Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money from this work. Anything recognizable to the Final Fantasy VII series and its associated parts belongs to Square Enix and affiliated companies.

Green Dreams

Chapter Fourteen: The Ties That Bind

"Reno, take the manager's computer!" Cloud whispered as loud as he dared, his eyes frantically roaming the walls for cameras. Reno didn't say a word, but he turned away from the cubicle he was poised to enter into, backtracked, and headed for one of the offices on the side of the room.

It was a large, uniform room full of identical cubicles in neat lines, each with a symmetrical set up of a stiff chair, fake wooden desk, and a computer set on it. There was little to identify one Shinra employee's desk from another, and the managers would have been the same if they didn't sit in the only unattached room. It was the definition of the Shinra workplace: modern and robotic.

Reno was crouched by the glass wall of an office, one of the manager's of this floor. Nearly every Shinra floor was identical, so picking an office to raid hadn't been too hard. The only issue was surveillance, but floor 21 was low enough to have the minimum. The higher the floor meant the more demanding and important the work, and therefore more cameras and guards. Down here though, it was mostly accounting, so the patrol was limited and the surveillance even less.

Still, Cloud glanced around the corner of the cubicle he kneeled by to look down the aisle and into the hallway. The lights were low during the night hours, but all the offices were pitch black. He'd angled the door to be ajar just so he could see the play of shadows at the end of the corridor by the corner near the stairs. Reno had leaned against the glass, just out of Cloud's sight. The blond could hear him tap the lock though, tapping the glass around it with his knuckles for good measure too.

"Ha, not even locked." In the semi-darkness Reno's grin was probably very hard to see, but Cloud didn't turn around and crane his neck to even try.

The planning for this 'invasion', as Reno called it, had been limited at best. As soon as Cloud had come back from afternoon classes, Reno had hauled him off. The redhead had run through a rough plan of how he wanted his first question answered.

In all the mayhem of Cloud's birthday he'd completely forgotten his promise to Reno. In exchange for teaching him parkour, Reno expected help on answering some questions. They turned out to be more harmless than Cloud had thought, though harmless was a more relative term. Sneaking around Shinra Headquarters at one in the morning wasn't usually considered harmless.

Compared to what Reno could have asked though, this was nothing.

The door clicked behind Cloud as Reno eased it open. This office had large panes of glass for walls facing the cubicles, but the blinds had been pulled down at the end of the day. Every light was off in the room, so the only glimmer came through the handful of windows to the outside. The hallway was lit dimly though, and combined with the vague moonlight there was enough to work by.

Cloud hadn't been too surprised in their brief planning session to find that Reno knew quite a bit about the rotation and paths of the guards. The last time Cloud had broken into Shinra Headquarters, he'd ended up in an air vent above the President's boardroom. Reno's ideas were a little more concrete than that, and he had actually planned it out better, though that wasn't saying much.

There was one guard to every eight floors until floor 40, where patrols and surveillance increased significantly. The guards on the lower floors had to make a full rotation in a zigzag pattern over the eight levels they were guarding, using the stairwells on both sides of each floor. Reno had made sure to time it so they would be able to reach the 21st floor while the guard was on a higher level. That way, the guard would pass them by once on his way back down, which significantly cut the chances of being caught than if he came by twice.

To get up to the 21st floor, Reno had planned everything out with a map, lines drawn all over it like it was a football game, with them essentially darting in and out of rooms to avoid notice. Cloud had pointed out the emergency stairwell on the side of the building, and Reno had scrapped his idea at once.

The last time Cloud had broken into Shinra Headquarters he had used this method. He had avoided any fighting, but the group had been exhausted climbing almost sixty stories. Cloud had conveniently left out that he knew the stairwell only opened on the even floors, because that might have been suspicious. It hadn't deterred Reno though, who was inordinately fascinated with how Cloud knew about this stairwell, but he'd gotten the hint with Cloud's stony silence to any questions.

