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.
Frantic heavy breathing could be heard coming down the dark, dank hallway. Was it his own breathing that echoed off the hallway or someone else's? He couldn't be sure.
Clawing frantically at the walls as a way to guide him, he slipped and stumbled on the cobble stone ground, sending him to the floor. His chin hit the ground, yet he felt no pain. Lying on the cool surface, Zack tried to get up before he heard a door open. Suddenly a bright light shot at him, blinding him for a moment. Blinking back the light, his eyes adjusted to see a familiar face before him.
"Hey, you're back… come on, the party just started." Reno smiled brightly as his head cocked to the side in a playful manner.
Zack stood up shakily and took a few steps towards Reno. "What's going on-"
Reno didn't answer and just waved him closer. Zack followed and walked into the bright light and was met with smiling familiar faces all around. Sephiroth walked forward through the group of people, a smile gracing his usually cold features.
"Congratulations, Zackary. It seems you have finally proven yourself." He patted him on the shoulder and Zack's knees buckled under the force.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked, looking around the bright room with decorations adorning the walls. It was like a birthday party with colourful balloons taped to the wall, and rainbow coloured streamers on the ceiling. But despite the cheery colours, something felt off.
"Why, you deserve it!" Sephiroth smiled even brighter and Zack felt the tension in his bones lifting, despite the feeling that something bad was about to happen.
"Come on, let's open your present!" Reno said, pulling Zack towards a table like an impatient child. "I wrapped it for you!"
Zack looked at the large, colourfully wrapped box and was pushed closer to it, despite wishing to be far away. Tentatively, he reached out to touch it only to shy away. Something definitely felt… wrong.
"Why so hesitant?" Kadaj asked, leaning against a wall. Tseng nodded beside him, a look of curiosity on his face.
"You're… you're dead," Zack said, looking at Tseng with confusion. "You died three years ago…" Confusion bogged his mind, making it hard to think and remember. "… a rival group shot you."
He felt someone cuff the back of his head and turned to see Vincent glaring at him. "That's no way to treat a guest, Zackary!"
Tseng laughed, although it was hollow sounding. "Don't worry, I came back to see you open your present."
Zack nodded slowly like it was the most logical thing he had heard. Drawing his attention back to the box, Zack slowly pulled at one of the large, blue ribbons. Everyone crowded around him as the box slowly opened to reveal a scrap of cloth, covered in blood.
Silence cloaked the room before Sephiroth spoke. "It appears it got away…"
Reno let out an angry sound and the room erupted with yelling and accusing shouts from all around. Zack looked around in confusion before spotting a little girl standing near the door. No… not just any little girl.
It was her.
Her bright blue eyes twinkled with mischief as she called him over quietly, a small smile playing at her lips. Zack pushed through his family, who were all still yelling, to get to her. As he neared she scampered off, indicating Zack should follow.
Running after her down the same dark hallway, he found himself unable to keep up despite being larger and faster. His limbs felt heavy, and the air thick, almost like he was running through water. After what seemed like hours chasing down the phantom, he finally came to a large door and stopped. The little girl was standing in front of it, pointing impatiently. No longer was she smiling. Instead her features were completely blank, just like a corpse
Zack slowly walked towards the door, looking at the crack of light visible from beneath it. Reaching out to the door, Zack's hands closed around the handle. After one last look around he noticed the little girl was gone, leaving him alone to face what was on the other side.
Taking a deep breath, Zack opened the door and saw nothing but darkness. Cool air rushed out at him and all was quiet before a scream and a gun shot was heard. Falling into his arms was Cloud, blood pooling from his mouth and eyes that bore deep into him, despite the light from them dimming fast.
"You did this…" He whispered as the air rushing around them stopped, trapping them in a dead, silent world.
Zack shot up out of the bed, his body covered in a cold sweat as he gasped for air. He sat there, trembling and shaking before running a hand through his hair slowly, tugging at the tangled locks. Looking around the unfamiliar bedroom, he realized he was still in Cloud's apartment. Casting his eyes down to the spot beside him, he noticed the blond was gone, and a note was left on the pillow flapping in the breeze that came through the open window.
Shaking his head as if to clear it from the strange nightmare he had just experienced, he reached out to the cold side of the bed and took the small piece of paper in his hands, surprised at how easily he moved after having just experienced a dream that seemed to limit him in every way.
'Gone to work- make some coffee if you like and then leave.
