Warning: Rated M for violence, swearing and graphic M/M relationships in later chapters
Disclaimer: I do not own all of these lovely characters; I just borrow them once in a while.
Despite the sun shining from outside, the day was cool and crisp. One of the windows in the bedroom had been left open, keeping Cloud curled up under the white sheets he had wrapped himself in. He kept his eyes firmly shut, not wanting to open them. Yesterday had happened, he wasn't going to deny that, but that didn't mean he wanted to deal with it just yet.
An arm came and wrapped itself around Cloud, and the blond almost relaxed and let himself be pulled into the warmth. It would be so easy to surrender completely to it all, to not put his guard up. Being with someone, even if it was loveless, made Cloud feel needed in a small way. Like he was actually worth something and that everything he did wasn't completely forgotten, because at least someone had noticed him enough to want to fuck him.
He took a shaky breath that went unnoticed by the person beside him. Instead he was pulled closer and kissed on the shoulder. It was sloppy and Cloud could feel the spit connected to him. He frowned and cracked an eye open while he pulled away. Sitting up, Cloud's sensitive skin hit the cool air, and with it came the reality of last night and how he had been weak enough to look for small comfort in a warm body.
"Morning…" Rufus said a lazy, an almost sleazy grin displayed on his arrogant features. Doing what he always did to protect himself, Cloud built up the wall again and glared.
"We're going to be late for work," He said, getting out of the bed quickly. Rufus reached out and grabbed Cloud's arm, pulling him back down.
"I paid for this nice hotel room, and now you're just going to leave?"
Cloud ripped his arm away and nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly it. Last night was another mistake and I think it would be best if we just forget about it." He explained while putting his pants on, being a little angry while doing it.
Rufus rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, go to work…" He waved his hand above his head, not wanting to fight the blond about it. Cloud felt a pang of annoyance and slight hurt go through him. He had asked Rufus to lay off and he had, but at the same time it was nice to be needed…
He scoffed slightly at his own thoughts and started to do the buttons up on his shirt. Grabbing his jacket and briefcase he felt around for his keys and remembered Tifa taking them.
"I snagged your keys from Tifa, they are on the small table in the hallway by the door," Rufus mumbled out, his arm over his eyes, blocking out the morning sun.
Cloud paused a second, wondering how Rufus knew he was looking for his keys, as well as being a little shocked that the older male had actually gotten them from Tifa.
"Thanks," Cloud mumbled and slid his shoes on.
Rufus rolled over on to his stomach and smirked. "And hey, you ever need another fuck just come to me… you know now that a simple phone call will work."
Cloud growled slightly and left the hotel room and started on his way towards his car that he had left in front of the bar the night before.
--XX—
"I found out that our client waited for a while, and did indeed see you… only he didn't come speak to you because you were already engaged in another conversation with someone…" Sephiroth said, a silver eyebrow raised. "Who was that person you were speaking too, Zackary?"
Zack's insides froze, and he stayed rooted on the spot. Sephiroth most likely already knew who he was speaking to, and just wanted to see if Zack would lie to him. He knew that, yet Zack was almost tempted to lie anyways.
"I was speaking to the target… Cloud Strife, sir." He replied, trying to stay calm. "I wanted to see if I could do the hit but… but things didn't work out well."
Sephiroth nodded slowly and tapped his fingers on the wooden desk in his office. "I am assigning you a partner in this mission," He said finally while locking eyes with Zack. "I don't want to see someone like you go to waist, but I also want this mission completed… at all costs. Therefore I would like someone to accompany you to make sure there are no more complications."
"You could assign Reno, we have done a few missions together and-" He was cut off when Kadaj walked into the room, smirking.
"You called for me, sir?" He asked, acting proper and on the ball for Sephiroth. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded.
"Kadaj will be working with you," He stated, looking back at Zack. Zack couldn't help but drop his jaw and snort slightly.
"Really… you want me to work with him? Fuck, this is bull shit!" Zack said, throwing his hands up in the air.
Sephiroth shot Zack a look and stood up quickly. "I am helping you here, Zackary. I don't want you throwing away your entire life for something as trivial as this. You do the hit and if that means you have to have someone work with you, then so be it." He hissed out, finally showing some emotion.
Zack was a little taken aback, and didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected Sephiroth to get so angry and show it. But that didn't mean he wasn't angry as well. Glaring back, he turned around quickly and stormed out of the room, slamming the door hard behind him.
"Fucking selfish little prick," Kadaj said, looking at the door. Sephiroth sat back down and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If I were him I would-"
"That's the point, Kadaj. You aren't him." Sephiroth lifted his gaze up at Kadaj, and the younger male had a hard time pin pointing the emotion in his superior's eyes.
"Yeah… yeah I am not." He nodded and then decided to leave as well.
--XX—
"All of this is so fucking stupid!" Zack said, walking back and forth on the roof of the building. Reno was sitting on the ledge, kicking his feet slightly as he let Zack rant.
"I mean, does he really think I need some fucking teenager to watch over me and to make sure I don't fuck this up? I did some stupid stuff but I am not going to just back down. Cloud is going to die and that's the main point!"
Reno didn't say anything, nor indicate he was listening. He just starred down at the city street, some of his hair coming out of his ponytail to blow in the wind and stick to his lips.
