A/N: Page two of the horrific meetings.
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Numb
Characters: Reno/Tseng
There was somebody up there...
Stolen Electro-mag rod in hand, Reno crept around the back of the couch and stepped up onto the broken side table. It wobbled precariously but he ignored it, used to his shitty furniture. There was only so much one could work with in the slums and Reno was of the opinion he actually had it pretty good living over the old florists shop.
Why the hell someone put a florists shop so close to the train graveyard was anyone's guess.
Another drop of water feel from between a cracked piece of sheetrock and splashed on his face. The redheads scowl deepened and he adjusted his grip on the handle.
Resisting the urge to mutter a few well chosen expletives, Reno jammed the rod up through the soft ceiling and jabbed the button, sending a high voltage shock right into something soft.
There was a masculine yelp and then the cocking of a gun could be heard.
Snickering to himself, Reno jumped off the back of the couch and scurried out the door, snagging his wallet on the way.
As he was just about to jump down the first flight of stairs there was a loud crash, followed by a muffled groan, and Reno froze. When there was no further sound, he slowly crept back to the door and peeked in.
A dark haired man was laying on the floor, one hand rubbing his ass, the other clutching some kind of easily concealable hand gun. The blue suit registered in Reno's mind and everything else came to a screeching halt.
A Turk.
He'd just electrocuted a Turk. In the ass.
"Stop staring and help me before I shoot you," the man snapped.
Blinking, Reno nodded slowly. "Uh, right, right, yo."
When he didn't move dark eyes turned to him and narrowed into a glare. "Move!"
Not two minutes later, Reno found himself tied to a chair, hands cuffed behind his head and frowning at his own stupidity. Really...had he honestly been dumb enough to fall for that?
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Shorts
Characters: Angeal/Zack
"Do a belly flop!"
"No! Those hurt," Zack whined, turning big watery eyes on Reno. The pout was lost on his friend and he huffed. "I'm not doing that again. Last time I threw up."
A disgusted look crossed the redhead's face and he glanced down at the water. "Yo...ya didn't in the pool...right?"
"Nope. I made it to the toilet." Zack beamed at him, returning to his usual, cheery self. That is until he caught sight of something over Reno's shoulder and his eyes glassed over, expression softening. The Turk snickered to himself. Only one man could cause that expression.
Angeal Hewley was on lifeguard duty today- which, Reno thought belatedly, was probably why Zack had insisted on swimming. A lot of the SOLDIERs took turns monitoring the training areas, the pool included. He and Rhapsodos were the only certified lifeguards at the moment.
"Go talk to him, yo."
Zack blinked. "Are you stupid? He's...busy."
"Busy...frowning at the wall?"
"He's not frowning."
"Man, he is too! That's all he does."
"Does not!"
Reno rolled his eyes and shoved his friend in the direction of the lifeguard stand. "When has that ever stopped you? Move yer ass."
"Reno..."
"Now, damn it! Or I'll start stealin' those pretty boxers of yours again."
"..."
Somehow, Zack found himself standing at the foot of the deck Angeal was perched on. "Good morning, sir!" He called, waving a little less enthusiastically than was normal.
"It is three o'clock. It's afternoon," Angeal replied, looking down at the Second class in tropical print swim trunks. He was pretty sure those weren't regulation...
"Oh," Zack chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "G-Good Afternoon the-"
The startled shriek that came from the normally bouncy Second was enough to make Reno's head spin. It was worth it though, to watch Zack grab for the shorts around his ankles and go toppling off the edge of the pool with a splash. The commander was off the deck and diving in after him a second later.
When they resurfaced, Reno was long gone and Angeal's frown deepened. He was going to have to speak to Tseng about the behavior of his Turks.
Pantsing...was not exactly professional.
Brushing the thought off to a later day, he looked down at the rather large, warm bundle in his arms. "What's your name, SOLDIER?"
Big blue eyes blinked up at him. The young man's tan cheeks were dark with a blush as he tried, and failed, to spit out his name amidst the coughing up of chlorine water.
"Calm down," Angeal said quietly. "You're fine. Just breath."
Zack took a deep breath, letting it out loudly, when the coughing fit had finally subsided. "Zack Fair, sir."
"Zack..." It was a nice name; very fitting for a puppy such as this one. However... Angeal inclined his head to the opposite end of the pool and a bright patch of cloth floating near the diving board. "Those shorts are not regulation."
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Popcorn
Characters: Genesis/Cloud/Sephiroth
For the millionth time that afternoon, he twitched.
That smell had to have been coming from somewhere. But where? Slamming his hands down on his desk, Genesis Rhapsodos leapt up and stomped out into the hall.
Evidently he'd just had to take a page out of Zack's book and follow his damn nose.
He gave the air a delicate sniff and made his way to the elevator. Once inside the contraption the smell was a little stronger. He leaned closer to the numbered buttons and sniffed again. Noting a shiny looking button to the one for the SOLDIER's personal floors, Genesis punched it.
When the door slid open he was once again assaulted by the smell.
Definitely in the right place...
He walked slowly down the hall, pausing to sniff around each door before coming to a stop right outside of Zackary Fair's room.
"How am I not surprised," Genesis muttered.
He slapped a hand against the door in what someone might possibly consider a knock and waited. And waited...and waited.
Growling, he kicked the door instead- multiple times -and smirked when there was shuffling from inside. A second later the door was wrenched open and Genesis' retort died on the tip of his tongue.
"You're not Zackary," he said lamely.
The little trooper that was blinking sky blue eyes up at him from behind horribly soft looking bangs shook his head. "No, sir."
"I see..." Frowning, Genesis stepped inside and sniffed the air again. "What...is that smell?"
He heard the trooper shift behind him, obviously unsure of whether or not he should let a stranger into Zack's apartment. Finally, the door closed and the blond walked up to stand next to him, a fair distance between the two. "...the popcorn?"
"Popcorn." Genesis said the word slowly and licked his lips. "...popcorn."
A bowl was thrust into his hands and Genesis arched a thin eyebrow. "I'm Cloud," the trooper blurted, stumbling forward. "Popcorn's good. Try it."
Unfortunately, in Cloud's clumsiness, the popcorn was dropped as the two toppled backwards, Genesis' boot catching on the sofa's corner. His breath was forced out as Cloud landed on top of him and his arm wrapped around the blond's waist automatically.
"I-I'm so sorry!" Cloud babbled, staring down at Genesis with wide eyes.
Genesis would never know whether it was those big blue eyes or something to do with the strange thing called popcorn that possessed him to lean up and halt the younger man's babbling with a kiss. All he knew was that the Goddess was really being generous because Cloud was gorgeous, and soft, and shy in all the right ways.
When Cloud was suddenly jerked away from him, letting out a strangled yelp in the process, Genesis' body couldn't decide if it wanted to choke or laugh.
Sephiroth looked pissed.
"What are you doing...kissing...my boyfriend?" The General hissed at a wide eyed Cloud. A Cloud who promptly burst into tears that even his Royal Frostiness couldn't resist.
...
Blame for the popcorn thing fully goes to KittenFair. The first and last were written so I could post the middle one, which has been done for ages. I really wanted Reno to light Tseng's ass on fire D: but I couldn't figure out how to make it work. Maybe next time?