So, well. Plot bunnies pounced on me on my way to work this morning and this just came out. No smut, but some language issues.. Zack is in it after all. Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 13. Second Hand News
Breaking News – The Head of the ShinRa Science Department is Dead
Reports are coming in from the Western Continent that Professor Silas Hojo, the long-time head of ShinRa Electric Power Company has been killed in an accident at a mako reactor. There are no reports of any other injuries.
ShinRa's media relations department has confirmed that the Nibelheim reactor has been shut down but deny that the reactor accident required the evacuation of the nearby village.
We will be keeping an eye on the situation and keeping you updated as news is available.
Now, here's Corinne with the weather…
Commander Zack Fair was a happy man. Of course, most people thought that was his normal state of being and he could concede that there was some truth to that assessment. Right now, though he was happier than normal, smugly content even.
Dr. Creepy was dead and ShinRa couldn't even blame Sephiroth for having to kill him – the man had gone crazy with a large caliber automatic gun in the main chamber of a mako reactor. The general had had to kill him, and there were nearly a dozen independent witnesses to back that opinion up. So Sephiroth and the rest of SOLDIER and fuck knows how many other people could rest a hell of a lot easier at night. Score one for the good guys.
Evil Psycho Alien Bitch was dead, and ShinRa couldn't blame them for that either. Nobody told the General that the Nibelheim reactor was home to one of the Science Department's favourite projects. He was sent out to kill monsters, as far as he knew the thing had inserted itself into the workings of the mako reactor and needed to be removed. If they hadn't wanted him to kill it, they should have given him more information.
Sephiroth and Cloud were in that happy place that new relationships always seem to being to people. Cloud was smiling, for Shiva's sake and Sephiroth had a deep sleepy-satisfied look that made even Zack feel... something. He'd offered to shift to one of the other rooms with the troops but both Sephiroth and Cloud had said no. As long as he lingered in the taproom in the evening or spent time flirting with Mrs. Gruber in the morning, Sephiroth had said and Cloud had agreed. So he spent his nights cuddling with two really cute guys and worrying how he'd explain it to Aerith. In this situation he was happy for them, not so happy for himself but it was still good.
They were in the library right now, flirting in their nerdy, circumspect way over the books in Hojo's collections; sorting them into piles of Real, Maybe Real, Probably Not Real and Definitely Not Real. They were cute as they argued over ink textures and the colour of aged glue, and while he left them to their happy geekdom, he got to explore the caves, which had led him back to the coffins. He felt like humming some scary music as he approached them. He'd left the two troopers Seph had sent with him back at the door, just to make sure nothing snuck up on him.
He kicked the lid off the first one and all he got was a cloud of dust in his face. The second one released a swarm of bugs, which were annoying rather than spooky. Nothing in the third but the fourth one... the fourth one actually had a corpse in it.
It was too cool!
Except the guy seemed to be in pretty good shape for a dead person, he realized. He moved closer. Tall, pale... well, duh! he told himself in disgust, long hair, raggedy red cape. He didn't really look dead, Zack decided and he didn't smell dead either.
One of the troopers, too curious for health, walked up to the body and poked it. Before Zack could blink, the coffin guy had grabbed the soldier and tossed him across the room. Zack jumped and grabbed him before he could smash against the wall, dropping and rolling with him right into another coffin and knocking that over before they stopped moving.
Coffin guy was sitting up. "Who is it!? You must leave," his voice was gravelly with disuse.
"Odin's ass, you're alive!" Zack exclaimed. "Shit, are you another one of Hojo's experiments?"
"I have nothing to say to strangers. Get out. This mansion is the beginning of your nightmare."
'Okay,' Zack muttered to himself. This guy was spooky enough for three dark caves. He stood up and moseyed over to coffin-guy. "Actually the nightmare is over. Hojo's dead, Jenova's been exploded... that was fun. It's too bad you missed it. So how long have you been down here?"
"I cannot speak." He laid back down, hands folded over his chest.
"Sure you can," Zack said, and perched himself on the side of the coffin. "You're doing a great job although you sound a little rusty. At least tell me your name." No response. "I'm Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class, with ShinRa Security." He sat and waited a moment, "What about you?"
