(A/N) Holy crap! I'm alive! But you know, holidays, school, other things. Just things that get in the way. That and I was working on something else… DA related… Something silly that takes the edge off.
--
Okay. We're finally back to business. But… Kadaj and Genesis, right? I actually didn't come up with that. I hadn't even thought of it. But my friend, PuppetofDreams, came up with it. It was a little weird at first but it eventually became an actual possibility. So now I just figure that's how it would go. Meh. Back to the main pairing.
I looked down and stared at the problem placed before me. It certainly was a dilemma and it needed to be taken care of immediately. That was made more and more eminent every second I wasted. Geez. Not only did this thing grow in eminence but severity as well. "Hmm." Not much could be done to help me figure this out. I'd never encountered an obstacle such as this before. Bizarre and annoying. This thing had to be resolved. But it had been a few minutes now and I wasn't anywhere close to a breakthrough. Man. I was probably the wrong person to take care of this…
"Zack please." Cloud groaned.
"I'm trying to but it's harder than it seems. You sure you don't know how to get it off?"
"No. I just know it needs to come off." He said pulling at his belt. "I really have to go!"
Yes. This problem we were having was that Cloud couldn't get his belt off and he needed to go to the bathroom. Badly. He'd been holding it for a while and didn't tell anyone until now. And, a bit unfortunate for him, he told me. As if I knew how to get the thing off! It'd probably be a good idea to figure it out for future reference. But, dare I say it, that wasn't important right now. This was a bathroom emergency. It needed to be taken care of immediately. "I really have no idea how to do this."
"What are you doing?" Vincent asked from behind. I didn't even turn around. I just looked up and stared at the wall in shock. Honestly, did he like making people's hearts do a flip?! Besides, this looked bad. Cloud was up against the wall, crossing his legs and holding his… yeah, and he was looking away with a face flushed from embarrassment. Meanwhile I was fumbling with his belt. Oh no. No, no, no. This did not look good.
"Eheheh…" I laughed nervously. "He can't get his belt off." I released his belt and stepped away from the boy. "And he really needs to go." I whispered.
"Oh." Was his only reply. He stepped over to Cloud and in an instant the belt was off and the blonde was shutting himself in the bathroom.
"How'd you do that?!" I asked. Vincent knew how to take those things off?! How?!
"I… don't think I should tell you." He answered.
"Why?" What did he think I was going to do? I mean I could think of a few things I could do without the belt on. But I wasn't going to do them. Did they not trust me?
"We just think it's better to keep it on for now." And with that, as soon as Cloud came out of the bathroom, he wrapped the belt back around his waist. "Come tell me when this problem arises again." He said patting Cloud on the head before he left. Cloud looked distraught. Who wouldn't be? He couldn't even pee without their say so. That was a little harsh. And all to keep me at bay. They didn't say it, but they didn't have to. I knew what he meant. They were attempting to prevent me from advancing on him. It wouldn't work; it was a nice try though. But I wouldn't be stopped. I didn't need his belt off to make advancements. It was ridiculous to think that would work.
"Zack… could you… kill me? Please?" He asked. I could tell it was a joke, but it was a bit too serious. He sounded a little depressed.
"No. Why would I do that?"
"Because I hate this stupid outfit!" He groaned hiding his face in his hands. He then let out a long sigh before slumping down against the wall. "It makes me look so… so… fruity!"
"That's not true." I frowned. Now if it were pink that'd be another story but it wasn't. Therefore, not fruity. "Blue is a good color on you. It makes you look cute. Cute isn't fruity."
"Yes it is." He sighed. "Cute is definitely fruity." I frowned again. "It's not good." He said looking up at me. "Do you like to be called cute?"
"Uhh…" Now that was difficult to answer. "Maybe…?" It couldn't be that bad. It was a compliment after all. Was there even such a thing as a bad compliment? I didn't know. No one had ever said it to me. I thought about the definition of cute. It meant attractive in a dainty way, pleasing, precious. "Hmm…" Maybe that wasn't a very good thing.
"You're not making a very convincing argument." He grumbled getting to his feet.
"Alright." I shrugged. "Fine. A sensitive subject. Let's just do something else for now." Geez. He really didn't like that outfit. But I loved it on him. The only nuisance was the belt. Why would anyone create such a thing? How did you even do that? It's got to be so simplistic that no one thinks of it. "What do you want to do?" Please say get freaky and crazy.
"Find something else to wear."
"Besides that." Okay. That didn't help at all. The point was to get off of that topic. Perhaps I should ask him how things were when he was off on his own. He hadn't told anyone about it yet. "Was someone looking after you out there?" I asked pointing out the window. We hadn't yet taken off but we were closer to where I'd found Cloud than before.
"What?" He replied. "Umm…" Couldn't he remember? "Yes."
"Yes?" Why did that take him so long? "Who was it?"
"I dunno. Does it matter?" He asked. I quickly thought about it and decided that yes it does. So I nodded. "But I don't know. He lied to me about who he was the whole time." Well that was strange. Why would someone bother to do that? "Do we really have to travel like this? I already feel sick just thinking about it." He leaned against the wall and took on a look of nausea.
"Hey! Don't get sick now! We aren't even moving." He didn't look as though he could stop it though. He would probably throw up when the ship moved. "Uh… uh… think about something else." What he should think about? Not a clue. He didn't seem to be doing it anyway. In fact, just at the worst possible moment, the ship started. The whole ship jerked and I was more or less unaffected. Cloud made something of a squeak and fell forward onto his knees. And a part of me knew that he was okay but that didn't stop me from freaking out. "Are you okay?!" I gasped as I knelt down next him.
He didn't look up. In fact he closed his eyes for a minute before staggering to his feet. "I'm gonna go lie down." He answered cupping a hand to his mouth. And he didn't let me say much else afterwards; he just walked off, leaning against the wall as he went.
"Okay." I scratched the back of my head and decided to follow. Once I caught up to him he glanced over at me, but he didn't protest. So I kept with it; making sure he stayed steady. Only until I'd realized that I should probably go to the bridge to check up on things. "I'll be right there. I just need a minute." He nodded and turned down a different hallway. I kept on my path and into the bridge.
"How goes it?" I announced as I walked in. No one really responded; aside from Tifa giggling to herself.
