Helloooo people! How is everyone? I hope good! Here's another chapter to keep your spirits high! :D Thank you all for following my story and giving me reviews (doesn't matter if good or bad, I'm happy either way :3)

This is a cute prompt from my friend AkaiArashi1!

Enjoy!

The Way You Care

Zack staggered on unsteady feet, using the wall for support as blood continued to drip from somewhere underneath his shoulder guard, head and…well, he wasn't sure where he wasn't bleeding from. His head was dizzy from the intense fight he had minutes ago, or was it hours?

His motorcycle got destroyed by the rare cross breeds between Behemoth and Shadow Creepers, so he had been forced to walk, with great difficulty, through the sandy terrain all the way back to Seventh Heaven. The beasts had torn his uniform to bits, including his phone, so he had been unable to call for back up or help.

Not to mention the weight of his trusted Buster sword doing nothing to ease his pain, he remembered when he had been a Third and Angeal once allowed him to try and lift up the Buster sword, it had felt like Zack had been trying to lift a Faeryl, that was the only time when the sword felt heavy to him. Afterwards, Zack sometimes didn't even notice when he had it strapped on, it's weight like a feather, except now. It was killing his back and the wounds on his ribs and shoulders.

Zack silently thanked whatever gods he knew that the bar was free of customers and Tifa was wiping it clean, he groaned in pain as he slowly, barely, pushed the door open.

The bell chime alerted Tifa that someone just entered, the white rag she had held in her hands fell to the floor as she quickly rushed to Zack alarmed, supporting his uninjured side, or not-so injured side.

"Zack! Oh my god, what happened?! Where were you so long? Who, what did this?" Tifa helped him limp upstairs, one step after agonizing step until they finally arrived at their bedroom to carefully help Zack lean against the pillow.

"Argh…bunch of…cross breeds…Shadow Creepers and Behemoths, they surprised me while I-I was going back…from a delivery. I killed them all, but they destroyed my bike and phone…" Zack hissed between grit teeth when Tifa gently, slowly took off his torn, bloodied shirt, removed his shoulder plates and leather armor.

"Of all things…where was Cloud?! Didn't he go with you?!" Tifa rushed inside the bathroom with amazing speed, carrying gauzes, bandages, disinfectant, scissors and white cotton towels.

"H-he…argh damn it, he wanted to pay Aerith a visit…" Zack cursed when Tifa gently dabbed at the blood and dirt, his tightened his fists and grit his teeth tightly together, "Tifa, just do what you have to, don't worry about me, I'm used to it."

He sent her a strained, small smile and Tifa's heart broke at how drained Zack looked, blood everywhere, she would have to change the bed sheets after she patched him up.

Tifa braced herself for Zack's reaction as she dabbed at his wounds again with the cotton towel, soaked from disinfectant. Zack's muffled, drawn out groan of pain made Tifa cringe in sympathy. She tried to clean his wounds as quickly and precisely as possible, but he had too many of them and the larger, deeper gashes required more attention.

Tifa placed a cool towel on Zack's sweating forehead, he sucked in a startled breath and opened his mako blue eyes, he sent her a grateful look, not trusting his voice at the moment from all the pain.

Tifa frowned when she had to remove a lone fang from one of Zack's deeper gashes, it seemed like one beast had bitten him on his thigh.

"T-thank you so much Teef…" Zack exhaled when Tifa moved lower to clean his legs, the pain wasn't as strong there and he didn't have as many wounds. He felt his injuries stinging from the disinfectant on them, killing all the germs, his fist enclosed the blanket.

"Of course Zack, it's nothing." She dismissed it gently, tentavly helping Zack sit up so she could move behind him on the bed and tend to his other injuries on his back.

"Sorry!" Tifa cringed when Zack sharply hissed when she dabbed at a particularly painful spot, a long, diagonal cut along the expanse of his broad back. She sighed, finished with cleaning his torso, arms and legs of blood and dirt. Now for the bandages.

Tifa started at the worst of them, on his chest and abdomen.

She held the roll of bandage in one hand while she instructed Zack to hold one end against his skin so she could more easily bandage his abdomen, Tifa blushed as she had to get close to Zack.