Of course, getting in was much easier than what Reno needed to do. He had to hack into a computer quickly but without triggering an alarm to answer his question: What the hell was Shinra doing in Junon?

Why Reno cared Cloud didn't know and he didn't ask—he did half wonder if the redhead was associated with an underground group or something and was selling the information, but it didn't much matter to Cloud. Reno would get it somehow; he was certainly clever enough. Cloud just simplified the process with the emergency stairwell.

The blond already knew what Shinra was doing in Junon, but the canon was top secret right now from what Cloud could figure on the news. There hadn't been a whisper of it, and it didn't sound like it had been built yet either (because who could miss it when it was sticking out of the harbor like that?). Reno was hacking into the manager's computer to access any information concerning Shinra's activities in Junon. More SOLDIERs than usual had been sent there, along with a couple of science teams and raw goods normally used to stabilize and maintain the plate. Cloud didn't know how Reno knew that either, but his connections certainly had their facts in order.

Cloud shifted his weight a bit, still resting on the balls of his feet. He couldn't sit down because he needed to be able to move fast if the guard came by. His senses were all on alert, eyes sharpened and hearing strained. Every muscle was coiled, ready to duck under a desk in a cubicle if any shadow so much as twitched.

The tension was palpable even in Reno, who acted a little more nonchalant than Cloud. The redhead had gotten a little condescending when he referred to this 'invasion', taking pride in that he'd done something of this caliber, or at least similar to it, before. Cloud wanted to snort at how juvenile he was acting, but he couldn't exactly blurt out that this was nothing compared to what he had done and keep calling Reno immature. So he'd taken Reno's haughtier-than-normal attitude with indifference.

Cloud could hear the furious typing slipping through the open crack left by the door. Reno's hacking skills were still un-tempered because he hadn't had much access to a computer in the slums, but he had time to hone it. No doubt he'd been very good when he was a Turk, but for now he just wanted to try his hand at it. Not that Cloud could argue with that, since he had cut class just that morning to try something too.

Something moved. A sound, far away, but Cloud was sure he'd heard it. Every muscle stiffened, adrenaline pumping straight to his heart and tingling down to his toes. His right hand rested just over the top of his boot, fingertips just grazing the hilt of a small knife, clenching as he reacted automatically to the warning his brain was screaming. Cloud rose up on to his feet more securely, still low but more agile in this defensive crouch.

Just like they planned, Cloud backed up slowly, careful to keep his eyes on the door now. He'd be ready to jump and hide the moment it was touched, and his muscles twitched spasmodically in response. He took even steps, back bent to keep his whole body and all that bright, pointy hair below the top of the cubicles, until he reached the end of the aisle. He stopped before the entrance to the last cubicle in the row, then reached back with one foot, gripping the corner of the wall to maintain his balance, and tapped the glass of the office as quietly as possible with the toe of his boot.

Cloud's eyes remained fixed on the door, now farther away and his angle of the shadows gone. He wanted to wince at the sound of his hard boot hitting the glass, but then there was a resounding silence as the typing stopped, the whole room ringing as that quiet hum in the background disappeared. Cloud thought he heard the sound of cloth rustling as Reno dropped behind the desk, but he couldn't be sure. Reno reminded him of an eel sometimes: slick and agile.

There were sounds from the hallway filtering in now, and those took precedence in Cloud's mind, cloth and the muffled sound of boots on a carpet. His ears seemed to sharpen even more, almost painfully listening to the faintest movements. The hairs on his arms were rising, and the only thing he knew now was that all his focus was on the sound of boots as something powerful gripping him like he hadn't felt in ages.

Cloud tensed even more, his whole body ready and thrumming for action. He would have darted under the desk right near him, but the sudden movement would have alerted the guard. As the man stepped into the room, Cloud matched his footsteps, timing it so the sound would be hidden behind the man's own steps. It was a strange dance; Cloud carefully shifting sideways into the cubicle, staying low, while the guard took even steps. At last Cloud was at the edge of the desk. In one move he pivoted and sat, curling up. He grabbed the wastebasket by the bottom to avoid the plastic bag inside and shifted it in front of him to hide the glimmer of a reflected light from his boots.

