Young Love

"Mom, I'm fine now," Braxtynn coaxed. His mother had an extremely worried expression on her face as she looked at the SOLDIER. She had been tending to her son for three months. Brax had been badly injured in what was now being called "The Wutai Incident," but he got off easy. There were nearly one hundred and fifty SOLDIER deaths, which is an awful lot, considering the Wutai only made it to the sixth floor. Braxtynn was brought back home unconscious, and Mrs. Fair had been a nervous wreck ever since. There was a nasty looking cut in his left arm- seven inches long and extremely deep. He had other minor wounds, but those healed up quickly. Shin-Ra had stitched up the incision, thinking it would heal quickly as well, but they were wrong. The Wutai that attacked Braxtynn had poisoned his halberd, which meant the cut needed more than just a few stitches. The Fairs were able to find a salve to heal him, but it was very expensive. Mr. Fair was currently working at Shin-Ra headquarters for more money, and Cal was working two jobs just to keep the family going. Braxtynn was about to return to Midgar, though, which would put the Fair's income back on track.

"Don't you think you should stay a few more nights? Just to make sure it doesn't open again?" Mrs. Fair said as she lightly touched the wound, trying to convince her son. Her attempt failed, though; the SOLDIER started gathering his things.

"Mom, trust me. I'll be careful," Brax comforted as he hugged his mother. "Besides, I need to keep Dad out of trouble," He joked. This made her smile weakly. With her husband gone away and her eldest son about to leave after a three-month visit, Mrs. Fair couldn't help feeling a little down.

"Alright," She sighed after a long pause. "Just, please try to stay out of trouble this time." Braxtynn smiled and nodded obediently.

"Wait… You're leaving today?" Asked a small voice. Mrs. Fair jumped and even Brax looked startled; neither of them had noticed Zack and Elsie sneak in. The SOLDIER looked at his siblings with a bit of sadness in his eyes and nodded. The boy's whole body seemed to droop. "I thought you were going stay longer," he protested.

"I have to go back to Midgar, Bud," Braxtynn explained as he walked towards his brother. "You keep working with that sword, okay? When I come back, you better be able to knock me off my feet." Zack nodded feebly and hugged the SOLDIER as tightly as he could. After breaking free of the embrace, Braxtynn then kneeled down next to Elsie. "You keep an eye on him for me," He instructed in a very serious tone, but then gave her a wink. Elsie giggled as she hugged her brother around the neck.

"If he doesn't feed Shadow, I'll take his sword," She replied. Braxtynn laughed at this, and Zack's eyes grew a bit wide.

"I like the way you think," The SOLDIER said as he got to his feet, still chuckling. "Tell Cal goodbye for me."

"Be sure to call us when you get back," Mrs. Fair insisted.

"Of course," He said. The sound of a helicopter landing could be heard outside.

"Well… My ride's here. I'll see you all later." Braxtynn smiled and waved at them, then walked out the door. After a few moments, Zack ran after him. He stopped a few feet from the doorway and watched as his brother climbed into the helicopter with the help of his fellow SOLDIERs. Before he knew it, the helicopter was in the air and growing smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared behind the looming mountains.

"It's not like he's leaving forever, you know," Elsie huffed in an annoyed tone. A light, warm breeze was blowing through Gongaga on a beautiful, sunny day, but Zack had refused to do anything except mope and pout. Ever since Braxtynn had left the day before, the raven-haired boy was being -believe it or not- boring. He wasn't practicing with his sword, he wasn't playing with Shadow, and, to Elsie's complete and utter shock, he wasn't causing any kind of trouble. The world was at peace, and in the Fair house, that meant something was wrong. When she didn't get a response from her brother, she just shook her head and returned to brushing the dog sprawled in front of her.

Zack leaned back and looked up at the clouds, fiddling with hilt of his sword. He could see where the leather was barely starting to wear out. Elsie didn't understand; he had just lost his sword instructor. What did she expect him to do? Did she expect him to just stumble across another SOLDIER operative, since Gongaga was simply packed with them? He rolled his eyes. Honestly, girls could be so thick sometimes.

"Braxtynn is gone, and Cal works all day. Unless you plan to teach me how to use a sword, I think I reserve the right to mope as much as I want," Zack snapped harshly after considering what his sister had said.

"Well, I don't know about sword lessons, but I might be able to teach you how you're supposed to talk to a girl."

Zack froze immediately, and his eyes grew to the size of softballs. That was definitely not Elsie. He sat up and turned around slowly, knowing already whom he would see. And there she stood, arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face. Her wavy red hair was blowing slightly in the wind, and he could see the sun catching the specks of silver in her bright green eyes… Meg Lightfoot, the boy's biggest crush on record.

"Meg, I didn't know you were there," Zack fumbled as he clumsily rose to his feet. The girl's annoyed expression turned to one of amusement.

