Disclaimer time!: sadly, nothing has changed since the last 9 chapters, we still don't own a thing that we write about...Except Holt, but believe me, we're not bragging.
A/N:
So LittleLate and I noticed something awful last night. We have four weeks before she runs off to college somewhere far away. Meaning we have four weeks to finish this story… We have 8 more chapters to go and I don't know if we're gonna make it…But we will try! Even if it kills us, we will try!
That said….Happy reading.
CHAPTER 10
"I take it this is your handiwork?"
Vincent gestured to the divided lunchroom as he served Zack his meal, now knowing the young 1st Class well enough to need to ask what he wanted.
Zack sighed and nodded, feeling as disgusting as the blob he had just been served.
"'Afraid so, Vin. Hopefully this won't be a lasting thing…"
"Yes." The now disinterested lethal lunch lady replied turning to find his beloved can of peaches. It had been a little while since he had seen them. If one of those other buffoons had served his peaches for lunch, so help him…
Seeing the insane glint in the older man's eyes, Zack chose to excuse himself.
"Well, I'm gonna go find Seph now…I'll see ya later, Vincent."
The suspended Turk gave a near unnoticeable tip of the head as the SOLDIER left one psycho maniac for another.
As Zack walked along the SOLDIER side of the cafeteria smiling at those who waved to him as he passed, he wondered just how things had gotten this far out of hand. Not only had the two deadliest forces in Shinra been pitted against one another, but Reno and he had shattered a friendship, and it wasn't just their own he was referring to.
Looking ahead of him, he saw Sephiroth seated by himself in the far corner. It wasn't right. Seph wasn't supposed to be in the corner, and he certainly wasn't supposed to be alone.
He was supposed to be at the center end of the cafeteria sitting with Tseng as the two vented and spoke to one another as only they could.
But ever since his fight with Reno, Sephiroth and Tseng had taken to sitting as far apart as possible, which led to their respective subordinates following suite. Turks on the right by the door, and Soldiers on the left nearer to the food line, and directly in the middle of the cafeteria, looking far too pleased with the situation, was Hojo himself with his collection of assorted lab slave-err…assistants.
While Zack was overjoyed that he now sat with Sephiroth, this whole thing was driving him mad.
About the time that Zack took a seat with his General, Reno came in from the side door of the cafeteria. Lucky that the door was on the Turk-Side, he passed by his fellow co-workers, receiving many awed looks of respect. Ever since the two groups had drawn the metaphorical line, Reno and Zack had become even more infamous among their peers.
Reno sighed heavily as he collapsed gracelessly into the chair next to Tseng, pretending not to notice the malicious glare he was receiving from a very malicious 'lunch lady.' Vincent had obviously been less than pleased to find the red-head and Tseng sitting together; after all, he wanted Tseng angry with Reno so he could get his job back, not acting all buddy-buddy with him.
It took Reno two days to notice this, however, before realizing that he probably didn't want to eat anything that Vincent was willing to serve him, even more so then usual. He could no longer get his lunch from the cafeteria, and let's face it. Reno didn't 'brown bag' anything unless it was 35-50 alcohol.
Tseng knew full well that Reno wasn't going anywhere near Valentine's lunch line and couldn't help but sympathize for his starving Second.
Reno was staring blankly at the table when he saw half a lunch tray enter his line of vision. Looking up, he saw Tseng glance back at him and pass him a fork, the silent offer to share his lunch.
Zack watched with jealous eyes as Reno gave his Tseng a warm smile as the two of them split the unsavory food. Why wouldn't his boss do that!? Hmm…Maybe he would…
Glancing at Sephiroth, who seemed to be zoning out but probably wasn't, Zack reached over to pluck a carrot off of his plate when Seph's eyes snapped to him, displaying disbelief and pulling his tray nearer to him, almost seeming to cradle it.
It took a moment for the silver-haired man to push the confusion away before looking at black haired Lieutenant sardonically.
"Do you require two lunches now?"
His dry tone, added with his actions, offended Zack a little bit. Tseng shared his food, why wouldn't Seph?
"But Tse-" he thought better of it. "-orry…"
Before the scene between his Second and the loud-mouthed Turk the other day, Sephiroth would have cared nothing about Zack's hurt tone over something so trivial.
Now though, he found himself unable to crush the almost guilty tingle that he had damaged the boy's feelings. Perhaps he should consider-
"What do you think you're doing, kid?"
Zack whipped his head around at the gruff question while Sephiroth calmly turned his head to regard Sgt. Holt.
Zack rolled his eyes, not in the mood to deal with this asshole. He was planning on impressing Sephiroth by ignoring him and showing him he could be the 'bigger man,' but that was before what Holt said next.
"You've got a lot of nerve, trash like you sitting with the General. Why do you think you deserve to be near such a brilliant warrior after you shamed the entire SOLDIER program, being told off by a Turk? And especially if what that Turk said was true. Who know the great and lovable Zack Fair took happy pills."