Cloud'
Zack snorted slightly and crunched the note in his hand. The bastard went right back into the public eye! Getting out of the bed, Zack gathered all of his clothes and dressed quickly. He frowned when he noticed his shirt was ripped, but covered it carefully with his dress jacket.
He walked to the kitchen and decided that coffee would be a good idea before leaving the slight haven the apartment offered him. Nursing the strong coffee a few moments later, Zack glanced out the window, keeping a look out. No one was near by, and he didn't see anything suspicious. Maybe they were looking for him in other places?
Pouring more then half the coffee into the sink, Zack left Cloud's place and hurried back to his apartment, thinking of the few things he needed to pack before going into hiding.
XX
"You look horrible." Rude stated over his paperwork as Cloud walked in, his eyes blood-shot and his usually immaculate suit wrinkled and disorderly. Over the past few weeks, Rude had grown accustomed to seeing Cloud appear at work in a state of unrest, but today took the cake.
Cloud didn't reply to Rude's remark and simply collapsed on the chair in front of his desk. All that could be heard for a moment was the sound of the photocopier busy at work three doors down and the annoying laugh from one of the secretaries. Cloud busied himself by pinching the bridge of his nose before speaking.
"I fucked someone last night who was sent to kill me and now I don't know if I am still going to die or if my life was just saved. But in saving my life, the man who saved it might have just lost his." Cloud said with an air of casualty, as if what he was speaking about was a normal, everyday occurrence.
Rude slowly put his papers down and gazed at Cloud through his tinted glasses. "Are you sure that wasn't a movie you watched last night?" He finally replied.
Cloud sent him a level stare before looking away. "I think I might move to Iraq. I hear it's nice."
Rude was silent again, not knowing what to do. He sighed heavily before pushing away from his desk. Standing up he went to his filing cabinet and pulled out some papers and closed the cabinet quickly, trying to prevent the drawer from squeaking too much. Coming back to his desk, he pushed the papers towards Cloud.
Taking them, Cloud looked them over before raising an eyebrow. "Transfer papers… to New York?"
Rude nodded. "I don't know if the story you just told me was true or not, but either way you need to leave Tokyo. It's killing you and even people who don't know you very well can see that. I managed to get you a job in New York and I would suggest taking it… although it's your call. You have two weeks to come to a final decision."
Cloud was shaking slightly as Rude continued to speak. "Are you… are you serious?"
Rude nodded again and went back to his papers. "You should get back to work… and maybe sleep too."
Cloud nodded and stood up. He pocketed the papers and left Rude's office and continued to his own. Mumbling a hello to Yuffie, Cloud wandered into his office and collapsed on the couch.
New York; a chance to start a new life. It was damn tempting. Actually, it was more then tempting. Cloud knew it was a way out, and he wanted to take it. But something kept gnawing at him. Violet eyes kept coming to mind, and Cloud found it hard to think of anything else.
He could almost feel all of the raw emotions last night still, as if they were imprinted on his body, like twisting tattoo's, similar to the waves on the assassins back. Cloud realized he had only learned the males name a little while ago…
Rolling on to his back, he gazed up at the ceiling. Despite his better judgement and his need to move on, Cloud wanted to see him one last time. Standing up, Cloud went to his office window and stared out into the city.
XX
Pushing away from the window, Zack tore his gaze from the huge city and hurried through all of his clothes, throwing a few in his backpack along side other amenities he would need. In a separate bag, Zack carefully stored away a number of guns, hiding them carefully among underpants and a pillow.
He was going to leave the inner part of the city and head towards the docks. There he would find a small motel and set up base, hoping no one found him. He would try and leave Tokyo soon enough, but had to plan ahead a little more in hopes of keeping out of more trouble. He didn't want to think about Cloud anymore or worry about him. The blond had his chance and could do what he wanted with it now. He didn't care… he swore.
But then why did he keep thinking about the male. How he felt under him, the sounds he made and the looks he gave. Everything about his last night completely surrounded Zack, capturing and holding him close. Try as he might, he couldn't stop thinking about it.
Going over last night's scenario once again, Zack suddenly froze when he saw his door swing open. Without thinking, Zack grabbed his free gun and pointed it at the entrance.
Reno's hand suddenly shot up in a surrendering motion, as he looked at Zack, eyes wide. "What the hell, dude?"
Zack froze, not knowing what to do. Surely Reno knew what had happened last night; Kadaj wasn't someone to let gossip like that go. He was worse then a housewife when it came to stories to tell.