"What is it Zack?" Vincent asked. Truthfully I wanted to know why they all didn't trust me enough to keep that belt off, but I'd much rather not address it. It'd be more fun to figure out how to get it off myself. The whole secrecy thing. It'd be funny. But only when they found out.
"When do you think we'll reach Wutai?" It wasn't really important but it was a standard question. There was no rush, Cloud was here. And as long as he was on the airship Sephiroth couldn't get to him.
"We'll get there when we get there." Cid sighed. That was a bit relaxed for Cid. Perhaps he was just as happy as everyone else to have Cloud back here. I dunno. It made sense. "Did he tell you anything?"
"Like who sent the e-mail?" Tifa added.
"Uhh… not really. He just told me some guy was with him." He wasn't lying. He was irritated that the person wouldn't tell him who he was, I could feel it, but he wasn't lying.
"Perhaps it was someone we might've known?" Vincent mused.
"Maybe… but he wouldn't even tell me what the guy looked like." He'd actually thought about it for quite a bit now that I'd remembered it. As though he'd been debating whether or not he should. "I'll write it off as unimportant for now." They all just kept to their own business. It made me feel like an outsider or something. But I knew better. They were just having an odd day. "Okay, any other news I need to know?" There was no answer. "No?" Alright. I left and felt kind of relieved. I'd much rather spend my time with Cloud right now anyway. I mean, I was devastated when they'd found us earlier. It was annoying how they were always watching me lately. It made me wonder why they, of all people, were acting the way I'd expected his mother to. Especially Vincent. He'd practically pried us apart and now this whole thing…? I knew Cloud was his best friend but wasn't that all the more reason to back off? Just let him be? I don't know. It didn't matter.
--
Once I'd reached the room where I could assume Cloud was, I'd gotten over the whole thing. It wasn't that big a deal. I suppose he needed someone to protect his integrity. Which made me think… wasn't that my job? "It still is." I told myself as I opened the door. I wasn't going to do what they assumed I was going to do. No manipulation, no tricks, nothing to that extreme. He couldn't handle it. A fact that was proven when I saw him curled up in a rather feeble position on the bed. Did he have to make himself look completely vulnerable all the time? Of course it only took a moment of thought for me to decide, yes. Because he was. And that's why protecting him was still my job. "You doin' okay?" I asked. He glanced over and nodded.
"I feel better than I did." He answered. "Not a good idea to move though…"
I took a step forward and as soon as I did, there was a complaint. Not from Cloud, but from a green bird that had poked its head up at the noise. "Kweh!" He squawked. I'd almost forgotten about Orion. The chocobo chick that he'd insisted on bringing, saying that he needed to return it to these men he'd met. But the chances of running into them were very slim if anything at all. He was a cute bird but… he didn't really appreciate me being near his master either. Geez! Nothing trusted me!
"Calm down, Orion." Cloud murmured. He sounded as though he were falling asleep. How could he sleep so much?
"Cloud…" I said warningly but jokingly. He just made fake snoring noises. "Hey!" That was an unusual sense of humor for him. I wasn't going to stand for that. I walked straight up to the bed and pulled him off it; the whole while Orion was losing it. Though I couldn't understand why, I'd kept him from landing on the floor too hard. I guess it could've been when I sat on the side of the bed he'd been on to prevent him from getting back on. The bird was hopping around madly and flapping; throwing feathers everywhere. Good thing he wasn't a pecking sort.
"Zaaack." He groaned, still on the floor. I couldn't help but laugh. He was being so pathetic.
"C'mon Cloud, just get up. Don't think about it." I answered trying to help him get past this. Of course he wasn't going to do it this time around but it would be nice for him to try.
"I can't." Came the expected reply. Okay… Now he was being pathetically low in self esteem.
"Attempt. Please attempt." I prodded. He just gave me a look that clearly said he wasn't up to it. "Just try to get up. That's all I'm asking." I wanted to help him but everyone knew that he had to want to help himself first. His annoyed groan didn't make it sound like a positive reaction. "Fine, do you want me to help you?" He shook his head.
"I'll stay on the floor." He sighed. His tone seemed to be suggesting that he thought he belonged there. That idea being, of course, ludicrous. How could I get him to stop being so… so… gloomy? From what I'd seen of him that wasn't an easy task. Even though he shouldn't be as bad. He was only being insistent on this one thing anyway. I just needed to distract him somehow. But there wasn't really an easy way to do that. Not when he was like this.
"Wark! Wark! Wark!" Orion screeched. The sound really taking me by surprise but only because he'd done so right in my ear.
"How do I make him stop?" I asked covering my ringing ears.
"Uhh… Orion." The blonde sighed propping himself up on his arms. "Calm down."
"Wark!" The bird didn't really respond. I doubted he could hear him.
"Okay. C'mon Cloud." I said lifting him up onto his knees. He looked kind of reluctant. But I suppose it didn't matter so long as he didn't puke. He only looked reluctant. He wasn't fighting or anything. Hopefully he was just annoyed. I didn't want him to feel like I was forcing him. Although Orion thought I was. The bird was coming very close to attacking me now. He was jumping at me and looking as though he might actually peck me in the head. I had to do my best to ignore the bird and pull the blonde up onto the bed. "You need to show Orion that I'm not evil." I exhaled once I'd gotten up on the bed so that he was laying to my right. "And you do that through example."
"I can't do it." He groaned whilst clutching his stomach. I rolled my eyes. What a dramatic little boy he was being. I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.
"You don't need to do anything." I answered while adjusting my position so that we were spooning. "You just need to lay here and relax." That ought to show Orion that I didn't want to bring harm to Cloud or anyone else.
"But I-"
I shushed him before he could finish. I knew he wasn't feeling well and that would keep him from completely relaxing for quite a while. But he didn't have to remind me. There was no need for it. "Just relax." I whispered in his ear. Hopefully Orion would take Cloud's cues and stop his noise soon. I wasn't sure how much more my ears could take. The pitch of the sound was maddening. But not as maddening as the scent of my own blood. No. This I could get past. As long as Cloud was here I only needed to focus on him.
"Orion, stop it." Cloud said a little sternly but hazily. The green bird looked confused, but quieted slightly. Not completely. But it was a start. The chirps and chatters got lower and quieter until he found that he wasn't going to get a response from Cloud. Eventually he stopped and, thank the planet, hopped off the bed and settled in the far right corner of the room.
