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.
Zack had been lying on his bed for a good twenty minutes, starring up at the cracked ceiling while he tapped the cell phone that was lying in his hands with one finger. He was not looking forward to today. Well, more like he was dreading the entire day. He had to finish the job, and he had to work with Kadaj.
Kadaj, over the past few days, had taken every opportunity to point out to Zack that he was doing him a favour. That he was able to shoot and kill and not care. The more Zack thought about it, the more he wanted to punch something or someone… preferably Kadaj. The kid had too much time on his hands to think of fucked up insults.
The Kadaj situation had been made worse by the incident with the washed up business man. Zack really couldn't tell them why he had automatically shot the man. It was reflexes, but he also didn't hesitate taking the gun out and shooting, unlike he always seemed to do in regards to Cloud. Sephiroth questioned Zack about it, but seemed fairly angry and wouldn't really listen to what Zack had to say. What was he going to say anyways? The usual 'I don't know' and 'I will finish it next time'?
Running a hand over his face, Zack sighed heavily. He was about to get up when he heard the door open. Sitting up quickly he slid his hand over to the gun on the bed before he spotted Reno walking into the room. The red head smiled slightly at Zack, and he returned the gesture with a small wave. Things had become even worse since last week between him and Reno.
"Hey… Kadaj is looking for you. Thinks I'm his little secretary and sent me looking for you. I would be more then happy to pretend I didn't look and just bugger off," Reno stated, standing by the door.
When Zack didn't say anything, Reno continued. "Not that I want to leave… just you know, I know you really don't want to go do this with Kadaj…"
Zack laughed slightly and nodded. "Understatement of the year," He shook his head and looked out the window.
"He that much of a pain?" Reno asked, figuring he would sit down on the chair by the desk. Zack took that as a good sign, meaning maybe Reno wanted to talk.
"You have no idea…" Zack ran a hand over his face again and blew out a large puff of air, causing a few stray hairs to fly up for a moment. "So… how have you been? Haven't seen you for a week."
Reno shrugged and pulled out a smoke, lighting it. "I was sent on some stupid thing… that was stupid…"
Zack raised an eyebrow and laughed slightly. "Very eloquent of you."
Reno snorted and nodded his head while laughing gently. "I thought so… But no, I had to kind of… close myself off and stuff for a while. Just think."
Zack nodded, knowing the feeling all too well. "Yeah. Hey… sorry for the past few weeks. Things have been really fucked up and I dragged you into it all."
Reno waved his hand slightly and took a drag of his smoke, his eyes narrowing slightly as the nicotine filled his lungs. "Don't worry about it. I think everyone's been on edge. But hey, soon you're going to get the job done, Seph's gonna calm down, and we can move on."
"Yeah, exactly." Zack smiled slightly, glad he was talking to Reno again, even if there was still an air of awkwardness around them. Reno finished his smoke and put it out in the dirty ashtray before standing up.
"Well I should get going. I can tell your girlfriend you're not here." Reno winked and headed to the door.
"Are you calling Kadaj my girlfriend?" Zack asked, his voice rising slightly out of shock. Reno winked and saluted.
"He's tiny like a girl! You would like him! With his soft, gay little haircut and his slim hips!" Reno said while making crude shapes in the air.
"You're a dick," Zack said, rolling his eyes. Reno laughed and nodded.
"What can I say? I speak fluent Dicklish!"
Zack just starred at Reno for a moment before bursting out laughing. He nodded his head and stood up. "Yeah… yeah you do. If that's even a language."
He then moved to hug Reno, but realized it might be weird. Reno noticed the pause and sighed before going in to finish the hug. "Good luck, alright?"
Zack nodded, patting Reno's back a few times before moving away slightly. "Thanks…"
Reno smiled and winked before opening the door, leaving Zack alone in the apartment. For some reason, Reno leaving left Zack feeling a little confused and lost… he had a bad feeling about tonight, like something was about to be broken beyond repair… something was going to change them all. He wanted to tell Reno about it, but he couldn't make himself chase after the red head. Sighing, he shut the door, figuring it was just his nerves, and things would clear up soon.
They had to clear up.
--XX—
A few hours later, Zack found himself walking to one of the parked cars behind the parlour, Kadaj walking beside him with an air of purpose around him.
"You shouldn't look so happy…" Zack said, clutching the keys in his hands. He opened the driver's side to the sleek, black car, before opening the passenger's side.
"Why shouldn't I? We're finally dealing with this shit. We have information on where he is tonight; all we have to do is wait." Kadaj got into the car and made himself comfortable on the plush leather seat.
Zack pulled on the seatbelt and buckled himself in before sliding the keys into the ignition. Pulling out of the alleyway, Zack made his way to the bar Cloud had been seen at.
The drive was relatively silent, what with Kadaj staring out the window and Zack holding onto the steering wheel so hard his knuckles had gone white. With Kadaj being with him, there was no room for fuck ups. Everything would go smoothly and it would be over and done with. Zack nodded his head, trying to convince himself while Kadaj sent him a weird look.
"Just calm down," He growled out, rolling his eyes. "Stop worrying about it. You'll finish the job, whether you want to or not."