Now his hands were shaking, his breath shallow. The footsteps approached, he could almost feel the floor shake with the man's weight. Cloud squeezed the toes of his boots with his hands so he wouldn't shake from the adrenaline rush of such near danger.

There wasn't any fear in his blood, his heart pounding fast but steadily. He wasn't afraid. All he felt was excitement, almost lust for a good fight, and heart-pumping action. His lips were pulling at a grin, giddiness mixing with adrenaline in his veins. Cloud wanted to peek, to test the boundaries, maybe even knock something over to give the guard a start. His fingers clenched around the ends of his boots tighter, the blood fighting to circulate properly.

Light breathing followed the footsteps. The guard must have been from the regulation army, because the beam of his flashlight fell into the aisle adjacent to Cloud's cubicle. Mako eyes would have been able to see just fine in this half-darkness, but the guard hardly even moved the light, only watching the floor as his boots and military pants walked past Cloud's hiding spot.

The way the sound retreated told Cloud he had reached the end of the aisle, and the blond's breathing sped up a bit in response as the guard turned around. The light slipped past the opening again, his boots following a moment later. Cloud's heart all but stopped, the urge to jump out of hiding hitting desperate heights when the guard flashed the light about a bit, but the man turned away after a moment. The footsteps trailed away and the door shut behind the guard with a definite click.

Silence reigned for a solid minute as Cloud tried to calm his wildly beating heart. That had been close. In more ways than one. A small part of Cloud was a little disappointed it hadn't been closer.

The cadet's barracks were quiet, everyone fast asleep. Cloud and Reno had returned unscathed from their adventure, going back down the staircase and slipping back into the cadet barracks without another problem. They'd half-ran the whole way, and now flopped down on the couch at the end of their hall, their strength and the high of sneaking around beginning to wear off already. It wasn't until they made it into their halls that they could really celebrate.

"Man, I thought that guard might've spotted you. He had his flashlight going everywhere. He ran it over the blinds and I was lucky those were shut tight. Imagine if he'd caught my shadow! Must've had a sixth sense or something." Reno was still feeling a little euphoric at their success and the way his voice got louder and louder was evidence of it. He seemed far younger, more like a teenager when he spoke like that.

"Yeah, my heart nearly gave out when he gave a once over to the aisle I was in again." Cloud leaned back into the couch, relaxing all his stiff muscles. It felt good to be back safe and knowing that there wasn't an ounce of evidence you'd been there. True success.

"I'm just glad he didn't open the door of the office. I would've been spotted in a second." Reno wiped imaginary sweat off his brow, though the collar of his pajamas had some on it. Clearly he'd been having as much fun as Cloud.

"You got what you wanted right?" Cloud wondered if he should encourage these hacking skills. It was something Turks wanted usually. Vincent had been exceptionally good at it with older computers. By the time Cloud had freed Vincent from that coffin, all his old "back doors" had been found out. Now though, Cloud wasn't sure if he should try and push Reno away from the Turks. It wasn't an easy life, and though Reno had made some kind of family there, it was still a sacrifice.

Turk-life was essentially an undercover agent, assassin, and a diplomat all rolled into one. The requirements were nasty, the training was practically impossible, the job was undesirable, and Reno would have to give up a full identity for it. His whole history would be destroyed to keep his identity and skills secret. And their friendship might suffer since SOLDIER and the Turks weren't exactly the best of friends. But was it really Cloud's call at all? Did he have the right to take that chance away from Reno?

"Yeah, lemme tell you what I found." Reno sat up more fully on the couch, ignoring Cloud's spacing out. He was used to it by now, and hardly thought anything of it anymore. "Turns out they're making some kind of huge weapon in Junon. Monstrous. I couldn't get the plans for it, that was super locked-up and probably only the top engineer and head of the weapons department could see it. Didn't want to risk too much on our first go after all."