Now I could relax.
I pulled the blonde closer to my body and caressed the hand that he had over his stomach. My mind was beginning to waver. My senses were being overwhelmed. This couldn't be good. I felt like my self control was slipping away. Oh no. I wasn't even sure what I was doing anymore. The only thing I could be certain of was that Cloud was really soft. And when I realized that was the only thought running through my mind I checked to make sure the belt was still in tact. It was. Good. That meant that his head was the only thing that was still uncovered. Of course he didn't need to be uncovered for me to do something that may have scared him. But that train of thought didn't last. I was lost in whatever action it was I was doing again. Not good. But I couldn't help it. What was I doing? Did it matter?
I was snapped back to reality when Cloud made a weak whimpering sound.
I let him go when I glanced over to see Orion poking his head up again. "I completely forgot." I gasped thinking about the possibility of agitating that nasty bite he had. That could be fixed. I'd bought that materia for this. I got up and searched around in my pockets for it. Where did I put it? "I'll be right back." I said realizing I'd put it in another room along with some other healing items. I was pretty sure I had a potion. That would take care of the sickness for a little while. Although it wasn't a permanent fix. It would provide for some relief I was sure.
Orion looked as though he was glaring at me the whole while as I was walking to the door. At some point I'd have to make peace with him, but not now. Right now the important thing was getting back to this room as quickly as possible. I felt as though he'd disappear again if I'd left him alone for too long. There were too many circumstances where that had happened for me to be comfortable with this.
And, annoyingly, as soon as I walked out the door I found that Vincent was standing out in the hall. Probably listening in. "What?" I asked. "Why are you out here?" Even though I kind of already knew.
"Just overseeing." He answered with a sigh. "What were you doing?" His tone was a little… not accusing but sarcastic. That was weird. I would have to obsess about that later but now it just went over my head. There were more important things at hand. But when I tried to walk away I couldn't help but notice Vincent was doing that odd staring thing he always did. "I'm not too worried about it, but the others want to know what you were doing in there."
"Nothing." I shrugged. Obviously he didn't believe that. "Just trust me. I didn't…" Wait. I couldn't remember what I'd done. Of course I couldn't have done anything too bad. That outfit prevented me from doing so. "I'm not a pervert…" Well. That wasn't exactly true. I wasn't as bad as some but I had been thinking some pretty vulgar things. "Okay… uh… I'm not a… a… look we didn't do anything." Why was I explaining myself to him? "I cuddled him. That's all." I had to make that perfectly clear. Even though it wasn't true. I did something that may have made him uncomfortable. But I couldn't tell Vincent about it. Especially when I couldn't even remember what it was. Geez! Why were these people behaving like hawks and making me nervous?! My thoughts went everywhere when they did that.
"You don't sound too confident in that answer." He sighed. "But I'll take it."
"Are you bipolar?" Oops! I slapped a hand to my forehead. That wasn't supposed to come out of my mouth! It was too late now. Thankfully Vincent simply shook his head in response. "Well then whose idea was it to keep the belt on?"
"Tifa's."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" I asked rolling my eyes.
"It should." He answered. "Tifa isn't usually the type to interfere in things like this."
"What?!" Then why was she getting involved with this? This wasn't any of her business. This was my business. Well… it wasn't that simple. But I could think it was. Either way, the point remained that she couldn't do this. It was cheating. And Cloud didn't like it. "Oh no!" I gasped. I'd almost forgotten. Cloud and the injuries and the sickness… that needed to be taken care of. "Uh… Vincent. Could you guard the door?" I asked as I started walking off once again.
"Hmm." He nodded. Of course he could. That's why he was there in the first place.
"Geez." I murmured. I was just distracted by everything lately. My focus was so split that my already shabby attention span was suffering. It couldn't possibly take much more before I let something else irresponsible happen. I wasn't doing so well with this hero business. I'd already covered how I was sucking at this I knew. But… did I really have to… geez! I am such a pervert!
I did my best to brush it off but it was hard to just drop thoughts like that. But I made it down the hall and into the room; that I'd already designated for myself and saw it as a fair distance away from Cloud's room. That ought to make Tifa calm down a little. Ought to. But it might not. It didn't really make much of a difference to me. I simply walked across the room to recover the materia, etc. from the drawer of the bed-side table and left. I mean, Cloud needed a quick fix. It was no fun to be all hunched over while on an airship. The potion wouldn't get rid of the sickness completely, but it would dumb it down enough so that he was more comfortable. Perhaps then he would be able to do more than just lie around groaning. Although I suppose he could do that. I just wanted to be able to give him something to groan about. That would just make my day. But it wasn't so.
"Thinking dirty thoughts?"
"Gai-a!" My heart. "Angeal, what are you doing?" I sighed. He didn't usually make a habit of popping into my head. Normally I had to call out to him. But…
"Usually you've called by now."
"You told me not to."
"Maybe I missed you."
That was a laugh. "Shut up. You did not. Now what do you want?" It had to be something. He wouldn't have bothered me otherwise. It would surprise me if he really were just trying to give me a heart attack. Man, everyone was doing that today…
"I can't divulge too much information, you know that. I just feel I should tell you there's a bit of a… situation. Otherwise, not much to report. You?"
"Situation?" What situation could there be? They already knew Sephiroth had escaped. That was the worst possible scenario for any possible situation. I really wanted to ask but… there was the whole inability to 'divulge' such information issue. It would be a waste of breath to ask. "No problems here. Aside from a stomach ache."
"You're sick?"
"No, not me. Cloud." Geez. I thought he knew about his motion sickness.
"Oh that's right."
There was a bit of an awkward silence. There wasn't much left for me to say and apparently he didn't have anything to say. It was really… uh… it was strange that we didn't have much to say.
"Have you looked outside lately?"
"What? Why?"
"Just an observation…" His voice had an undertone that suggested something. But I couldn't understand what. "The weather is quite nice."
"Wha-?"
"It seems the clouds have scattered."
"What are you talking about?" Was he sick? He wasn't making any sense.
"Think on it." He replied before his presence vanished.