Zack's cheeks heated, he tore his gaze away from Tifa's blushing face and looked out the window, wincing and groaning when Tifa had to wrap it tight around his middle. He sighed in relief when he felt the cool ointment she must have applied to the inside of the bandages soothing his burning wounds.

"I'm sorry, I could have given you a healing materia, but your wounds wouldn't properly heal and there had been a strong chance of getting an infection from the inside." Tifa's face was sad as she looked at Zack's exhausted state, he just smiled at her tiredly

"Nah, don't worry about it, it's alright. I understand, just…thanks for taking care of me." He smiled warmly and Tifa continued to treat his injuries almost the whole night.

"Dinner!" Tifa called, Marlene and Denzel trailing behind her with their own plates filled with food, entering Tifa's bedroom where Zack lay on her bed, bandaged like a mummy.

Zack had been unable to stand without Tifa helping him up, so in terms of moving, he couldn't do much there. He actually just laid in bed all day, Cloud and Aerith would come to visit often and help out.

Cloud had usually been assigned with the "grunt" work as he had so affectionately called it, helping to change Zack's clothes, escort him to the restroom…etc.

Though once Cloud had threatened him with a stern glare:" I'm not taking your pants off! I don't care if your arms will fall off, I am not taking another guy's pants off."

Well…needless to say Zack had never asked for Cloud's help concerning that again…the blonde swordsman could be scary at times…even scarier than a furious Tifa.

Zack smiled brightly, chuckling, "What are you all doing here?" he eyed the plates they were carrying, Tifa was carrying two. She handed one to him with a fork and knife, as she, Marlene and Denzel sat on chairs around Zack.

"What does it look like? We will eat here with you." Tifa offered him a kind smile

"No, no you don't have to Teef, I'm fine guys." He ruffled Denzel's hair when he noticed the boy was giving him a concerned look.

"You're injured Zack, course we will eat with you! I hate eating alone, I don't think anyone likes to eat alone so that's why we will eat here with you until you recover!" Zack was stunned to speechlessness by Marlene's words, she nodded to assure him before they started to eat.

Zack looked at the family that had accepted him so easily into their circle, as part of their own with a fondness he last felt with his own parents in Gongaga.

A small, albeit warm smile spread on his handsome face, the only one who noticed was Tifa, who was watching Zack from the corner of her eyes.

"Thank you,"

And those words meant more to Tifa than she would probably admit to anyone, anytime soon.

Other version (not connected to the above!)

Zack panted lightly as he laid in their bed, at least three blankets wrapped around him like a cocoon, his forehead was burning, his face was flushed, he was sweating buckets and he felt like he was being fried.

God damn cold…

"I can't believe you caught a virus…" Tifa frowned as she removed the thermometer when she heard the beeping noise and grimaced when his fever didn't lower, in fact, it grew.

She sighed before kneeling on the floor and soaking the small towel, which was hot thanks to Zack's fever, back in the small bowl of ice cold water. As she wiped his feverish face with the cold towel Zack let out a sigh of relief, his blue eyes opening to look at her as if she just gave him the greatest relief.

She smiled and kissed his forehead affectionately but he recoiled back, his voice was hoarse and sore," D-don't Teef…y-you will just catch the flu too…" he sniffed, rubbing his running nose, which was a bright pink.

He snatched the third box of tissues from the night desk and blew his nose for what felt like the hundredth time in five minutes. His eyes kept watering, his throat constantly felt dry and sore and he looked worse than death with dark bags under his eyes and paler complexion.

"Don't worry about it, you just need time to heal…" she caressed his hot face affectionately before she tucked the covers directly underneath his chin, running a hand through his sweaty, ebony spikes.

"How about a bath hm? I'll get you your tea and some cookies too." She sent him a bright smile and Zack's heart gave a tug at the affection the woman before him showered him with.

With a action that shouldn't have been as difficult as it had felt to Zack, he sat up and enveloped Tifa in a tight hug, tenderly rubbing her back and head. She blushed slightly but not from a fever.

"Thank you so much Tifa…what would I do without you…" Zack exhaled loudly, reveling in her welcoming warmth.