Coffin-boy opened his eyes, "I was with... the Shinra Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research, otherwise known as–"
"The Turks!" he shouted in amazement, "That's too fucking weird." He thought of something else. "Are your eyes red?
"What?" Coffin-boy blinked in surprise.
"Are your eyes red?" Zack repeated.
"Yes."
"Is it recent?" he asked next.
"No," the poor man sounded baffled, "They've been this way for many years."
"Fuck me, you're Cloud's red-eyed Turk! He's going to be so chuffed to meet you."
"It... I am formerly of the Turks. I have no affiliation with Shinra now."
"You will again, because I'm with SOLDIER, Cloud's a corporal in the regular army and his boyfriend's General Sephiroth who's the head of ShinRa Security, and they are going to want to meet you." He offered a hand to help the guy, "You never did tell me your name." Coffin-boy took Zack's hand and let himself be hauled upright, then he looked surprised at being there. Zack stared at him, wide-eyed and perky, "Name?"
"Vincent Valentine," the ex-Turk responded.
"Excellent, let's go meet the others," he ushered the red-eyed ex-Turk with the shaggy hair and the funky coat and the... what was that on his hand? "So what was your weapon, Vince. You don't mind if I call you Vince, do you?"
"Yes."
"Ooo-kay, I'll try to remember not to."
Behind the two dark-haired fighters the troopers looked at each other, moving close together for comfort.
"I am never, ever, trying out for SOLDIER. They are totally fucking nuts." The other silently nodded his head in agreement.
Breaking News: More Corruption Uncovered in ShinRa Science Department…
In what has got to be the biggest story in the last decade, more evidence of wrong-doing by the late Professor Silas Hojo has been discovered.
That's right, Jörge. According to a reliable source, ShinRa's Administrative Research department has been reviewing all the records left by Professor Hojo and there are some amazing discrepancies. As our viewers will no doubt recall, Professor Hojo was killed earlier this week when he attacked General Sephiroth at the mako reactor in Nibelheim.
Apparently, Dyan, comments he made during the attack led officials to believe that the Head of ShinRa's Science Department might have been engaged in unauthorized and even illegal activities. For the latest update, we go to Ven Lencer who is at ShinRa headquarters.
Thanks, Jörge. I'm here in the lobby of the ShinRa Tower where Vice-President Rufus ShinRa has just left the podium…
"Mom? I've brought them like I promised," the blond stepped into the small front room that used to double as his bedroom back when he lived at home. The house looked polished right down to the rug and Cloud could tell his mom had made a special effort since she usually hated house-cleaning and ditched it to read or write whenever she had the excuse.
"Bring them in, sweetie," came her soft voice.
"General, Zack. Come on in," he waved his companions forward. "Just wipe your boots on the mat; you don't have to take them off." Which was a good thing, he thought, since the General's boots went halfway up his thighs. Sexy, but difficult to remove – he had experience with them now, bad experience, so he could only hope to learn a trick to taking them off.
"Mom, this is General Sephiroth and Commander Zack Fair. Guys, this is my mom, Jennice Strife."
"It's my pleasure, Mrs. Strife. Please call me Sephiroth," said a smooth baritone as the General reached out to shake her hand. No one listening would be able to guess that his stomach was clenching or that he'd endlessly rehearsed those short sentences so that they wouldn't flutter with nerves.
She was tiny, even smaller than her son. She had the same eyes and the same rich-gold hair, the same firm handshake and her eyes were just as steady. "Call me Jennice," she responded before turning to Cloud's other friend. He was taller but more openly friendly. "You must be Zack. Cloud's told me a lot about you."
Zack grinned and took her hand, raising it to his lips, "It was all lies, I swear… well, except for the nice bits. Those are true."
She laughed, delighted, "Oh you are good." She waved them in, "Please, have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink? I have coffee, tea or a rather nice cider they brew here."
"Actually, Mrs. Strife," Sephiroth answered, "We have something for you." From a bag he pulled out a thick, leather-bound book. It looked old.
Cloud's mother, the librarian, reached out greedy hands, "Oh my goodness, where'd you get that?" She carried it over to the table but didn't open it, just examined the outside of it.