Think on it? What was there to think about? Agh! I didn't have time for this. Cloud was making sense right now. And that was the most important thing. He needed me. He may not have known it but he did. Though he'd never admit it. I knew it and that's all I needed to know. I didn't need his consent to protect him. That was my decision. At least I had some control over something. But not much. Ah well. It was better to be whipped than starved, right?
--
It only took a few minutes for the potion to take effect and, of course, casting the cure spell only took a couple of seconds. Now you would expect he would be a bit more chipper, but no. He was still moping about something. But he wouldn't tell me what. I had to figure it was something that happened while we were separated. For whatever reason he simply refused to tell me anything about any occurrences that happened. I needed to get him to either say something or stop focusing on it. I mean, what could it possibly be? What was it that was tormenting him so much that he would bring down everyone else's mood? Before this I was brought down by the whole situation with the belt, but now this and Angeal's little cryptic whatever? It was too much.
"Cloud. C'mon, stop being such a downer."
"I'm not trying to be. I just can't stop thinking about it."
"About what?" If he didn't tell me something I didn't know what I would do. He couldn't exactly tell me it was nothing. He was implying something. This couldn't be nothing.
"Uhh…" Obviously he knew that too. Now he was probably going to lie… or at least try to. "Um…"
Oh for the love of Shiva! If you were going to lie you had to do it quickly! Otherwise it would be too obvious that you'd just come up with whatever story you just told them. Didn't he know anything?! Was I going to have to teach him how to lie too? Man, what a pain. "I'm waiting, Cloud." I sighed to let him know just that. I would be able to tell if he still lied. And if he did then I suppose I'd have to call him on it.
"I… I'm worried about the man who was with me." Oh… okay. That wasn't a lie. "How am I supposed to know what happened to him? He didn't exactly leave me with any reassurance."
And apparently he left a couple seconds before I showed up. So I had no idea. "Sorry." I couldn't help with him being all tight lipped like this. At times such as this, I really wished I could read minds. I doubted it would help but it felt as if it would. Perhaps it wouldn't help with Cloud. I got the feeling he'd be mad if I read his mind anyhow. But it would help with other things. Like Sephiroth. Getting into his head and finding out his plans, where he was stationed at the time and any other useful information would be great. But I couldn't. Which as the side currently on the defensive put me at a great disadvantage. Perhaps we should go and capture one of the remnants for information? "What happened to Yazoo?" I wondered aloud.
"I dunno. Probably dead." Cloud shrugged. Obviously he thought I'd been paying attention to whatever he was saying. Sadly, even though I'd wanted to, I hadn't.
"Hopefully Yazoo isn't dead. I know he's on the opposing side but he doesn't deserve to die."
"Doesn't he?" Vincent asked stepping into the room. Great now he was inside? Having a babysitter was certainly annoying.
"No. He doesn't." I answered. Take it from a person who has died or been dead for a while. It's peaceful at first and then it's boring. And I didn't want to do it again.
"Wouldn't that be good for us?" I heard the blonde.
"No." Well… I couldn't say that. "Yes. But that doesn't change anything. Dying isn't…"
"You can't possibly expect to make it through this with no deaths, Zack." Vincent sighed. "If you try, someone who you're trying to protect might die." His eyes shifted so that he was staring at Cloud; who in turn shuddered and looked away.
"I'm aware of that." I said with a bit more anger than I'd wished to convey.
"You needed to be reminded of it." His tone, of course, didn't change.
"Maybe. But did you have to say it in front of him?" My eyes went to Cloud as well. He didn't seem to be paying attention anymore. That wasn't good. I hope he knew that this wouldn't go away just because he was blotting it out… Wow that sounded familiar.
"He needs to be aware of it as well. I can't treat the situation as though it doesn't concern him. He's old enough to know that his life is on the line."
He was assuming a lot.
But I guess he wasn't too used to Cloud being this way. He couldn't handle as much as Vincent thought he could. Or maybe I was underestimating him? None of us could be sure. We hadn't seen the way Cloud handled things himself. This mystery man had. And since he'd flaked on us we couldn't know. "I wonder if that guy would've been of help to us." I said to go off topic.
"Hmm?" Vincent didn't follow. How could he? He wasn't a mind reader either.
"Yep." Cloud answered.
"Was he powerful or something?" The blonde nodded. "How powerful?" The answer was a shrug. That didn't help. Man! He was actually giving me something to work with for a second. "Can't you tell me?"
"No."
"Please?" I begged.
"No."
"Oh come on!" I whined being stupid to lighten the mood.
"No."
"Vincent, make him talk." Not being serious of course.
"I could but I doubt you would like the methods." He sounded serious.
"Wark!"
Everyone stopped to look in the direction the noise had come from. Apparently Orion had noticed the seriousness in his voice as well.
"I was joking." I told the bird.
"I was too." Vincent replied as though I had told it to him.
"You didn't sound like you were." I said hugging Cloud defensively. "I don't want you to torture him until he gives us a name."
"Torture?" The gunman asked. "Who said anything about torture?"
"Isn't that what you meant?" I could've sworn that was what he meant by 'methods'.
"No. I was talking about a truth serum." Truth serum? Say what? "But I doubt he'd like that."
"Truth serum exists?!" I blurted out. And from Cloud's reaction it was a little too close to his ear.
"I believe they have something of the sort in Wutai. Why? Are you going to try it?"
"Uhh…" What could I say? I wanted to but Cloud would hate me for it.
"Any name I gave you would be worthless anyway!" Cloud shouted all of the sudden. But he didn't sound angry. He sounded as though he were trying to convince us not to force it out of him. "He kept on giving me a fake name. I knew it was bull, but he insisted it wasn't. So I don't know! I already told you that. I don't know!"
That was funny and abrupt but also very bad. Cloud just showed me that he would crack under the slightest threat. With this bit of information I could probably tickle the rest out of him. I had to resist the urge to shake my head. He was absolutely adorable this way but, thanks to Sephiroth, he couldn't afford to be this green. It wasn't like Sephiroth needed information from him but this way he would be broken within the first five minutes if anyone captured him. But, again, I could be underestimating him. Perhaps I should just shut up about this. I was going in circles.
The chain would probably be broken if Vincent would just leave. Then I could make a move!
Dammit, Vincent! Go away! I want to make out.