Zack rolled his eyes as well and continued to drive down the narrow, rain soaked streets until they got to the bar. Parking a little ways away, Zack turned the car off and simply waited. Kadaj kicked his feet up on the dashboard only to have them knocked down by Zack.
"Don't fuck with Sephiroth's car…" Zack said, sitting back in his seat. Kadaj scoffed slightly and rested his chin on his hand and stared out the window again.
They sat in silence for what seemed like hours, both of them watching the door of the bar carefully. Zack clenched and unclenched his hands over and over again, trying to work out some of the pent up energy in him.
Zack was about to suggest that maybe Cloud had already left and they go back, when a familiar blond stepped out of the bar. He was holding a brunettes hand as they walked out and headed to the side of the building. Zack frowned slightly and Kadaj grinned.
"One night stand…" Kadaj winked at Zack and got out of the car, not even waiting to see if the older male would follow. He started down the street towards the back alley, while Zack frantically wrestled with his seatbelt before getting out of the car as well. Chasing Kadaj down, he grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Wait, don't jump the gun!" Zack said, holding on to the silver teens arm a little harder then necessary. Kadaj pulled his arm back and glared.
"No, I will not have you going on about second fucking thoughts. This ends right now. He's in a back alley with some guy, who could ask for a better opportunity?"
"Yeah, except for the fact that he's with someone right now! Someone who can see our faces and fucking rat us out!" Zack didn't like killing random people to get to the target, but Kadaj didn't seem to mind.
"I'll handle the guy, you take out the target." He stated simply before taking off again. They rounded the corner and Zack set his gaze upon the brunette shoving his lips hard against Cloud's. Cloud's back was pressed against the brick wall, parts of his suit fabric catching on the rough surface.
Zack froze a moment but it didn't stop Kadaj. Striding forward, Kadaj grabbed the brunette by the shirt collar and pulled him roughly away from Cloud. Turning him slightly, Kadaj locked eyes with the confused male and smiled.
"You stole my boyfriend," He then pulled out the gun and shot the male in the head, causing him to drop to the ground. Zack couldn't look at the body and slowly raised his gaze to look at Cloud, who was pressed against the wall, chest heaving as his eyes stared down at the now lifeless body. His face turned deathly pale and Zack thought he was going to pass out.
Putting his gun back, Kadaj smiled and patted his hands together as if to dust the gunpowder on them off. "Your turn,"
Zack swallowed and looked away from Cloud who seemed frozen on the spot. Taking the gun out of its holster on his side, Zack cocked the gun and pointed it at Cloud's forehead. Sky blue eyes lifted themselves from the body on the ground and slowly looked at Zack.
Zack froze, unable to pull the trigger. Looking into those eyes, Zack could feel the emotion behind them. The pain, hate, panic, and… defeat. Zack reeled from the emotions and almost dropped the gun. He felt like he was gazing into his own eyes. Feeling everything he felt, only ten times as much.
"Just shoot him!" Kadaj yelled, but despite it all, it sounded muffled and fuzzy in Zack's head. Cloud slumped against the wall slightly, as if to say it was okay if he did it. Shaking his head Zack slid his gun back in its holster in one fluid moment and moved quickly to punch Kadaj right under the jaw, sending the male to the ground.
Grabbing Cloud's arm, Zack ran for all he was worth, dragging the confused business man behind him. Kadaj managed to stand up and fumbled for his gun, anger in his eyes.
"Get the fuck back here!" He yelled, firing a few shots, all of which hit an old, rusted sign with a dancing wombat on it.
Cloud stumbled slightly when the bullets passed by, but Zack kept him upright and continued to run. All that was going through his head at that moment was to run and get away. He didn't know how long he would run, or where he was running, but he knew that he had to keep going. They soon turned another corner and Zack saw Cloud's apartment building up ahead. Cloud knew where they were and grabbed his keys out of his pocket and entered the building. Running up the stairs, they got to Cloud's apartment and Cloud (after fumbling with the keys) opened the door and let Zack in.
Shutting the door and locking it, Cloud turned around and stared Zack down, his face masked with an emotion Zack couldn't decipher. They were breathing heavily and Zack felt like the weight of the universe had been put on his shoulders. At that moment the complete severity of the situation came to light as he looked at the male before him. He felt like he was drowning, and blindly reached for something, anything to steady himself.
He had betrayed the family… once and for all.
Authors Note: Okay, few things to say! First, there is a reason why I am making Cloud sleep around. He has some issues… major issues. But that pretty much sums Cloud up, really. Issues, issues, issues. Secondly, the guy Kadaj killed was no one in the FF world or any world in particular. He was expendable crewman #2. Thirdly, that 'Dicklish' line from Reno was a line my friend (Morose Scarlet) said at school one day, and then told me I should add it in, and it's such a Reno line. So, to appease the god, I added it in! And lastly thanks for reading this! I keep finding plot holes and I try and patch 'em up, so if you see anything that doesn't fit, please tell me so I can try and explain later! xD This story is pretty damn hard to write at times, but I love it! Thanks for the reviews as well, they mean a lot that you take the time to reply!