"At the ShinRa Mansion. You could say it was left to me. We thought it would be an appropriate gift." The two SOLDIERs watched perplexed as she went over to a dresser in her sleeping area and opened a drawer. Zack and the General exchanged worried glances.
"It's okay," Cloud reassured them. "She just wants gloves so she doesn't get body oils on it and stuff." Zack raised his hands to look at them and realized he was wearing his gloves as was Sephiroth. He released a silent sigh of relief.
"Cloud, why don't you get your friends something to drink while I take a look at this wonderful gift." She was pulling on thin, fabric gloves the kind high-society ladies wear in Midgar. Cloud, already familiar with his friends' tastes poured out the coffee, finding and adding sugar and cream as required.
Jennice opened the cover and examined the pages, putting her face nearly on the table to look at it sideways before turning the page. "Hmmm," she straightened. "You do realize that this is a forgery?" she asked hesitantly.
"Actually, your son already pointed that out. You trained him well." She coloured prettily and reminded Sephiroth even more strongly of her son. "His knowledge of books and printing saved my life and perhaps the lives of everyone in Nibelheim."
"Sir!" Cloud's blush was much more robust than his mother's had been.
"It's true, Cloud. You can't escape it," the General purred. He'd promised himself he wouldn't be overtly seductive around Cloud's mother, wanting to make a good impression, however seeing his young lover blush and look shy brought out his predatory instincts. He snuck a glance at Jennice Strife. She had one eyebrow up, looking between the two of them.
"Don't they make a cute couple?" Zack asked, always ready to push the issue.
Both eyebrows went up, "Cloud?" It was her mother's voice and it demanded an honest answer.
"Um, yeah. It just happened recently. I was going to tell you later, privately." He glared daggers at his so-called friend.
She took another longer, deeper look at the silver-haired General. It was the look of a woman who'd worked at a University where she'd heard mountains of creative excuses and lame ones. She'd talked to students full of earnest enthusiasm and utter bull-shit. General Sephiroth, SOLDIER First Class, Operational Commander of Shin-Ra's Armed Forces, Demon of Wutai, barely refrained from fidgeting.
"Just as long as you know, Cloud may look like a light-weight push-over, but he's got a core of absolute steel in him."
"I'm aware of that, ma'am."
"When he makes his mind up, it takes divine intervention to get him to change it again."
"Yes, ma'am," Why did he feel like saluting? Zack, the insolent whelp, was grinning wide enough to show off his back molars.
"He's obviously decided on you and I'd be a fool to try to interfere," she paused, eyes narrowed, "That said, if you hurt my baby boy there is nowhere you can go, no hell deep enough to hide you from me. Do you understand?"
"Mo-omm," Cloud wailed, burying his head in his arms in embarrassment.
"I understand, Mrs. Strife. I will try to be worthy of him."
"Oh Gods," the young blond muttered, "Zack you are so dead!"
"You've made a fine start, Sephiroth, by realizing that he is worth earning." She patted his arm, "Now, let me get the cookies."
Breaking News for Members of the Silver Elite!
In the 'don't know whether to squee or cry' category comes this news from a reliable source:
Sephiroth's cute new Adjutant is apparently a lot more than an office drone – at least to the Silver General. According to our source, Sephiroth credits the little hottie with saving his life in Nibelheim. We may find that hard to believe but there's no doubt that the premier SOLDIER First Class holds the sergeant in high regard – and maybe even holds the guy in his arms at night!
Details on the general's new aide aren't being released for security reasons but we have a picture taken 'backstage' at the victory ceremony that may be of the lucky guy. We'll give a free signed copy of the new Sephiroth picture to anyone who has accurate information on him. We'll throw in a year's membership if you can prove there's more to their relationship than what ShinRa's admitting to.
Visit our website for more details and to discuss this new and exciting development.
"Hey, beautiful!" She was just like he remembered, kneeling in her little flower patch in the run-down church.
"Zack!" she jumped up and brushed off her hands on her skirt. She ran toward him and jumped, knowing absolutely that he would catch her. Which he did, and swung her around a couple times for good measure. When he finally stopped, he kept her raised up so they were eye level.