"What was the name he was using? What did he look like? Was there anything odd about him?" Vincent asked. "Those are all things we'd like to know."
"Why are you trying to protect this guy you hardly know?" I wondered aloud. Although I wasn't too worried about it. This guy didn't seem to have hurt Cloud in any way. And now I just didn't feel right about asking him all these questions. He looked rather ganged up on. And it was okay at first because pouty Cloud was just as cute as any other emotion. But then you come to realize he's pouting because he's upset and upsetting him made anyone feel guilty after a while. He could just get to you. No matter how strong you thought your will was he could get through. It was odd but I welcomed it.
It was always funny to see it work on other people too. The typical response to it was always the person getting very angry, but not at Cloud. They usually got angry at themselves.
"Zack?" Vincent said with something of a sigh.
"Yes?"
"I'm going to stand watch in the hall." Oh… really?! "Look after him."
Well duh!He just came back! No! I didn't want to ever let him go again!
"Hmm…" Vincent said pausing at the door. "What about the other two men? The chocobo farmers?"
"What about 'em?" I shrugged.
"Are we gonna go find them?" Cloud asked getting a little bright eyed.
"Where were they going?" The gunman asked.
Although I couldn't really see how that would be important. If we did we'd have to turn around. They were back in the direction we'd just come from. It was out of our way. And I suppose that wasn't a bad thing. The longer time spent on the airship the less chance Sephiroth gets to make a move. But it was Cid. I doubted he'd want to turn about just to drop off a chocobo chick. Besides, at this point, Cloud would miss him. He didn't know it right now but once the little bird was gone he'd definitely see it. I couldn't really tell how long the two of them had been together, but they'd certainly grown attached very fast. I mean, Orion was already willing to put his own life at risk to save Cloud. That was something that one would think would come slowly, if at all.
"I think they said… Gongaga…" My ears picked up on that.
"We can't go there." I said quickly. Cloud looked a little surprised by my answer. His expression even seemed to ask 'why'? But I couldn't exactly tell him why. But what I could say was, "Gongaga is my hometown. They might be there." The Turks were when we were on the run after all. And Cissnei might still be there. And my parents! What could I do? What could I say to them? They thought I had died so many years ago. So, "That and I… can't face my parents right now either." I suppose I could afford to tell him that as well. Just no details really.
"That reasoning is sound." Vincent said, once again, reaching for the door.
"It is?" Cloud asked looking as though he'd just been tossed out of the loop. But it wasn't as though I could tell him my parents thought I was dead. That'd be a really awkward conversation.
"Do you like to be out into dangerous situations?" I said in a teasing tone.
"No."
"Then the reasoning is sound." I concluded. "Don't worry about it. You'll probably see them again." It was baffling that they hadn't recognized him. Especially when Reno showed up. But perhaps they were a couple of guys who chose not to get all wrapped up in that. And basically ignoring reality. There were always people like that. They were probably aware of Sephiroth and what he was doing but were oblivious to Cloud or anyone else who had made an effort to stop him. Who knows? There were always more people like that than I'd thought. It wasn't a bad thing, they were just blissfully ignorant. I wish I could be. I really wish Cloud could be. Whoops… Speaking of Cloud.
"… I just feel like they'd want him back."
Crap! Not again! I have to stop thinking! What did he say?! Aw man. All I could do was nod.
"So… uh… about… about earlier…?" The blonde asked. Hmm? Earlier? Did he mean the kiss or the thing I did that I don't remember? "I uh… you uh… um…" After that he just stopped talking. That did me no good. I nudged him slightly to try to tell him to continue. He actually cringed from it. Did I hit him too hard? Crap. How could I? I… "Sorry, I'm nervous." He sighed. Oh, that made sense… I guess. "Earlier. When I… you know." I was barely following, but I was pretty sure I could get it. "Did you mean to uh… kiss me back or… or were you just caught up in the moment?"
I couldn't be sure but I think my eyes noticeably widened at that. I understood perfectly. He wanted to know if I liked him back. Like he wanted the sure thing. A verbalized answer. Obviously, "I wasn't caught up in the moment." His eye brows rose as he glanced over at me. "I… to be honest I like you… a lot. But uh…" Damn. Now I was tripping all over my words.
"So… Are we… together?" Cloud said swallowing hard. That was an up front question.
"Only if you want to be." I answered making eye contact. I couldn't help but laugh nervously. This was turning out to be a lot more awkward than I'd thought it would be.
"When you say 'like', do you really mean…?"
"Love?" Well duh. But I wouldn't say that. Not without being set up first.
"Yeah." He sighed.
"Yes. Yes I do. Do you?" Hopefully he did. Or was he caught up in the moment?
He bit his lip and nodded. "I… think so. But I don't really know. I'm not familiar with all this."
Well. That was half of a relief. Now Sephiroth just needed to get out the way. As if that would ever happen. Sometimes I just wished he would stay dead. But he, like Yazoo, didn't deserve to die. He just needed help I suppose. What am I saying?! Yazoo and the others had a chance, but Sephiroth was the stem of it all really. Even though I didn't really want to, at the moment, he had to be killed. But that was a nasty topic. I'd better just get back to the adorable blonde sitting next to me. My silence was making him nervous. I could hear his heartbeat faintly. But I knew it was fluttering in a fit.
"So? Where do we go from here?" Cloud asked. That was a good question. Where was he comfortable going? That was about as far as I would brave it.
"We stay here for as long as you want I suppose." I answered, starting to close the gap between us. You'd figure things would be clearing up for him, but he still looked so confused. I had to do something. Even though Orion was watching us. I couldn't expect him to know what to do. It wasn't his responsibility to initiate things after all. It was mine. But it felt strange that our relationship was being established now. Sure it had been there a while but still… I'd kissed him once. And it wasn't even on the lips. Perhaps I should just ignore these minor details? I mean he was actually admitting his feelings, or at least starting to. Now I could make him blush all I wanted… on purpose! Among other things.
"This is… confusing." Cloud groaned. That concerned me. It shouldn't be.