Reno's eyes were glimmering as he recalled the escapade, hand gestures and all as he gave Cloud more details into how he hacked the files and what he found than the blond could ever need. The redhead was terribly proud of his accomplishment, and Cloud was willing to humor him. He was probably right though in that the top engineer and Scarlet were the only ones with the plans.

Ugh, Scarlet…

"It was too technical most of it, but from the sounds of it it's mad powerful. Who knows what they'll use it for? I guess it if rotates you could shoot at something across the sea, but what's out there? I hope they don't try to blow up the Gold Saucer. I gotta see it before I die."

Reno's ramblings were losing Cloud as sleep made his eyes itch and burn. The Gold Saucer, huh? Reno would certainly see it. And love it. He'd probably throw all his money away there too.

Sleep was calling, Cloud could feel it as he eyes tried to close, his body shutting down slowly. The sudden drop in adrenaline was unfamiliar to Cloud, something he could hardly remember from his childhood. Mako didn't wear off for hours or suddenly plummet like that, so the sensation felt very old, long forgotten. The couch was proving to be awfully comfortable, it's cushions soft and worn, and he felt lethargic and relaxed. He could just rest and let Reno talk away…

Reno kicked Cloud in the shin hard enough to make him jerk in response. He bolted up and in one move had launched himself off the couch and into a defensive stance, hands up and ready. Reno was midway through a yawn though, his eyes shut. He didn't think a thing of Cloud's abrupt move, too tired to really give it a thought. "Get some sleep. We've got conditioning tomorrow so you'll need it too."

Cloud and Reno headed back to the bunker, each falling into his bed, already dreaming as their heads hit the pillow.

"Cloud! What is that!?" Dan's wild pointing at Cloud's head had the blond momentarily stunned. It had been so unexpected, right in the middle of their spar, that Cloud hadn't even had the chance to figure out what triggered it.

"What?"

"Dan's gone totally nuts. Hallucinating now!" Reno called from across the room, pausing from his own spar to taunt him. Dan ignored the jab though, staring over Cloud's shoulder. It clicked a moment later.

"You've got an earring!"

Unconsciously Cloud reached up to finger his left ear, the mark still a little red from the day before. "Yeah, I just got it."

Dan still looked a little shocked. "I thought only girls got piercings."

"What planet are you from? Every SOLDIER's got at least one." Reno had somehow managed to gravitate from across the room to right next to them in about thirty seconds. The instructor had his back turned, a stroke of luck that probably saved Reno's hide. The redhead would probably have been physically dragged back to his mat, partner in tow, with a lecture for running across the room to gossip.

"I certainly haven't seen any-"

"They do." Cloud's abrupt remark cut short what would have been another verbal war. These two couldn't seem to do anything else when together. "Let's just finish. You're lucky Instructor Mesk hasn't come over here yet."

Reno turned away after a beat, grumbling the whole time. His partner look distinctly annoyed to have been so easily abandoned. Cloud ignored Reno's melodrama, turning back to Dan and putting both fists up again in the traditional ready position.

Dan responded after a moment, still processing what had happened. His look was a little vacant, but Cloud ignored it. He'd been just as shocked by some of the tattoos and places for piercings when he'd come to Midgar, so he found it easy to excuse Dan's innocence. He'd been the same once.

It was Wednesday, hand-to-hand combat day, and Dan had finally managed to beat Reno to be Cloud's partner. The blond had done his best to ignore their competition, finding it uncomfortable and awkward to be at the center of it. He'd even gone and partnered up with other people some days if it got to be too much. Today had been relatively smooth until Dan's outburst.

