebrow.

"Sounds about right." She murmured lightly. That sounded more like the Angeal she knew now, than anything else she'd heard up to this point.

"So you're going to be in SOLDIER too, huh?" Zack pressed on, leaning forward with interest. "Following in Angeal's footsteps?"

"Not exactly." Rose shrugged, shifting awkwardly in her seat. She sighed and smiled. "Guess I was just looking for something new. The town I'm from doesn't exactly have shining job opportunities – unless you're a fan of apples."

"Ha!" Zack laughed, throwing his head back once. "That's as good a calling as any, I guess. Whatever the reason, you must have impressed Lazard for him to let a civi try out for Third. I hear he's real particular."

Rose tilted her head. "You've never met him?"

Zack shook his. "Na. I'm not important enough for meetings with the Director. I've only just been promoted to Third Class myself. At least you had Angeal to vouch for you."

"What?" She frowned, suddenly feeling defensive. "Technically I'm only here on a trial basis, Zack. Nothing's confirmed until I prove myself." She finished pointedly, hoping that somehow assured him she wasn't sailing in on a free pass.

He suddenly seemed horrified by the prospect.

"What! No, no, I wasn't saying you were accepted because of Angeal. I just meant he's a good guy to have on your side. No! Lazard wouldn't care if President Shinra was your Dad, he'd still expect you to prove your worth."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I thought you hadn't met him?"

"I haven't, but the guy's got a reputation."

Sighing softly, she tittered. "Well, good. Because I wouldn't want to be here out of charity, or for people to think I'm only here because of Angeal." She hesitated, not sure she wanted the next question confirmed. "Are people going to think that?"

Zack scratched his head.

"Um... I mean, they might, but then you just gotta show them that they're wrong, right?" He grinned optimistically, eagerly jumping up from the table. Turning, he saw what must have been her worried expression, and his own softened kindly. "Look, don't worry about it, okay? I've got your back." He beckoned her up, and gestured lightly over his shoulder. "C'mon, I'll show you our digs."

[-]

Rose stared absently at the ceiling, bored. The bed beneath her was hard and uncomfortable. Her room, or "digs", as Zack had so fondly called them, a far cry from Angeal's small, but luxurious in comparison, apartment.

Barely larger than the bed that held her, the cramped cube offered only the simplest of living necessities. There was a closet for her things, a small T.V, a compact fridge, and a tiny en-suite that just about fitted the shower. Rose wrinkled her nose inappreciatively. She understood that she wasn't expected to be in there much, but would it really have killed Shinra to put in a window? If it wasn't for the glow of her clock, the room would have been completely devoid of light.

She missed home.

"You've been away for one week, Rose. Get a grip." She growled quietly, sighing as she rolled over to check the time.

02:23 – in a few hours it would be time to get up again.

"This is ridiculous." She tutted, resignedly sitting up on the edge of the bed.

When Zack had left her to get some rest before training in the morning, Rose had thought she would all but collapse onto her pillow. Then Angeal stopped by with her stuff, and the butterflies in her stomach haven't been able to calm down since.

"How are you settling in?"He asked, looking around her room with a wry smile hanging lightly at the corners of his mouth. "Cosy, isn't it."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Isn't it?"

Her brother smirked. "Better than a cardboard box. Could be quite nice with a few homely touches."

"It's a steel coffin, Angeal, lets not dress it up." She replied flatly, moving between her luggage and closet, as she slowly began to unpack the few things she had brought with her. She paused. "Listen, thanks for what you said up in Lazard's, it really means a lot that you'd vouch for me like that."

Angeal shrugged. "You have got potential. You didn't fight as bad as you thought, even before the cheating." He added, referring to her little disappearing trick. His face grew more serious. "But you can't rely just on these new quirks you have, Rose. You're going to have to put the work in. Train hard and discipline yourself, or you won't stand a chance."

"I know." She rallied quickly, chucking a spare pair of sneakers into the bottom of the closet. "But you'll help me, right? Teach me to fight like you?"

Angeal sighed, folding his arms as he leant back casually against the wall.

"Afraid not. That's what Lazard wanted to talk to us about. Genesis and I have been selected to head back out to Wutai."

Rose couldn't help it, her face fell. "But... but you've just got back."

"I know." He said, and she heard the unspoken apology 'we should have had more time'. He sighed. "But it can't be helped."

"Can't Sephiroth go with Genesis?"

"It doesn't work like that, Rose."

"But..."

Drawing herself out of her worrying thoughts, Rose glanced back at the clock.

02:25.

Thinking about everything wasn't going to help her sleep or calm the butterflies. Angeal was gone, she was flying solo. She'd just have to learn to deal with it somehow.

She looked across to her desk, beside which leant her strange and ethereal sword.

Perhaps it was time to try it out for real.

R&R!

Always love feedback, no matter how short. Please take the time if you can? Whose excited for the remake in April?