"What's wrong?" Why was this confusing? I couldn't understand. We shared each other's feelings. We told each other. Shouldn't that be enough? I was pretty sure we had just established something here. But now… was he reviewing the situation? Even then that didn't make sense. It wasn't like anyone on the ship was giving him any trouble about it. They'd found us. No one said anything. Not even Cid. But then again, it wasn't like we'd been caught having sex. Still, they hadn't said anything about it. There was a slight possibility that Vincent had a problem with it. And Tifa was acting as though she didn't want us to be together. But she wasn't being upfront about it. So… what was the problem here?
"I guess I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this." He answered, breaking eye contact. "I'd always thought these things happened differently."
"Huh?" How did he think this was going to happen? It didn't exactly go the way I thought it would either, but it didn't seem unreal to me. "Is it because I'm a guy?" I blurted out without thinking.
That was a stupid question, but it wasn't like I could take it back or anything. He already looked as though he were thinking about it. The long pause certainly wasn't helping. "N-No. I've gotten past that." Oh, really? How long did that take I wonder. "It just feels a little… fast." Was he kidding? It took him forever to give me a clue. "Aren't these kinds of things normally slower?"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" I said putting my hands up defensively. "Hold on. No one said this thing was fully developed. These things do take time." It wasn't like I could just do whatever at square one. Not with Cloud. He was too special. "The ground work has just barely been set." So to speak.
"You make it sound like you've got everything scheduled." He replied. There was a bit of a laugh in his tone. Whether or not it was nervous laugh, I couldn't tell. "Do you know something I don't?"
More than you can imagine. "No. What makes you say that?"
The blonde only sighed. "Okay…"
Oh man. He totally knew I was lying. Why couldn't Cloud make up his mind? One minute he was oblivious, the next he was sharper than me! I suppose he'd still be looking out for liars after hanging out with that man who did nothing but lie to him. It made me feel really guilty about it. But there wasn't anything I could do. It'd be too much for him to handle. I mean I'd have to tell him everything. Anyone would be able to tell that it'd be overwhelming. Perhaps he would put some of it together on his own? That wasn't very likely. But oh well.
"You're holding out too." I said to get his attention. "You said you would explain things, but now you're refusing to." He wasn't exactly lying to me. But he wasn't doing what he said he'd do either.
"But -"
"Don't go making excuses." I put a finger to his lips to shush him. "I'm not judging you about it. I'm simply making a point." What was with all those bullets? It looked like there had been a battle, but Cloud wasn't hurt. So who had done all of that? It was Yazoo, of course. But there was more to it.
"I'm not allowed to change my mind?" He asked. Surprisingly, his tone wasn't angry. A little annoyed, but mostly fearful. Perhaps I was intimidating him without meaning to? That was a sign to either back off or make the situation a little bit lighter.
"You can change your mind." I answered wrapping my arms around him. "Just be warned, if you do decide not to tell me, I will tickle you until you un-decide." He swallowed down whatever nervous noise he had begun to make and laughed a little nervous laugh. "You don't have to say everything. Just…"
"You shouldn't be bullying me like this."
I suppose I was bullying him a little but, "I'm not meaning to." I simply wanted to know what, exactly, was I supposed to think? The whole area where I'd found him was covered in bullets… or halves of bullets. Along with several other strange marks on the ground; not to mention the feathers. Those damn black feathers I'd been seeing in the most unusual places. Where could they be coming from? The only thing I could relate the feathers to was Sephiroth. But they weren't his feathers. So what were they? Cloud would know, wouldn't he? I guess I could try. "Don't change the subject."
"But it wasn't a big deal."
Wasn't a big deal? If the ground being covered in bullets and blood wasn't a big deal, I didn't want to know what he considered a big deal. So I let my finger tips lightly dance across his sensitive stomach. It took him by surprise despite my warning. He couldn't just brush this off. Besides, it'd been a while since I'd heard him laugh. It was such a lovely sound. Definitely a refresher from all the usual meek noises that came out of his mouth. I certainly enjoyed it; long after the sound was gone. Eventually I noticed that he'd stopped laughing. My eyes looked down hoping to lock with his but they were shut tight. He was fighting it? A part of me took this as a challenge, but I knew that would probably be a bad idea. I stopped my fingers abruptly but I didn't let him go.
"You okay?" I asked. "I didn't tickle you too hard, did I?"
"No…" I felt his body tense a little before he started trying to wriggle free. "I just don't wanna tell you."
"Oh really?" The explanation would probably give away the identity of this mystery man. That was just all the more reason to get it out of him. Should I guess? He'd probably give something away if I guessed right. But… That seemed a little… cheap. "Don't you want to know yourself?" I asked talking about the man not the situation.
"Nope." Came the nonchalant reply. "I know what you're trying to do." Oh did he now? I guess he was pretty perceptive… or was he bluffing? I shrugged. "D-don't play innocent!" I kept a blank face. Not that he could really see me. He must've been feeling it. This was funny. I liked getting him all worked up. "Just let go of me." He tried to slip out of my arms but I stopped him. "I'm not going to do it! I won't tell!" I tightened my fingers on his waist as a sort of warning, but he didn't go for it. "Do whatever you want. I won't become a fink!"
Do whatever… I wanted…? That was a very tempting invitation! Even though I knew that wasn't what he meant. He'd probably freak out if I even just switched our current position and got on top of him. Considering what happened last time. I didn't want to torture him the way the other cadets did. Or at least that specific group. I never really heard about friends he had in the barracks but I doubted that they all partook in the torture he talked about. After all, they weren't all bad. I knew there were a few that would've stopped it if they'd seen it. Not like it mattered now anyway.
"You don't need to be a fink. You just need to tell me what happened." I said trying to forget the mystery man. "There were bullets everywhere so it was Yazoo."
He mumbled something. But it was just a noise. An uncomfortable, nervous noise
"Don't be like that. I'm not going to hurt you." I said reassuringly. I didn't loosen my grip or anything like he'd probably wanted me to. "So it was Yazoo?"
He paused for a moment before he nodded. "Is there anyone else after me who wields a gun?"
That, to the extent of my knowledge, would be a no. Yazoo was the only gun wielder that any of us were aware of in the enemy's ranks.
"Did he hurt you?" Even though he'd already said he didn't.
"Zack, you're making me feel like I'm filing a police report or something." He sighed. This time I let him stand up when he tried to move. "Look, Yazoo was just trying to take me somewhere. He didn't say where. At first he threatened me, but they were kinda empty threats. Then he got mad and I thought he might kill me but he didn't get the chance."