From high ahead came a low-pitched bugling sound. Zack looked up to see the Angeal-mutation still in the rafters, still looking after his girl. He waved his hand at the creature, "Thanks for looking after her."
"I'm not the one who needed looking after," Aerith chided, "I was so worried about you." She took his face between her slim hands, and stroked her thumbs over his high cheekbones. "There was a something seriously wrong up there."
"I came back," he protested, "I should get a kiss."
"But you nearly didn't." She gave him a quick peck.
"That wasn't a proper kiss."
She giggled happily, "Let's go to Wall Market and get some ice-cream to celebrate. Your treat."
"Your treat... unless I get a proper kiss," he said and started walking out of the church with her still lifted in his arms. He got another peck, this time on his nose. He rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. "Kunsel said you needed your cart fixed. I might have time today – depending on how long it takes you to pick your ice-cream."
"No hurry. I've been using a basket and it seems to work okay. I have to make a few more trips is all," she smiled at him, so open in her love, so accepting. He wondered exactly how much she could accept before closing him out, then decided, once again, not to wonder about it.
"You're frowning," she said and Zack realized that he needed to talk to her. Hell, he needed to talk to someone and she was directly involved.
He let her slide down to the ground. "Can we go to the park first?"
"Of course," she agreed. They walked in companionable silence for a while, his arm laid lightly over her shoulder. She looked at him, and put her arms behind her back in that way she had, "It's weird not to have a Turk hanging around anymore. Well, except for Tseng and Reno."
Zack frowned, "Why are they hanging around?"
"For my cookies, silly." 'Cookies,' he thought, 'oh really?'
"Hey, Zack! Good job in Nibelheim!" yelled a man from across road. Zack recognized him as the carpenter from Wall Market he'd bought stuff off of and chatted with a few times, so he waved at him to say thanks.
He hadn't realized, until today, just how many people under the plate knew his name. Many of them wanted to come and talk about Nibelheim and to make sure he was okay and that Hojo was really dead. It made him wonder just how much stuff Hojo had been doing in and to the slums for them to hate him so much, but he supposed if people went missing from down here ShinRa security wasn't going to bust their asses looking for them. It made it a perfect and convenient hunting ground for Hojo when he needed new test subjects.
When they reached the playground, there were a couple kids playing tag around the dome, like they usually did, so he and Aerith claimed the swings for themselves. Well, she claimed one. He was too big and too heavy to even try to sit in one.
"What did you want to talk about?" She looked so bright and happy.
He leaned against a post, arms crossed, looking at the sliver of sky that was visible. "Some things happened on this trip I need to talk to you about. Well, they didn't happen but I thought about them happening and kinda, sorta wanted them to… at least a little. And I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it and, and… fuck! I'm sounding like an idiot. Sorry." He ended on a whisper.
"What kind of things?" She asked, looking at him wide-eyed. He couldn't quite meet that gaze, it was so innocent and trusting. He almost said 'I saw you holding a leather whip' but that would've been a cop-out.
"I've told you about Sephiroth, right?"
"Uh-huh. He was the one that Hojo experimented on when he just a baby."
"When he was an embryo, actually, but yeah, that's the guy." Zack shifted his weight, running an anxious hand through his hair. "What I didn't tell you is that he has this… effect on me."
"An effect?"
"Yeah, um, he… ah, well, maybe it's me. I get, y'know, aroused when I'm around him. I mean, not really, really hot or anything but kinda buzzed, I guess you could say." Aerith had a hand over her mouth, huge eyes looking at him with… was that amusement? "It's not funny."
She giggled, "He's very attractive – from what I've seen on TV anyway. Why are you so embarrassed?"
"'Cause I'm a guy and you're my girl. I'm not supposed to be looking at other girls like that let alone another guy. Guys actually – for some reason Cloud's having the same effect but not as strong. It's just since this mission too," he whined and started pacing. "Now, I don't even need to be standing close to Seph to get all, y'know, hard. I just have to smell him and 'poof' – hello Mr. Stiffy. It's fucking embarrassing. Sorry."