"You would be laying half dead on the floor, I swear Zack, you men are like babies when ill," she teased him lightly before kissing his forehead.

"Can you…help me?" Zack was never afraid to ask someone for help, he knew it was a part of life and it didn't make him any less of a "man" if he did. At that moment he felt like a helpless child, too weak to even stand on his own two feet, let alone attempt to sit up.

Tifa shook her head and smiled tenderly and bent down, helping him stand up as she placed a hand on his soaked shirt to keep him from falling forward.

Zack hated it when Tifa had to drag his sorry ass, whether injured from battle or not, he tried to keep most of his weight off her, but he couldn't find the strength to do it, it was like all his strength had been sapped from him. He was thankful that the mako in his body should speed up his healing process, but that didn't mean that he was looking forward to the few days where he would suffer from the flu.

Zack sat on the edge of the bathtub, while slowly trying to remove his shirt, Tifa helped him, removing his socks, pants and boxers before she helped him into the bathtub, which was already filled with hot water.

Despite Zack's nose being completely filled with snot and whatnot, he faintly smelled something like different herbs.

"A herbal bath?" he cringed when he heard his raspy, hoarse voice echo in the bathroom.

"Mhm, it will help you recover faster this way. And it will open your air ways so you can breathe through your nose sooner." She stroked his spiky hair, before she stood up and went quickly downstairs to get him his tea.

Zack leaned his head against the edge of the bathtub, sighing heavily when his lungs felt like they were burning.

"I love you so much Teef…" Zack said into the steamy bathroom, feeling all the love he had for the woman he had pledged his life to, surface even more than usually, creating a warm feeling in his chest.

He smiled.

"Is Zack feeling better Tifa?" Marlene asked her mother figure, watching as Tifa threw the soaked tea bags into the bin, Denzel's gaze expressed his worry as he stood next to Marlene.

"Not really, sweetie. He will need some time before he goes to his cheery, puppy self." She giggled slightly, holding the steaming cup of tea in her hand and a small plate of cookies in the other.

"But shouldn't the mako in his body help him recover faster?" it was Denzel who asked, his brows drawing together in confusion.

"It should, but Zack will still have to endure it for a few days more. We should be lucky he has mako infused in him, otherwise he would be like a cranky old woman for over a month." Tifa and the kids laughed.

"Give him a kiss from us Tifa!"

Tifa nodded, she didn't want the kids to catch the flu too, so they didn't see Zack often since he had been practically tied to the bed for the past two days.

As Tifa entered the bathroom again, she had to stifle a laugh as she saw Zack absently playing with the rubber duck swimming in the herbal water. He looked like a overgrown child, the small pout on his face when the duck wasn't looking at him only served to make the situation that more cuter and funnier in Tifa's eyes.

"You poor thing, I hope Mr. Ducky here is keeping you some company." She joked as she took a small stool and sat on it, holding out the warm mug to Zack.

He took it gratefully and replied gruffly:" Cut me some slack woman…he has been my bathing companion this whole time," he playfully dunked the duck under the water before it sprung back up to the surface.

"Oh really? And what am I?" Tifa playfully teased, but didn't expect Zack to bury his face against her chest, his cheek pressing to hear her heartbeat

"You're my favorite cuddle toy in the world.." he joked with a small grin, pointedly nuzzling his face against her chest.

Tifa blushed, "I would've dunk your face in the water if you weren't ill right now…" her empty threat seemed to amuse Zack even more.

"I know…" he chuckled, "That's why I plan on at least taking advantage of the moment." She sighed and rubbed his head soothingly, hearing him exhale in relief. At least she could ease some of his pain.

Zack coughed violently before drinking his tea, grimacing at the bitter taste, "Teef…why does my tea taste worse than Cloud's cooking?"

"Because it's green tea," at Zack's puppy expression she firmly said, "No, Zack I won't put sugar in it, you can't taste it anyway."

"But I can taste how bitter it is…" he pouted like a unsatisfied child and Tifa sighed.

"You're sometimes such a kid…" she watched as he rubbed at his throat and sore muscles, they got sometimes sore from lack of use or go stiff.