"Put the gun down… you're freaking me out, yo." Reno said as he walked into the room.
Zack lowered his gun carefully, eyes still locked on the red head. "What are you doing here?"
"Just came to see what's going on. Last night neither you nor Kadaj showed up and everyone thought maybe some bad shit went down," Reno said, concern in his eyes despite a small smile gracing his features. "You look fine though… where's the little annoying fucker?"
Zack shrugged, completely at a loss. He figured maybe Kadaj had been so embarrassed about getting punched in the face and then missing his targets while shooting at close range on his first mission like that, that he didn't want to show his face.
"Maybe he's just… wandering. I don't know. Anyways, I have to…go."
Reno raised an eyebrow and finally looked around the room to see the packed bags. "Hey… what's this all about?"
Zack shrugged and just continued to pack. Striding over, Reno grabbed his shoulder and forced Zack to look at him. Zack slowly turned his gaze from the gun lying on the bed, to stare at Reno.
"Dude, what the hell is going on? I have never seen you like this before." He said, going to hesitantly run a hand through Zack's spiky locks. It was oddly comforting, but Zack tried not to dwell on how much it soothed him.
"Look, things just didn't go well last night. I ended up… ended up punching Kadaj because he bothered me so much." He was telling half the truth. His eyes fell back down to the gun again.
Reno furrowed his eyebrows, but stayed close to Zack. Zack could feel the red heads breath against his mouth and his eyes snapped up to look at Reno's. Reno was smiling slightly, a twinkle in his eye.
"Is that all? Man, I can think of a few reasons as to why I think he deserves it… but come on. You're shaking like a leaf… lets just go back and talk to Seph about it all."
Reno's hand continued to run through Zack's hair, and Zack almost relaxed… almost. Until everything from last night came rushing back. Seeing Sephiroth was a very bad idea.
"Listen, I have to go-" He was cut off by Reno coming closer, their lips almost touching. Confusion and hesitation ran through both of them and Zack almost pulled away, but the desperation in Reno's eyes coupled with the familiarity and trust Zack held for Reno made him stay still.
"Calm down…" Reno said, his voice shaking from nerves. "Just come back with me and things will be okay…"
"It can't be…" Zack whispered, looking at Reno with pain in his eyes. Something in him told him to trust Reno. He was the only thing he had left. Taking a steady breath, he finally confessed what had been nagging at him.
"Things can't be okay… not after I slept with the target."
Reno froze, his eyes going wide as all of his muscles tensed. Pulling away quickly, he shoved Zack hard, causing the man to fall into his desk. His face twisted before Zack and he looked ready to murder. "What did you say?!"
Zack began to tremble, realizing what he just said. "I'm sorry, Reno! Please… please don't say anything! I was confused and it just happened, and I don't know what to do! Please don't say anything, you're my best friend… you're like my brother!"
Reno, if anything, grew even angrier. "Yeah… I'm just you're brother. You can go around fucking your enemy yet you won't even touch me."
His words were like venom coursing through Zack's body as he stood rooted to the ground.
"Not… not even touch you?" Zack asked, voice shaking as realization finally hit home. Reno wanted more then brotherly love and a possible on night stand, and Zack had been too god damn stupid to realize it even when he was about to be kissed. He felt like such a god damn idiot, but if he thought he was an idiot, what must Reno be feeling. If the pitiful look he was getting from Reno was anything to go by, the redhead felt much worse then he did, despite the empty ache in his chest.
"I wish you and Cloud the best of luck," Reno said, his voice losing its initial anger, now all that was left as a hurt and exposed Reno. Looking at Zack one last time, Reno shook his head and stumbled to the door. Ripping it open he took off down the hallway, tears springing to his eyes.
Zack ran after him and shouted down the hallway as loud as he could, his lungs feeling like they were going to burst. "Don't go! I need you to help me! YOU'RE ALL I HAVE LEFT!"
But his words went unheard as Reno turned the corner and jumped down the old, rotting steps.
XX
A forceful knock was heard at the door, and Sephiroth glanced up from the novel he was reading to see Reno come in, drenched from the rain outside.
"What is it?" Sephiroth asked while trying to read Reno's face. Reno clenched and unclenched his fists before looking Sephiroth strait in the eyes.
"I have something to tell you."
Authors Note: And the story continues… Not much to say, except next chapter will follow Cloud more (finally). Thanks for all the reviews, favourites, reads, and watches! Love all of you!