Hit, duck, shoulder roll, clip the knuckles, catch and move, duck and shift right-

It was a mantra Cloud kept up, a steady, objective commentary of all his moves that kept him focused on the here and now. His body was getting more attuned to attacks and defensive counters, and his muscle memory seemed to be coming back faster than expected. Zack was helping immensely with this, and despite Cloud's initial nervousness at one-on-one lessons, things were working out so far.

Reno was still faster than him, that whole eel thing again with his sometimes-liquid movements and improvised combinations that caught everybody off-guard. They made good sparring partners, but Dan wasn't too bad either. He was stiff when he fought though, and he fought right by the book. There were moments though when his quick reflexes and sharp jabs with just his fingers really got to an opponent. Still, by Cloud's standards he'd be easy to take down in a real fight.

"So…" Dan was panting a bit to keep up. Cloud just kept pushing the pace. "Why'd you get it?"

Dodge left, grab the bicep, snap the arm back and duck and whirl for a kick to the back-

"Huh?" Cloud wasn't paying attention to Dan's talk at all. He had missed that last one with a well-timed duck by Dan and that had jarred him enough to realize Dan was speaking to him. The kid muttered sometimes to himself, and Cloud had grown used to it enough to tune it out.

This lesson in hand-to-hand combat was one of their best yet. The cadets were finally working more to develop offensive attacks and counters in combinations, using multiple moves and variations on traditional ones. Cloud was thankful for this because it meant more interesting matches and he didn't have to hold back quite so much.

"Why did you the piercing?" Dan winced almost immediately after he asked, Cloud's fist connecting with his ribcage a little harder than intended.

"My friend wanted me to." A half-truth, not quite a lie.

"All of a sudden?" Dan swung out a little more than necessary, the circle of his fist wide enough to give Cloud a good opening. The blond planted a powerful kick to Dan's stomach, the boy sinking in on himself almost instantly. That might have been a little harder than it should have been, and Cloud immediately felt a little bad for hurting the kid.

"Ah, sorry." Cloud rubbed his hands down his pants once, belatedly realizing he should offer to help Dan up. He quickly brought his hand out, politely helping him to stand. Dan rubbed his bruised belly, face scrunched up in more pain that he probably was really in.

"You two done?" Without waiting for an answer, Instructor Mesk clapped his hand loudly and called for a break. "Water! You got ten!"

Cloud approached the water cooler quickly and retrieved his water bottle. The sweaty boys tended to congregate around the cooler, and even though the room was large and airy the odor would linger there for a while. Cloud left that circle and drifted over to one side, keeping his distance from the rest.

Reno joined him not a moment later. The redhead splashed some water on two fingers and dabbed at his sweaty brow. His hair was pulled up into a ponytail and much darker underneath. His partner had a lot of stamina and had clearly kept him going. "You gonna keep that simple stud or get something else?"

Reno had spotted it at breakfast but hadn't said anything. Cloud hadn't mentioned it at all, not even to brag. Reno was going to ask, poke it to make sure it was real and not some lame joke of Cloud's SOLDIER friend or something, but he'd forgotten. Then Cloud acted like he'd always had it, not bringing it up at all or touching it, and Reno was nearly convinced he had always had it.

The redhead shook his head mentally. It fit the blond perfectly, that's all.

Cloud finished sipping his water, thinking about what to say. The stud he had was just for new piercings, and he wanted something like his old one. He'd gotten attached to that wolf design. "I'll get something else later."

"I know a nice jewelry shop under the plate that has some sweet stuff. They even do custom if you got the Gil." Reno cut his eyes at Dan as he approached. His gaze was hostile, but Cloud ignored it. That was between Reno and Dan, not him.