He stopped in front of her, looking anguished. "I love you, Aerith. I want to be with you, but now I'm all attracted to another guy and it just feels… wrong. Like I'm being unfaithful or something." He dropped to his knees and buried his head in her lap.
"Silly," she cooed. "You love them, don't you?" She ran soothing fingers through his jet-black hair, loving the texture of it.
"Yeah, they're my best buds."
"Well, there you go." She said as if that explained everything, but to Zack it explained nothing. He frowned at her, puzzled. She sighed, "Sex, the act of sex, isn't love in itself, but it can be a part of love. If you love them, even as 'just friends'" she used air-quotes, "then there will be times you'll look at them and wonder what it would be like to be with them."
He dropped his head back down onto her thighs, inhaling her warm, female smell. "I'm not gay."
She smacked his head, "It has nothing to do with that. It's just an extension of how much you care for them," she giggled lightly, "and with some of what your friend Cloud did, thrown in I'd be surprised if you didn't react."
That brought his head up, fast. "What Cloud did? How do you know what Cloud did?"
"The Lifestream told me. The planet was kind of worried when he started; it wondered if it was another threat like The Calamity."
"You know what Cloud did in Nibelheim, to protect us?" he asked.
"Uh-huh," she nodded.
"When he went into that trance thing," he clarified, wanting to be sure.
"Yup. Not specifics but I got a general impression. Hasn't he told you?" she asked him, her face set in concerned lines.
"No. He hasn't told us. All he does is blush and change the subject."
"Oh, well I can understand that." He could see her decide to change the subject; there was an almost audible 'click'. "The important thing is that I'm not going to get all outraged and hurt if you end up making love with either of them – and it would be 'making love' and not just 'having sex'. Your heart is big enough to hold all sorts of love for all sorts of people."
"So if I went out tonight and jumped Sephiroth, you're saying you'd be okay with that? Y'know, if I had sex with someone besides you."
"We-ell, Sephiroth and Cloud are okay, because you genuinely care for them, but no going to a bar and picking up some random chippy," she frowned at him to let him know she was serious.
"I wouldn't," he protested. Strangely enough, it was the absolute truth. When he'd been Cloud's age, going to the clubs and picking up SOLDIER Sluts had been fun, but he'd been exclusive to Aerith for nearly two years now and he was happy with that, or had been.
"This is so confusing…" he whined some more.
She just laughed at him, "Poor Zack. Still a small-town boy at heart." She gave him a long, deep kiss before standing up and holding out her hand. "Come on. Ice cream makes it all better."
He couldn't resist her. With a grumbling smile he took her hand and walked out of the park at her side. "Sooo, Aerith," he wheedled, "What exactly did Cloud do when he was in that trance?"
"Oh, no! You'll have to ask him."
"I've asked him. Now I'm asking you."
"You'll have more fun if you can get him to tell you."
'OOOOh, that's so mean!" he tugged at her ponytail, "you are such a tease."
She chuckled happily, "I have no idea where I get that from, I swear."
Zack sobered, "You really are an amazing person, Aerith, and I'm so lucky you chose me."
"I guess I felt you deserved the best," she smiled up at him sideways. They walked beside each other in quiet contentment for a while until Zack broke the silence.
"Say, Aerith, how do you feel about whips?"
Breaking News: Big Changes at ShinRa
The latest casualty of the Hojo Scandal appears to be President Shinra himself. Insiders say that this was the second time Rufus Shinra Sr. had missed signs of major wrongdoing in his senior staff. The previous time being over two years ago when Lazard Deusericus, Director of SOLDIER and Doctor Cronin Hollander disappeared and it was revealed that they had redirected millions of gils.
These two events, plus the growing evidence that the President had looked the other way at the illegal human experiments carried out by Professor Hojo, have forced the Board of Directors to ask Rufus Shinra Sr. for his resignation. Effective tomorrow, Rufus Shinra Jr. will be taking over as President and Chief Executive Officer of the ShinRa Electric Power Company.
What that means for the future of the company, and for Gaia itself, only time will tell.
In other news, environmental protestors lined the streets of Midgar today blocking traffic...