"Obviously," She replied. Zack stood completely still as the girl addressed him. "You would think a SOLDIER wannabe would be more aware of his surroundings. More," Meg paused as she began to slowly circle a nervous Zack Fair. When she was directly behind him, she leaned in so that her lips were just behind his ear. Her voice lowered to a quiet whisper and murmured, "Alert."

Zack yelped and jumped sky high, both his face and his ears a very dark red. Meg only meant to tease him, but he didn't find the joke very funny. She tried to suppress her laughter, but Elsie was on her back and clutching her stomach from laughing so hard. Once Zack regained his composure, he shot Elsie a dark glare and picked up his sword.

"That's not the only thing Shin-Ra wants out of SOLDIERs," Zack said in what he hoped to be a smooth manner. "They need good fighters, and I happen to be working on my swordsmanship."

"Really now?" Meg replied with a wry smile. The boy was obviously perked up by her interest, despite his efforts to hide it. Nevertheless, he gained a bit more confidence.

"Oh, yeah. I practice everyday. These biceps don't tone themselves, you know," Zack flaunted. With this, Elsie rolled her eyes and walked inside; she knew that her brother had picked up this cheesy smooth talk from Cal. "It's a pain, making them look so good," he sighed with a distressed look on his face.

"I'm sure it is," the girl giggled. After a brief hesitation, she asked, "Well, could you show me?"

Zack looked confused at the question, but not in the least bit taken back.

"The biceps?" He inquired with an almost hopeful look in his eyes. The girl's face turned a light pink.

"The swordsmanship," She answered, though she wouldn't admit that she wanted to see the muscles, too.

"Oh! Right, right," Zack laughed sheepishly. "Come on, I can show you."

Zack then led Meg through the twisted, mountainous paths until they finally reached his training spot. There were three logs that stood about four and a half feet tall, tattered and worn from being slashed at. Sitting a few feet away was a pile of various objects- old fruit, walnut shells, rocks, and much more. An old blanket lay next to the pile; a scuffed up helmet, a slingshot, and a large white feather were scattered across its faded pattern. There was a cliff several yards away with a beautiful view of the sky and the land below.

"This is where I train," Zack said proudly as he himself admired the hideout of sorts. "So, what do you want to see first?"

"Show me what you do with those posts," Meg replied after considering the question. The boy smiled confidently and drew his blade. He ran towards the first log and delivered a fierce uppercut, leaving a deep incision in the wood. Truly impressed with his strength, Meg began to clap. Her encouragement sent Zack into a volley of attacks, which included several somersaults, vicious backhands, and even a vertical cut accompanied by a front flip.

"Wow! You're really good, Zack!" She exclaimed. Despite his heavy breathing, Zack stood up straight and looked her in the eye.

"What else would you expect from a SOLDIER wannabe?" He panted, not lacking an "I-told-you-so" expression. Meg looked at her feet, obviously trying to hide her embarrassed smile. In an effort to keep his "cool" aura, Zack quickly tried to casually lean on his sword, but ended up tripping over himself. This quickly erased the girl's embarrassment and even drew out a small giggle. Meg then walked over and observed the pile of random objects.

"What is all of this for?" She asked curiously.

"Braxtynn would toss them to me, and I would cut them in half. Well, that was the plan, anyways," Zack added with a laugh. He kneeled down next to the small mound, looked at all of the contents and picked up a bruised apple. "Here. Toss this to me, and I'll try to skewer it." Meg looked unsure at first, but then took the apple. Zack set his feet and prepared himself, then simply said, "Go." The girl tossed the apple fairly well, and the fruit came arching towards him. Zack focused on the target and brought his blade around in a horizontal slash. The sword hit its mark, but was slightly off; one of the apple pieces was a bit larger. "Not as good as some of my others, but you get the idea," Zack explained, secretly impressed with his good shot. "My brother could slice it right through the middle, though." The boy paused as he walked towards the cliff and sat down, looking across the land. "He left yesterday."

"I figured that was why the helicopter came," Meg said as she sat down by Zack. "You miss him a lot, don't you?"

"Yeah… But I'll see him again," Zack replied as he leaned back on his hands. The pair was then quiet, studying the beautiful view.

"I really do think you will make a good SOLDIER, Zack," The girl confessed, breaking the silence. The boy waited before answering immediately.

"I do have that hunky operative look, don't I?" Zack observed while trying not to laugh. "It must run in the family."

"That's not what I meant," She murmured. The boy quickly stopped laughing and looked at her expectantly. He noticed that the light of the sunset brought out the few strands of blond in her hair. "I meant that you have heart. You have what it takes to achieve your goals… And I like that about you, Zack. It's cool."

He gazed at her for a second, making sure he understood her correctly. She said "I like that about you," not "I like you," he had to tell himself. "Thanks, Meg," he finally replied with a crooked smile. They then returned to silence, and Meg leaned back on her hands.

Zack's eyes grew wide. He was scared to death that he might be imagining things, but he nevertheless decided to check. Without moving his head, he glanced towards the ground, which was followed by an inward sigh of relief.

Meg's hand was barely touching his.