Zack wanted to scream, to punch the older man. He wanted to hurt him, kill him, anything. He did not take pills to be who he was and it disgusted him to think that someone may have taken Reno's insults to heart.
Even though he said he wouldn't, Zack clenched his fists and was about to stand when a soft but commanding hand was laid on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Zackary." Zack was about to ask why Sephiroth would take Holt's side when he saw the look in his Commanding Officer's eyes, and did nothing to hide the smirk forming on his own face. Holt was about to get it.
Sephiroth, much to Zack's amazement, left his hand where it was as he stood swiftly from the table, remaining standing behind him, eyes boring into the now not-so-smug Sergeant in front of them.
"Sgt. Holt."
It was a cold, ruthless tone, and it was all it took for the man to realize that he was not the one in the General's favor.
"Zackary Fair is the finest SOLDIER I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Never once has he shamed me or this department, and never once has he disappointed me."
Though Zack's heart was practically exploding, he did as he was told when Sephiroth motioned for him to stand.
"Further more, these delusional rumors of Zack taking depression medication are just that: rumors. If you ever speak to Lieutenant Fair in such a manner again, I will personally see to it that you are discharged from my army, as he is your superior officer, and above else, my friend."
As Holt looked as though he were going to faint, and Sephiroth began to move away from the table, Zack was positive that his heart had ruptured. Sephiroth had stood up for him…he had declared him as…his friend.
Zack couldn't remove the smile from his face as he followed his General away from the table, vaguely remembering that Tseng and Seph always used to leave lunch early, which would explain why no one else was leaving.
Sadly, both leaders were stubborn men who weren't going to alter their daily schedules simply because they no longer got along.
As Sephiroth and Zack neared the door, so did Tseng and Reno. Zack didn't appear to be the only one to notice as Reno sped up to hold the door open for Tseng, as well as Sephiroth, who gave him a withering glare for his efforts.
The smirk had just touched Zack's lips when the swinging door collided with his face, and he heard Reno stifle a cruel laugh and hurry to stand closely beside Tseng, avoiding the stare the Silver General was giving.
Backing up and touching his face, Zack turned to see the entire lunch room staring at him, the Turks with mirth and laughter and the SOLDIERS with pity and anger on his behalf. Hojo didn't have a chosen side to support, and just enjoyed pain for both sides, and as such could barely conceal his joy.
That was it. Reno had publically humiliated him for the last time. It was time to hit the obnoxious Turk where it hurt, even if it meant betraying his own feelings of idolism.
((((((CHANGE THIS TEXT TO A LINE BREAK)))))
"This is exactly why I need to you escort me to the General's office. That part of the building is bound to be swarming with SOLDIERS, and let's face it- I've always been regarded as being more…Turk-Oriented."
As the young Vice President was escorted down the hall by a stressed-out looking Tseng, Zack grinned and headed off in the opposite direction.
Tseng must not have been too thrilled about visiting Sephiroth, let alone the risk of Rufus traveling into 'SOLDIER territory.' Personally, Zack thought the whole inter-department rivalry was ridiculous, even though his next move would make things a hell of a lot worse.
Zack idly wondered, as he reached the empty Turk lounge, if the Turks ever did any work at all. The lounge and the offices connected to it was a ghost town…Zack always knew he had picked the wrong department to join!
Not wanting to push his luck as someone could return at any moment, Zack quickly crossed the room to reach Tseng's office. Pleased to find it unlocked, he opened the door and entered the room, instantly disturbed by how…CLEAN it was.
It wasn't normal overly-clean, like Seph's office. It was freakishly overly-clean. As Zack noticed that the paper clips on the desk were separated by size and the rubber bands by color and bandwidth, he knew Tseng must have some sort of OCD.
"Or every kind." Zack quietly corrected himself upon seeing that the office contained six wall clocks, each which had been obviously meticulously synchronized down to the mili-second.
Shaking his head an opting to get out of this room of perpetual order, Zack rummaged through Tseng's desk drawers. Finally finding what he was looking for, he grinned and left the room, though not before noticing a box of latex gloves and mounted hand sanitizer dispenser above the trashcan.
Shaking his head, Zack closed the door behind him, only to spot the one and only Hojo watching. Not wanting to know what the 'good doctor' was doing here, nor wanting to wind up locked in a cell, Zack dashed from the room.
((((((SAME GOES FOR THIS ONE)))))
"WHERE IS IT?!" Snarls and crashing could be heard from the office of the second most deceptively calm man in Shinra.
Tseng had just returned from a particularly nerve-grating encounter with Sephiroth, and as such, required one thing to relieve himself of his ex-friend induced stress.
Where in the hell was his stress-ball.