"Only if you'll teach me some there." They'd really only done some basics for parkour, stretching and easy strength stuff on Saturday, since neither of them had anything to do and no money to spend. The jumping had been fun, but more for Reno than Cloud. Jumping around like that, even with all the military training they went through had been painful, and not just because of their exhausted muscles. The landings Reno made look easy were actually very difficult, as Cloud discovered. He had trouble keeping his momentum from propelling him away and into the floor, especially when he had to stop fully on the balls of his feet. He'd managed it once or twice, but absorbing the shock wasn't easy while maintaining his balance either. Reno could land on the edge on just the balls of his feet, bending his knees to almost a right angle without falling. Waving his arms around to keep his balance just made his feel silly, and it hadn't helped most the time. The practice had been good for perfecting how to fall without hurting himself, though Cloud still managed to acquire some new bruises.

The session hadn't been without merit. By the end he was starting to get the hang of it, and while Reno laughed at him through most of it, he'd hadn't been a half-bad teacher either.

"Sure sure." Reno waved his hand as he said it. Cloud's thoughts skipped to Aeris at the thought of Midgar, but he wasn't sure if he might get the chance to slip away again. And he definitely wasn't bringing Reno to meet her.

"So Cloud, you know monsters could pull on that thing, right?" Dan indicated the earring with one hand. For some reason it seemed to be bothering him. Cloud's mouth twitched at that. He'd been plenty weirded out when he'd seen his first real tattoo: a giant tiger clambering up someone's back.

Reno cut in before Cloud could say a word. "What monster's got small enough claws to grab it? And that's only dangling ones idiot."

"Hey, I'm just looking out for Cloud! He should consider everything before he does something so, so…permanent!" Dan's defense of Cloud and concern for him was endearing on some level, but it was mostly annoying.

"Cloud's an adult man, not some baby. It's up to him so stop bugging him over it." The same sentiment went for Reno too.

It had been Zack that had taken Cloud to get the piercing done. The SOLDIER had found Cloud during lunch and had dragged him off back to the bunker, making a bit of a scene in the cafeteria again. Zack had made it clear he was a little upset Cloud hadn't told him about his birthday, even if the blond had obviously been in a bad mood that whole day. When Zack pressed him about why though, Cloud, feeling both guilt and irritation at Zack's nosiness, had been silent. The blond had been worried though that he'd offended Zack, and he might have now that he really considered it, but Zack was great at hiding things behind a smile. The SOLDIER let it drop, but not without wrangling a promise out of Cloud to not complain when Zack threw him a huge 18th birthday party.

The SOLDIER had also given Cloud quite a scare bringing up his birthday, and when the blond had finally gotten his voice back to ask how, he almost wished he hadn't asked.

But then, he wouldn't have known.

"Sephiroth told me." That's what Zack had said. The General had told him.

Cloud had gone hot and cold on that one, and even now he felt a chill shudder through his spine. There'd been pleasure there, no doubt about it. He was thrilled to know Sephiroth was interested in him. There was horror too though, and that was proving to be the stronger emotion.

Was he suspicious?

When Cloud had gotten up the courage to ask why Sephiroth knew, Zack told him the man had only said, "I make a point of knowing my subordinates," which had made Cloud frown the same way Zack had. That wasn't an answer to either of their questions.

Either way, Zack wanted to celebrate, so after their lesson that evening he'd rushed Cloud into the showers and they'd left Shinra. Zack had taken him out to a little noodle shop in town, and then, maybe because Zack's presence was still a little overwhelming sometimes, Cloud had admitted he would like to get a piercing. He really just wanted something to physically differentiate himself now from the teenager he had been, and Zack jumped on to the idea immediately.

Soon enough, Zack had led the way to a small tattoo parlor above the plate. It was unfamiliar to Cloud, though Zack was perfectly at ease. But then, he almost always was.