'Kinda empty threats'? Whatever that meant. "Why did he get angry?"
Cloud became hesitant again and started pacing. Probably weighing the pros and cons of the situation. Normally the waiting would be murder for me but this time I had a distraction. It wasn't something I would tell him because I knew he didn't appreciate it but… I couldn't help but watch the way the ribbons flowed behind him as he walked. I really liked the outfit besides the whole not being able to take it off deal. It made him look so adorable. But at the same time the clothes were elegant and made him look beautifully serene. Despite his current demeanor.
He stopped in front of me as though he'd noticed what I was staring at. Nevertheless, he took something out of his pocket. Whatever it was that he had concealed earlier. The thing that had smelled heavily of blood. "I stabbed him with this." He said handing it to me.
Strange. It had obviously stabbed someone and it looked like a knife, but it wasn't a knife. Only the tip of it was sharp the rest of it was dull. Not exactly flat but sort of rounded. I couldn't tell what it was. The only sure thing was the dried blood that Cloud had failed to wipe off. "You actually got Yazoo mad?"
"It wasn't hard." He shrugged. "All I did was give him difficulty about everything."
Hmm… I didn't take Yazoo as the one with a short fuse. Perhaps something else had already agitated him. More than likely Sephiroth was getting tired of all the failures being reported. And that made me wonder how long it would take before he would simply try something himself. But that thought brought me back to how I had yet to see Kadaj. And then I had to wonder, where was Kadaj.
But I had to cut the thought short because that topic always led me off on a long tangent and I was currently talking to Cloud.
"So he tried to shoot you?" The blonde nodded. More than likely no where vital. Sephiroth wanted him alive after all. Not that it made a difference. I would be forever angry at Yazoo for even threatening to shoot Cloud. I didn't think it was possible. I mean, you would try and then his eyes would get all big from shock, then he'd get sad or mopey… and after Cloud gets mopey… well… the rest is self explanatory. "Am I safe to assume that it was Yazoo's blood all over the ground?"
"Uhh…" No? But he said the blood wasn't his. "Some of it is from someone else."
Oh. So this guy, I'm assuming, protected him. That would explain why he was worried about him earlier. There was so much blood. It was impossible to tell how much came from who but if Cloud was concerned for this guy… a fair amount of that stuff must've belonged to him. So there was definitely a need to worry on his part. And perhaps ours too. This man had protected a close friend of ours and was injured from it. What if he needed help? At the same time there might not be need to worry. Cloud said he was powerful. And he took on Yazoo. That made him sound fearless. Who was this guy? Now I wanted to know. And I believe Cloud gave me more than he'd meant to…
"Okay." I said swinging my feet over the side of the bed. Cloud, like usual, was confused. "That's all you needed to say. I don't need to know any more." Just in time too because this conversation was getting depressing. That was part of the reason why I'd wanted to get it out of the way so fast. "So, anything else you'd like to talk about?" I knew what I wanted to do. But I wasn't going to suggest it. Didn't want to look like a creep after all. Even though I might be a creep. I couldn't be sure anymore. I'd certainly been having creep thoughts lately.
"My answer is still trying to get this stupid thing off." He answered. Obviously talking about his outfit. I didn't want to see it go. Not completely. He just needed a normal belt. Not this tricky lock down doesn't come off thing.
"I can't help you with that." I answered shaking my head. "Not without a lot of fumbling around with it. And belts are in an awkward place." He didn't look comfortable with that. I thought so. "It's just your luck, huh?" His luck was looking really terrible right now. But at least the bite was gone. The bandages were still there but the bite should be more or less gone.
He started to pace again. My eyes trailed the ribbons as they danced. As soon as one came close I took the chance and grabbed it. "Hey!" He gasped before I started pulling him back towards me. But not too hard. I didn't want to choke him. Still, he didn't really have much choice on whether or not he would come over anymore. "What are you doing, Zack?" Good question. I had no idea really.
"I just want you closer to me." I answered smiling. Hopefully not in a creepy way. Although, at this point, there was no way to stop me from appearing creepy. Not in my mind any way. Perhaps it had something to do with the age difference. Before when we started seeing each other I was only about two years older. Now? I was quite a bit older than him. But he couldn't tell the difference. He probably thought I was sixteen. Even though I didn't look sixteen. But he had noticed the change of hair style. A lack of bangs can make a person look a great deal older than they actually are.
Wait a second. The weather is nice. I hadn't really taken into account what the date was. It might prove relevant but it might be too late. But if it was still summer.
"What's the date today?" I asked. I didn't even care that I sounded stupid for asking. Anyone could've forgotten if they were caught up in something like this.
"It's…" He looked like he had to think about it. So I was right. He didn't know either. "I think it's… the fifth?" He answered. Hopefully he was getting this date from something he'd seen on the ship. But he still didn't give me a month. I was supposed to know that at least but there really was no concept of time in the Lifestream. So I had no clue. Except that now it was possibly the fifth.
I finished pulling Cloud onto the bed and stood up to go to the door. "Vincent?" I whispered. Was he still out there? I was actually kind of hoping he was.
"What is it Zack?" Came the muffled reply.
I opened the door so that I could whisper to him without Cloud noticing. "What's the current date?"
"August seventeenth." He answered. He didn't seem to be aware of what sort of trouble he was in. Nothing bad of course but he was still in trouble. I mean, what sort of friend didn't know something like this? Even if Cloud didn't tell them he could've found out. Maybe it was simply inconsequential. But I wanted to think this was pretty big.
"Are you aware that you all almost forgot a perfect distraction from this whole thing?" I asked.
"What are you talking about?" The gunman questioned. He was genuinely confused.
*"it's Cloud's birthday in two days." I grinned.
"What?" Vincent actually sounded shocked by that. "Was he trying to keep it quiet?"
"No. He's not aware of it." I answered.
"What made you think of this?"
"Honestly?" What Angeal said. It was a long shot though. "It was a very long shot."
"Okay." He sighed. "What do you want me to do about it?"
Well. I wasn't really sure. "See if Tifa knew. She might of thought about something." I answered.
He nodded and I stepped back into the room. Luckily Cloud hadn't tried to eavesdrop. It didn't exactly need to be a surprise. But perhaps the impact would be greater if it were.
