Going Home


Zack hummed along with the radio as the truck bounced along the unpaved road, steadily taking them towards Gongaga. Towards home.

He'd had to use…less than legal means for obtaining the vehicle. Spending all that time with Reno had paid off, he supposed. He was sure that the owner would understand, and he'd left payment at least. Sure, a high-powered rifle wasn't the most standard form of payment for a vehicle, but he thought it was a good trade.

He looked over to his partner, slumped over in passenger seat, still out of it.

"Hey, Cloud, you keep talking my ear off like this and we're going to have to find you a muzzle, buddy."

"..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know I talk a lot too, but you knew that when you signed up!"

"..."

"I tell you what you're going to love, meeting my folks."

He winced at that, remembering a night filled with fire and death in Nibelheim, the one that had taken his friend's own family. He pressed on.

"They're going to love you man, I know it. They'll be glad someone's keeping me in line. They always felt better when I had someone looking out for me, you know?"

"..."

A smile spread across his face. "Yeah, they'll probably force adopt you to be honest. They're pushy like that." He gave his companion a conspiratorial wink. "Rubbed off on me I guess."

"…"

The dark-haired man slapped his forehead. "Oh, how could I forget the best part!? The food, bro, you're going to love the food!"

"."

He tsked, "Yeah, I know you like that Nibel stuff, and it's not half-bad, I'll give you that. But this? This is perfection."

"…"

"Tell you about it? Well, you ever have a barrel feast?"

"…"

"What's a barrel feast!? Oh, bro, you haven't lived yet!" he shouted excitedly. "So, we dig a hole in the ground, right? Then, we put a barrel down in the ground, hence the name. Then, you fill up the rack, think of like four or five grated metal grates, all sitting one above the other." He explained, moving his hand as if he were building them himself.

"…"

"I'm getting there, buddy, slow down! The bottom few layers are your veggies, anything from tomatoes, to zucchini, to onions and such," his smile grew. "Then, at the top, that's where you put the chicken. A whole lot of chicken. You put that whole rack in the barrel and seal it. Then, we take some hot coals and put them on top, cover them in dirt, and wait."

"…"

"Is it good?" he asked incredulously, "Spike, you give that thing a couple of hours, and it's the best thing you've ever tasted." He practically moaned thinking about it. "The way the juices from the chicken dribble down and soak the veggies? Perfection, man, perfection. You mix that with some rice and you're eating like a king, I don't care what nobody says."

"…"

"I know, kinda makes me hungry too. What's say we pull off somewhere soon and grab some chow and shut eye? It's getting kinda dark out here anyway."

"…"

He took his friend's silence as agreement and began scanning the side of the road for any signs of an inn or pub. A few minutes later, he spied an offshoot peeling off to the right of the 'road,' with a hand-painted sign that read 'Mary's Diner and Inn.'

"That works for me, what about you, buddy?"

"…"

"Figured, you're always hungry. Don't know where you put it all with that little ass frame," he teased.

The gravel of the inn's driveway crunched underneath the truck's tires as he pulled in a few minutes later, making sure to park so that he could get out quickly if needed. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that…not again.

"You just wait here, bud. I'm going to go get us a room."

Cloud was more than happy to comply.

Zack made his way into the inn, finding who he assumed was Mary and getting them a room. One that was as close to the road as possible – it paid to be careful after all. He returned to the vehicle and pulled it around, getting it as close to the door as he could to avoid any questions about his companion's condition that were…hard to answer.

"Ok, Short Stuff, oopsy daisy," he said as he pulled Cloud from the passenger's side, slinging the boy up onto his shoulder. He quickly made his way to the door, and after fumbling with the lock for a moment, pushed it open, revealing a simple hotel room. Twin beds, a nightstand, and a tv greeted them. It didn't really matter, they wouldn't be staying long anyway.

He carefully set his friend down on the bed, positioning the pillows to keep him upright.

"Home, sweet home, eh, Cloud?"

"…"

"Yeah, I know it's not much, but we're on a budget. Now, I'm gonna go grab us some food and bring it back."

"…"

"I know you want to socialize, man, but people get weird about the silent treatment thing you got going on. Here, I'll turn on the tv for you while I'm out." He explained, making his way over and flicking it on. "Just don't watch too much, it'll rot your brain. Ok? Ok. Be back in a jiff."

With that, he made his way out of the room, careful to lock it behind him, just in case, and started towards the small dinner that was attached to the hotel. 'Mary's' certainly wasn't anything special as far as variety or quality were concerned, but the meals were hot and the prices were fair. He put in an order for two helpings of the 'special stew' at the bar and left what made the stew special unasked. He felt it was probably better that way.

"Haven't seen you 'round here before," he heard a voice call to his left. He looked over to see a man of medium height and build, with short, brown hair take a seat next to him at the bar. "The usual, Mary."