Cloud hadn't even thought there'd been any tattoo parlors on top of the plate, but apparently there was one. It wasn't in a back alley or on a mangy street, but on a popular sidewalk amidst boutiques, salons, men's shoe stores, and what looked like a custom tailor's shop. It didn't even stick out: no heavy, Goth or punk images in the window or smoking teenagers lingering on the doorstep. The front window wasn't covered in tattoo designs or metal band posters. It was normal. In fact, the only part of it that indicated it was a tattoo parlor at all was the sign, the name along with a simple dragon design:

Rich Mattie's Tattoo Parlor

It didn't seem like the kind of business that would be up here, but with lots of hardy and rough SOLDIERs just a step away, there was plenty of business to go around. Zack attested to that with one piercing in an ear and a tattoo of a sword on the back of his neck. Zack let Cloud touch that sword, admiring how the skin wasn't raised and the perfect detail of the hilt that had matched the Buster Sword. The blond couldn't remember ever seeing it before, guessing it had disappeared after their time with Hojo. Five years in a mako tank would do that.

"Oi, Cloud, let's go." Dan tugged on his arm and let go almost immediately as Cloud pulled away instinctively. Their water break was over, and Cloud had just zoned out of it completely. He took his last sip before setting down the bottle against the wall. The blond followed Dan back on to the mats, this time with Reno on their left. The redhead glared at the group that tried to say they'd been on that mat, and they left fairly quickly. Sometimes Reno still made people nervous because he was straight out of the slums. Being friendly with Cloud, the nobody from a little town out of nowhere, didn't seem to hurt his image at all. Either that or he didn't let it.

The instructors gave a brief explanation of what to do this time in groups of threes, and the fights started again. Cloud was still distracted though, so he let Dan and Reno practice first while he ostensibly refereed the match and noted strengths and weaknesses or something equally mundane. Cloud had precious few memories of good times with Zack, so he wanted to cherish the ones he had.

The tattoo shop had been very clean but dark, with designs and photographs lining the walls up to the ceiling. The man behind the counter looked every ounce the tattoo artist, covered with all kinds of images crawling up his arms and torso, his face and ears decorated with piercings of all sizes. He wasn't the kind of guy you expected to see on the plate.

All the SOLDIERs came here for their piercings, Zack had told him, because the place had the right machine to make the hole. With all the mako in a SOLDIER, it was hard to make a proper hole without it trying to heal back up too quickly. Plus, this guy was a professional, very quick with his hands, and he ran a clean store.

The guy had recognized Zack, but unlike with Reno in Wall Market, Cloud hadn't been forgotten for a second. He'd been introduced almost immediately, and the man had cracked a grin so wide Cloud thought it might be fake. Rich, the owner, had been perfectly amiable and knew how to set aside any fears for a first-time customer—except of course this time hadn't been Cloud's first.

When Cloud had gotten the piercing before, he'd been in Midgar under the plate not long after Zack's death. He'd done it in honor of Zack, who also had one in his left ear. He remembered the seedy place he'd gotten it done only vaguely. The guy, despite appearances, had known what he was doing, even if his bedside manner left a lot to be desired. It probably helped too that Cloud had come in with the buster sword strapped to his back.

It had been strange to be at that tattoo parlor with Zack, seeing the smiling face and listening with half an ear to his inane chatter. The experience was almost the opposite of his first; he'd gone in depressed, alone, and angry. Here he was excited, happy, and had Zack talking his ear off right next to him. It had come full circle.

The SOLDIER had laughed when Cloud asked for one in his left ear like Zack's. Rich had just grinned at them and winked, but Cloud didn't care. Zack was beaming at him, excited as much as Cloud was, though he showed it more.

It had been swift and practically painless. If there was one thing Cloud was glad for, his pain threshold was far higher than it had been when he'd been a cadet before. But then, that was a psychological thing and his mind wasn't the same as before either.

Zack had paid before Cloud could, insisting it was a birthday present. Cloud thought it was probably the best one he'd ever gotten. Zack had admired it, just as pleased with his idea as Cloud had for getting it. Nothing pleased Zack quite as much as knowing he'd made someone happy.

Cloud was jerked out of his reverie as Dan tapped him on the shoulder. "Tired? You okay?" Cloud shook his head and moved on to the mat, ignoring Dan's concern. He put his fists up in a ready position and narrowed his focus on Reno for the spar. This was time to improve, not daydream.