Reno entered the Turk lounge to see Elena, Rude, and that weird Rod guy all staring nervously at the Boss's door.
"What's goin' on?" he asked, deciding Elena was most likely to know, as she made it her business to know all that was Tseng-related. Sadly though, he was disappointed.
"I…I don't know! He just got back from taking Rufus to see the General, walked into his office, and...well..." she pointed to the door as another slam was heard from within, followed by another curse.
Reno's stomach sank as he could only think of one thing that could send Tseng over the edge.
"Boss-Man?" Reno asked cautiously as he cracked Tseng's door, closely followed by the other three Turks.
When he didn't receive an answer he opened the door to reveal Tseng standing in the middle of his office. The room looked like it had been torn apart and Tseng looked as though he were on the verge of a mental breakdown.
"Hey Boss…" Reno tried again, deciding to test if his theory was correct.
"You look like you could use Delilah. You know, give her a good, rough squeeze."
The older man's head snapped upwards, rage emitting from him in waves.
"You took her!"
Reno froze in terror before Tseng changed his mind, shaking his head and bringing a hand to his chin in deliberation.
"No, no…You're stupid, but you aren't that stupid."
Reno didn't know if he should be offended, terrified, or laughing his ass off that Tseng appeared to be thinking out loud, something the older man never did.
"Yes…" he continued in thought. "…'Delilah,' as you call her, has been your ally for too long, you wouldn't betray her services now…"
The head Turk passed through his door, giving Elena and the other Turks a good once-over before shaking his head in dismay.
"No, you have too large of a crush on me and you two respect me…"
Elena turned bright red and hurried into her own office, Rude displaying no emotion and Rod hunching his shoulders.
Wondering why Tseng didn't realize that this had to be Zack's doings, Reno followed after the deranged Turk, who was now stopping at each person he saw, giving a brief analysis, and moving on.
"No, too stupid…No, too smart…No, too cowardly" Tseng rambled on, to the horror of the dozens of Shinra employees 'lucky' enough to cross paths with the man today.
As Reno and his emotionally unbalanced Commander rounded the corner they saw Professor Hojo trying to persuade a middle-aged janitor that something in the back of his lab required 'cleaning' (meaning he was running low on test subjects and getting bored and desperate).
Tseng stopped and gave the fearful janitor a long, hard look before frowning and shaking his head and continuing on his hunt.
Reno gave Hojo a strange side-glance and shrugged his shoulders, the janitor taking the distraction and running for it, only a little offended that before leaving, a mysterious black-haired Wutian man in a blue suit had frowned and him and muttered "No, too civilian."
Sprinting the short distance to catch up with his boss, Reno wondered if it was actually safe to be this close to him, what with the whole 'eyes clouded over with madness' thing the other man had going on.
It was then that the red-headed Turk realized that Tseng had appeared to strongly consider the janitor (he had scrutinized that man more than anyone before him), but he hadn't given Hojo a second look.
"Hey Tseng, what about Hojo?"
Tseng didn't cease his search as he replied.
"That soulless idiot doesn't know anything…"
Neither of them seemed to be aware that aforementioned 'Soulless Idiot' was currently trailing them, interested in what could make the normally stoic Turk so...well...loony. Who knew, perhaps he could discover the source and use it to his advantage…a new play-toy would be a fun thing, especially if that toy was the lead Turk.
(((((SAME HERE, TOO)))))
"I just don't get it, Laney…Why doesn't he know that Zack took Delilah?" Reno asked out loud for the hundredth time, each time annoyed that Elena wasn't answering him.
Finally looking up to snap at her, he noticed that the blonde woman looked rather distraught.
Not wanting to deal with another insane Turk, and knowing that he was not good with upset women, yet not being, in good conscience, able to ignore her, Reno swallowed, regretting it already.
"You okay, kid?"
Elena looked at him very closely for a moment, before her eyes brimmed with tears, making Reno kick what ever fragment of conscience he'd had left.
"WHO IS DELILAH?! And why does he want HER so badly?! Can't he see that I care about him? I would never run off and leave him for Lieutenant Fair like that…that hussy-tramp!"
As she bit her lip to get herself under control, Reno didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, deciding to go home tonight and try both. Right after he planned his revenge on that no good, Delilah stealing, double crossing son of a bitch.
No one made a move against his boss and got away with it...No, that was his job.
A/N:
Ah. Another chapter out of the way.
Like I said earlier, we have 8 more chapters to go, making our total goal for this story 18 chapters. Well, 17 chapters and an epilogue, but who's counting? I hope you enjoyed this, and hope you will continue to read, as it is now the ever-fabulous TooLittleTooLate's turn! Yaaaay!
I, myself, am excited to read what happens next as well. We don't get to find out what happens in the other's chapter until the same time you guys do (even though I am staying with her all summer and we stay up all night planning these chapters out!) :(
HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH, EVERYBODY!