"Haven't passed through here in a while," Zack admitted, eyeing the man as Mary passed him a beer. "Most of the work's up towards Midgar nowadays."

The man hummed, "ain't that the truth?" He scanned Zack up and down with a keener eye than he'd have like. "You're a military type, by the look of it. How's that life?"

Something was off, he could feel it. He couldn't point to it, couldn't describe it for you, but he knew. He'd come too far not trust his gut.

"It's got its ups and downs, like anything I guess," he answered carefully.

"Yeah, I suppose it'd be that way," the man mused, taking a swig of his drink. "I tell ya though, you actually kinda look like one of those SOLDIER guys that we see on the news all the time."

Zack carefully, painstakingly, looked over the man again. He wore what looked to be a bomber jacket, but it held no patches or insignia that Zack could see. The man's face was covered in stubble, clearly out of regulations, but he might have been on leave. He couldn't see beneath the bar, but he bet his sword those rugged work pants led down to military issued boots.

It was the eyes that caught him though. Their glow was dull, but there…the telltale sign of a SOLDIER. If he had to guess, he'd say third class, based off the man's limited mako exposure.

He smiled weakly at the man and pointed at himself. "Me? Yeah right, those guys would eat me alive."

"Here you go, hun, two orders of the special to go." Mary mercifully interrupted as she passed him the disposable containers.

He let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks," he nodded to her, pulling away from the bar.

"You sure I can't buy you a drink or something? You know, for your service." The man asked.

Zack took another step back. "Nah, I'm good. Feeling tired. Thanks anyway though."

The man nodded. "Don't worry about it. See you around, Zack."

He tried not to look like he was about to bolt from the dinner, tried to keep a steady pace as he walked out the door, waited until he'd rounded the corner to dump the food and break out into a sprint.

The same fact kept playing over and over in his head. He'd never told the guy his name.

He didn't even bother with the lock as he ripped the door to the room open.

"Cloud, we gotta go!"

"…"

"Yeah, buddy, I was hoping that too, but we gotta get the hell out of here." He explained, rushing around the room and gathering their meager belongings into a small knapsack, before moving over to pick up his blond friend.

"It's mako poisoning, isn't it?" A voice sounded from the door behind him.

Fuck.

He let out a slow breath, letting the knapsack fall onto the bed, he turned to face the man.

"Yeah, pretty bad too."

The man hummed from his place in the door, "Looks it."

Zack gave him a pleading look. "Hey, I don't know what they've been saying about us, but-"

"You remember me?" The stranger asked, cutting him off.

Zack looked him over again before shrugging tiredly. "Maybe? You seem kinda familiar, but…I can't come up with a name. Sorry."

The man sighed. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense, given the crowd you were running with back then. We served together in Wutai."

Zack snapped his fingers, "It's Kyle isn't it! Xiao Long province, right?"

The man nodded, "Yeah."

"Fuck that place."

The man chuckled darkly, "Yeah."

Zack gestured towards Cloud. "Look, Kyle, we don't have to do this. You can see that whatever you heard is bullshit. Please, just look the other way just this once. We'll be in the wind."

Kyle ran a hand through his short hair and hissed. "Fuck, Zack…I already called it in."

"Damn," He had to at least try. "Shinra, they're not who you think they are, you should split too, bro."

Kyle shook his head sadly. "I think they're exactly who I think they are, which is why I can't look away. I got people, Zack."

Zack's shoulders fell. "And you already called it in."

"Yeah, sorry."

"I got people too, man."

The man stepped slowly into the room.

"I know."


Zack sighed as he turned the key in the ignition of the truck, letting his head fall against the steering wheel.

"…"

"Yeah, buddy, I feel the same way."

"…"

"I don't know where we'll go, but we need to move. We'll have to circle back to Gongaga later, once the heat's died down a bit. Dammit!" He yelled, punching the dash, leaving a large dent in the black surface.

"…"

He sighed, "No, man, I'm not giving up. I…I just get frustrated, you know? I was excited to see my folks. Excited for you to meet'em too."

"…"

"I know I got no right to complain, Spike. I still got people." He was quiet for a moment, staring through the windshield into the night. "I'm sorry about your ma."

"…"

"You're right about that, life is a bitch," He chuckled, before shooting a weak smile at his friend in the passenger seat. "But you know what? I bet that girl you like so much is still running around."

"…"

He tsked. "Are you kidding? That girl is crazy about you. Bet you she went to Midgar to find work. You know who else is in Midgar?"

"…"

"Yeah, wasn't too hard to guess, huh? I sure talk about her enough."

"…"

"She's gonna love you man, I just know it." He said, popping the truck into gear and slowly pulling away from the inn.

"…"

"Yeah man, we're gonna be ok," he comforted, a tear slowly rolled down his cheek. "We gotta be ok."