"Does he really think I'm unable to kill?" Zack asked, finally stopping his pacing to stand near Reno.
"Isn't that the point, yo? You don't want to kill anymore…" Reno said slowly. He looked up at Zack and squinted slightly when he looked at the sun. He was unable to see Zack's face clearly, which made him unable to read his emotions.
"Yeah but… still, this is so fucked up. He should have given you the opportunity to help, seeing as how I apparently need it." He growled out and sat down beside Reno. Reno just nodded and lit a smoke.
Zack frowned and directed his attention elsewhere, trying not to find the silence from the red head unnerving. Finally he left his gaze on a crow that was perched on the roof opposite of them. Reno had been acting off since the incident at the gym, and Zack was hesitant to bring it up. Call him thick and unable to catch on, but he didn't understand why Reno was so upset about everything. Usually the red head was carefree and happy, and although Zack's current mission was riding on both of them, they had been in worse situations and been okay. The crow flew off of the top of the building when Zack heard Reno speak again.
"You need to stop calling him Cloud…" He sounded forced in his advice, like he was hesitant to help. "Like, stop thinking of him as a person and you can do it."
Zack nodded and pursed his lips slightly. "But that's not all of it. It's not Cloud- Shit I mean the target- that's throwing me off, it's just the not wanting to kill."
Reno snorted softly and Zack barely heard it. "Yeah… sure, it's not about Cloud." He said the males name with venom and Zack almost felt like Reno had physically hurt him.
"Are you okay?" He asked slowly, hesitantly reaching out to grasp Reno's shoulder. Reno immediately shrugged off the raven haired male's hand and sighed.
"It's nothing… just I think that you're too blind to notice something is definitely wrong with you, me, Sephiroth and this entire situation. Also, you seem unable to really take a look at why you're hesitant to kill and-" He suddenly stopped and narrowed his eyes as he looked down on the street.
Zack was about to shove Reno and demand he say more when he looked down as well to see a nervous male walk into the back door at the parlor. Both he and Reno shot up and hurried downstairs, their previous conversation gone from memory.
"What's going-" Zack asked but was cut off when Barret dragged them into the meeting room. Sephiroth was already in the room and was moving to sit down, while the thumping of footsteps could be heard as other members quickly filed into the room. Zack hesitantly moved to his seat, but didn't sit down.
Everyone else seemed as high strung, and it made Zack feel uneasy when so many members were missing, out on their daily 'chores'. They were definitely unprepared for this.
"Send him in," Sephiroth said after everyone who was coming was there. Zack noticed Vincent was missing, making him even more uneasy. Vincent, although he was a cold calculating asshole, usually stayed by Sephiroth's side and knew exactly what he was doing and could handle most situations.
Yazoo went to open the door and the nervous male from before walked inside. He was shaking slightly, and sweating greatly. Zack thought he recognized the man, but didn't know from where. Reno took in a sharp breath and tensed visibly.
"Ah, Mr. Tanzo, how nice to see you again," Sephiroth replied, faking courtesy. "I haven't seen you for a year now… how did your business deal work for you?"
"It fucking pulled me under, my company f-found out about the deal!" The man- Mr. Tanzo- replied. "I t-thought it would work, but my c-company went under! M-my wife left me and I can't see my kids anymore! Y-you, you ruined my life!" He said, his voice hitching with every shaky breath he took.
Sephiroth sent a glance to the clock before looking back at Mr. Tanzo. "I am sorry to hear things didn't work out, but we upheld our end of the deal. You got what you had asked for… you didn't ask for the perfect life."
The male laughed- but it wasn't one of amusement, but one of insanity. From a man who had nothing left to lose. It chilled Zack to the bone.
"I didn't ask for this either! I want my life back, and I want you to rot in hell!" Mr. Tanzo then moved to grab something from his coat. There was sudden movement in the meeting room as people grabbed for one thing or another while another person- Zack thought it was Kadaj- went in front of Sephiroth.
There was a terrified scream from Mr. Tanzo, but it was cut short when the sound of a gun being fired resonated throughout the room. Mr. Tanzo stood there a moment, a hole in his head before dropping to the ground, the small gun in his hand dropping to the ground as he fell. A 'cool' blood splatter effect was left on the wall.
All eyes in the room turned to look at the smoking barrel of the gun that had taken the shot, and soon their eyes trailed to a pair of violet eyes that were starring down at the dead Mr. Tanzo.
"No hesitation…" Reno muttered, looking at Zack.
"And that's why your job shouldn't be this difficult." Sephiroth said, his voice shaking slightly as he locked eyes with Zack.
Authors Note: DUN DUN DUN! Zack isn't so hesitant to kill people as much as he shows… ooh… is this because maybe he connected with Cloud? Or maybe because he's trigger happy but can't shoot people with blue eyes and blond hair because of some genetic mutation? WHO KNOWS? I know… and I shall reveal all later on. Anyways I wrote this about a week ago (Yay for not procrastinating) but I decided to post it now. Anyone else notice how many ZackxCloud fanfictions are popping up now? Also, woots, hope you guys are all having fun playing Crisis Core! Oh, and thank you for all the reviews and favorites and watches! I love all of you guys!!