He was currently lying back on the bed with his legs hanging off the side. His arms were folded behind his head and he was staring at the ceiling. "Hey Zack?" He said turning his head to look at me. His eyes were so innocent yet I could see the sadness behind them. Who wouldn't be? The only time his eyes were bright for quite a while was the brief moment when he thought we were going to track down those men. But for now I would ignore it. It was a little hard but all I wanted to see was the curiosity that was currently accompanying the innocence.
So I gave him my attention.
"Why did you change your hair?" He asked. "I liked you with bangs."
"What?" What a weird comment. I'd changed my usual hair style to better honor Angeal after I'd killed him. Not that Cloud was supposed to know that. He was just confused. Last time he'd seen me, according to his current memory, I had shorter hair with bangs. And apparently he liked my hair better that way. But would it be right for me to change it back?
"Just a thought." He sighed sitting up.
"Huh?"
"You looked like you were all worked up about something. You don't need to be. It was just a thought." He answered. "You looked gentler with bangs, that's all."
Gentler? "I scare you like this?" That would explain a bit. I looked more intimidating because of a simple change in hair style. Strange.
"No." No? "You don't scare me like this…" He didn't sound like he was lying. But he didn't sound sure either. Maybe he didn't even know. "I'm not scared." He said again. It was almost like he could read minds. The thought was, of course, ludicrous. But he was very good at guessing what other people were thinking. So apparently he can read body language and emotions pretty well.
"You're not scared." I repeated to let him know I heard. But he could still be uncomfortable.
"Gyah! Forget it." He sighed with a bit of a growl.
"You're the one who brought it up." I laughed sitting on the bed next to him. I looked over my shoulder to see if Orion was glaring at me. But it looked as though he'd gone to sleep. "Just goes to show you that random thoughts can be very dangerous things." I said ruffling his hair.
Cloud stopped and stared off into space.
That was strange. "Are you okay?" I asked. He showed no response. "Cloud?!" I shouted grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him lightly.
To my relief the blonde blinked a couple times and then stared at me like I was crazy. "What?" He replied shrugging my hands off his shoulders.
"You… but you… uh." I just gave up. He had a memory blank for some reason. That hadn't happened before. And I doubted it was good. Cautiously, I raised my hand up above his head. The whole while his eyes were following me with that same curiosity once more. I slowly brought my hand down until it was just above his head. He still just stared up at me with confusion. I poked the topmost spike on his head with my index finger. Nothing happened. He just blinked. So I dropped my hand down onto his head and ruffled his hair again. It didn't happen again. So I kept it up.
"Zack stop." He whined grabbing my wrist. "It's starting to hurt."
"Sorry." I frowned.
"What were you trying to do? Pull my hair out?" He asked putting his hands on top of his head.
I gasped as though he'd just spoken of something forbidden. Pulling out his hair. It was forbidden! Anyone who would dare mess up adorable little Cloudy boy wasn't human. It wasn't right. Depriving the world of something so beautiful. It was simply a crime. He caught people's attention. He was unique! No one with an ounce of common sense would ever destroy him. You just don't mess with his silky blonde spikes, or leave an ugly mark on his porcelain skin, and you don't try to blot out his bright blue eyes or smother his lyrical voice. You'd be a pariah for it!
"Zack?" Speaking of his lyrical voice. "Zack you're spacing again."
Was I? I thought I was right on target. I mean I was moving towards my objective. Cloud hadn't taken much notice of it yet. But I'd moved closer. And I kept on moving closer. Eventually I got so close that he had to start moving back. Which was okay. If he started to protest I'd back off.
"What?" He asked. He looked a little weirded out but that was normal. I was being random after all. I moved in so close that he fell back against the pillow. As soon as he sensed there was nowhere left to go his eyes went wide. "No, no, no, no, no…!" He said shaking his head. He looked panicked. So much for my objective. "I'm sorry." He's sorry? But I was the one who was making him feel uncomfortable. But, come to think of it, he did this last time too.
"You don't have to be sorry." I said backing off and sitting back where I'd started.
"No. I do." He answered sitting up. "I know you're not trying to do it but I can't help but feel wrong." I watched him bring his knees up to his chest. He didn't look alright. "I… I don't like feeling trapped." Was this a result from all that torment? No… in this state he hadn't been a cadet for very long. They couldn't have done this much damage. "I don't like the feeling that goes along with it. The feeling that there's no way out. The end of the line."
Hmm… The end of the line?
This would be something to talk about with Tifa. She might know why he was like this. It potentially had something to do with his childhood in Nibelheim.
"It's okay." I was disappointed but at the same time I kind of knew it would happen. It was only the second time I'd tried something like this. At least this time he told me he was aware that I meant no harm. Now it was looking as though it were practically an automatic reaction.
"You're really okay?" He asked.
"Yeah." There wasn't any hurry here. "Just know that I'm not trapping you. If you feel smothered I'll let up. You've got to be comfortable in this too. I'm not only trying to take care of me."
"I know." He said nodding.
I moved forward so that I was at the head of the bed as well. He seemed okay with it. There was no protest this time. I experimentally wrapped my arms around him. He didn't struggle. I guess he liked hugs. Maybe he just didn't like being on his back. I couldn't imagine what could've happened to make him like this. Last time he didn't really have this. I doubted that the whole detail of being on his back came from his hometown. But something like that could've been done easily with a couple incidents in the early months in the barracks. Poor kid. "You're okay." I said hugging him closer to me and swaying slightly. Not like I wanted to make him fall asleep or anything. But it would at least calm him down. I just didn't want to let him beat himself up over this. There was no need to. "There's no pressure. I'll just have to warn you next time."
"That might help…" He murmured into my shoulder.
"Alright." I whispered. Anything to make him feel better.
--
(A/N) Whoo! That's done. I don't really know if this was one of the better ones. Nothing much happened. Sorry. You waited and then I didn't deliver. That's how I feel anyway. I dunno what to say. Except I'm very sorry. Hopefully the next one will be out faster. I've just got another non-school project going right now. I doubt I'd be into it if it were for school anyhow… sorry again.
*I'm not sure when Cloud's birthday is. The date keeps on changing! It keeps on going back ad forth between the eleventh to the nineteenth! I have no clue. So I just picked one.