Zack offered her a small smirk until he started coughing violently again, sneezing into the tissue he quickly grabbed from the second tissue box on his other side.

"How many of those things did I already blew empty?" Zack inquired, looking at the two tissue boxes on either side of him.

"Over six, I think." Tifa giggled when Zack briefly sunk his head underneath the water and resurfaced, his spikes laying almost flat on his head.

He hummed in pleasure as Tifa shampooed his hair, massaging his aching skull in the process, "You're a goddess Teef…" the woman giggled

"You tell me that an awful lot lately," she shook her head, smiling.

"Because you are to me, even if I don't tell me you often enough," the suddenly serious look on Zack's face startled Tifa slightly, before her heart melted at his heartfelt confession.

Was it possible to love this man anymore than she already did?

Tifa caressed his face and leaned down, planting a soft, sweet kiss on his lips, not caring that he was sick.

"Tifa, you will get infected too…" Zack pouted, but she could see he was a lot happier now.

She smiled, "Don't worry, it takes a bit more to take me down than the flu." She winked, before she helped Zack wash himself, dressing him in only his fresh boxers and socks, since he was too hot anyway, unless she wanted whole hamper to be filled with Zack's sweaty shirts.

He gingerly laid down on the bed, once again building a cocoon of blankets around himself, cool towel in place on his burning forehead.

"I love you Tifa…" he felt better now thanks to the bath and tea, not to mention the soft cookies Tifa had brought him.

He would have married her on the spot if he already wasn't married to her.

The beauty giggled and ran a hand gently through his drying spikes, drawing the blanket closer to his chin and adjusting his pillow.

"Sleep for now, you need the rest after those hard nights you had before." Zack nodded weakly, his eyes effortlessly closing to lull him to sleep.

Tifa smiled as she softly closed the door behind her, a single sneeze disturbing the quiet atmosphere, but this time it didn't come from Zack.

Zack stood by their bed with a tapping foot and crossed arms, a scowl on his handsome face.

He had recovered nicely, partly thanks to the mako in his body and partly thanks to his wonderful wife.

Who was now sick.

She caught the flu.

Surprise.

"Zaaack…." Tifa croaked out, her hoarse voice muffled by the blanket which she used to cover her face.

"What did I tell you…" he sighed heavily, helping her sit up to feed her chicken soup.

She pouted cutely, "Yeah, yeah…" he shook his head and fed her as she grimaced suddenly, "Zack…what soup is this? Its horrible," he rolled his eyes at her crankiness.

"It's chicken soup, now eat. You're sick and you can't taste it anyway." She shook her head stubbornly.

"Tifa…" a shake of her head again.

"It's chicken soup with green Choccobos in it…happy now?" Zack quirked his brow as Tifa stuck her tongue out at him and turned his head away from the spoon.

"Do I have to count to three?" still no response.

"One…"

Nothing.

"Two…"

She didn't budge.

"Say 'ahhh'." Zack grinned in delight as Tifa reluctantly opened her mouth to swallow the soup, the green Choccobo was always known for its healing abilities, though this kind of soup wasn't very common, since they didn't want to kill too many of them because of their effectiveness in combat.

"There ya go!" Zack cheered, his grin only widening. Tifa rolled her eyes, being relieved beyond belief when she finally finished her soup.

After Zack placed the now empty bowl on the night desk near the bed, Tifa was surprised as Zack lifted on end of the blanket and laid next to Tifa.

"Zack? What-"

She closed her mouth as Zack wrapped his arms around her shivering form, her red nose buried against his chest.

"Shhh, it's alright. I won't get ill, don't worry." He kissed the top of her head and suddenly, Tifa didn't feel so cold anymore.

She sighed softly and rested her hands against his chest, listening to the soothing sound of his heartbeat, nuzzling his solid chest, feeling secure as his strong arms wrapped around her.

"I heard sharing body heat helps," Zack chuckled, hugging her closer to him.

And Tifa just smiled and nodded, falling asleep with the SOLDIER in her arms and she in his.

The end for this chapter! So, how did you like it? REVIEWS ARE VERY VERY WELCOME THANK YOU! I hope AkaiArashi1 liked his/her prompt! Hope I met the expectations! :D