Just a quick update with another chapter.
Please read, enjoy and review :o)
Friend's talk - continued
It had been a little awkward after that, the conversation between them being broken and uncomfortable as they tried to change the subject to something which was safer to talk about. Unfortunately they couldn't avoid it for long and eventually Cloud's problems had once again been the topic of discussion, only this time the soldier was calmer as they spoke and the earlier anger was nowhere to be seen. The red head knew that it had been his comment about the soldier getting shot which had brought about this change, the possibility of such a thing happening again hitting Zack like a slap in the face. Reno also knew it was wishful thinking to believe that it was gone completely, but he allowed the illusion to play out and took comfort in the fact at least they were speaking about it again.
Neither noticed the people coming and going around them, so that other than the barmaid's occasional interruptions to replenish their drinks they were left alone to talk. Eventually the exchange of words between them became lighter again and more relaxed, the dialogue slowly falling back into a familiar and comforting banter once more. At first they talked about the cadet's achievements and his strengths, the positive aspects which they could work on and build upon to make him stronger. It was only when things were more settled between them that they talked about the blonde's other problems in more depth, his past experiences and current emotional issues being a sensitive subject for the pair. These however didn't even come close to their main concern involving Cloud's incident with Sephiroth, the fact that Angeal still hadn't been in touch making both feel uneasy about the whole thing.
"Maybe you should give him a call." Reno suggested, as he finished off the last of his drink.
"I guess." Zack sighed, his tone clearly revealing his reluctance to do so.
"Man Fair, you are such a wimp sometimes." The Turk persisted, his amused smile barely suppressing the laughter which was slowly building within him.
"I'm not a wimp." The soldier huffed in response, his pouting expression only adding to the red heads humorous grin.
"Fine, you're not, but you still need to do it."
"Ok, ok, I'll do it now." Zack grumbled, as he dug his phone out of his pocket.
Unfortunately both had become so caught up in their own little world that neither had noticed the time passing them by, the minutes becoming hours as the night silently moved on around them. Had the soldier looked at his phone before flipping it open he would have seen the time and known not to make the call, the clearly displayed numbers now revealing it to by much later than either of them had realised. It was therefore a surprise to Zack when a tired but clearly worried voice suddenly answered his call.
"Zack, what's wrong?"
"Uuummm, nothing I ... just ..."
"Is it Cloud, has something else happened?" Angeal's voice interrupted, the concern very evident in the deep rich tones of his voice.
"No, I ... I just ... Hey wait a minute, what do you mean something else? You know about ... about earlier?"
"Yes I am aware of his unfortunate meeting with Sephiroth." The commander replied before sighing heavily, his initial anxiety now replaced with a tired unease.
"And you didn't call me." The soldier all but shouted down the phone, his anxiety and dread finally reaching their limit.
Unfortunately the outburst had also made Angeal reach his, the warning tone in his voice letting Zack know that he was pushing his luck although he didn't realise it.
"I felt it best to talk to you about it in the morning face to face."
"Have you spoken to him? Is he going to punish Spiky? What about ...."
"Zack!" Angel's voice cut in sternly, the word being spoken loud enough that even Reno jumped when he heard it.
"Yes." The soldier replied, swapping the phone to his other ear and rubbing the one which was now ringing slightly.
"It is one in the morning, I do not wish to discuss this now." The commander explained calmly, after taking a deep steadying breath.
"It's what?" Zack choked in surprise, his eyes widening as he frantically looked around for a clock to confirm the statement.
"After one." Angeal repeated with a sigh, his tone changing and becoming suspicious when he heard the soldier cursing softly down the phone at him. "Zack, where are you?"
"With Reno." Was the hesitant and clearly guilty reply.
"I said where not who, although now I know that I can probably guess where you are."
"It's not like that Angeal." The soldier protested weakly, his eyes levelling with the Turks and communicating that they were probably in trouble.
"I hope for both your sakes that Cloud is not with you."
"No, he's at home sleeping." Zack replied nervously, knowing that response wasn't going to be any better based on the commanders annoyed tone.
"Please tell me he is not on his own, especially after today." Angeal groaned, the weariness of his voice making the soldier's heart race even more.
"No, Gaia no Angeal." Zack protested quickly. "Cissnei's there and she's watching him. We only planned on being an hour but ..."
"But what Zack?"
"I needed this Angeal, I know that sounds pathetic but I was ... I was starting to lose it and Reno came and he ... he ..."
"Alright, alright." The commander interrupted before sighing heavily. "I understand that you must have been worried and if I had called earlier it might have made things easier."
"I really didn't mean to be out this late." The soldier continued, his voice clearly revealing the regret of his actions. "We got talking about him and I don't know time just disappeared."
"It's alright Zack," Angeal repeated again, his soothing tone trying to ease the soldier's growing distress. "I understand that this must be hard for you and I'm not angry. If anything I'm glad you had the sense to get some time away from him to sort yourself out."
"It was Reno's idea." The soldier admitted quietly, the faint smile he got from the red head offering a small amount of reassurance.
"Tell him it was a good one, for once." I will Zack replied with a soft chuckle, the sound making both the commander and Turk relax a little.
"Zack." Angeal continued after a moment of silence between them. "I know that this ... relationship between you and Cloud is important to you but ..."
"But?" The soldier asked nervously, as the commander's words hesitated.
"But I want you to be careful."
"You're starting to sound like Reno." Zack replied, his voice quickly becoming guarded as he made the fact known.
"Then perhaps I have more to be concerned about it than I thought." Angeal mused aloud, the unease very evident in his words.
"There might be some things you should know." The soldier agreed cautiously, his eyes connecting with the Turk across the table who was now looking at him questioningly.
"Then we should talk in my office later, but for now I suggest that you go home and get some sleep."
"Sure, now worries, we're going now."
"Good, now remember my office at eight sharp."
"Ok, night Angeal."
"Goodnight Zack." The commander replied gently, his voice softening now that he knew they would be able to discuss Cloud's case openly.
The soldier had barely hung up when Reno started asking question, the spill of words only coming to a halt when Zack raised a hand to silence him.
"I'll talk as we walk." He informed the red head firmly, already rising to his feet and throwing some money on the table.
"What's the rush?" Reno asked confused, as he hurried to catch up with the soldier who was before heading towards the door.
"It's gone one in the morning Reno." Zack called back, his purposefully strides carrying him along the path with a speed the Turk had not expected.
"Damn it Zack, slow down." The red head protested, as he all but jogged to keep up.
"I thought you were fast." The soldier joked half-heartedly as he continued the pace.
"Either run or walk Fair, but this military march thing you got going isn't my style."
"Fine I'll slow down, but keep up."
They continued to make their way back towards the base at an even pace, the soldier's strides still keeping the pair moving at a fast walk which the Turk was just able to keep up with. Neither spoke as they passed the various buildings which marked their route back towards Zack's apartment, both men lost to their own thoughts as they followed the familiar path in the quiet of the night.
Reno was still trying to decide if Cloud's confessions had been a good thing or not, his happiness at the developing honesty between the pair also conflicting with the need to protect his friend. The Turk sighed knowing that in the end it was already too late to protect Zack from having his heart broken if the cadet suddenly lost it, that if the soldier was forced to let the blonde go it would probably destroy him as well. The red head was also bothered by the promise they had made of having no secrets, the idea being good in theory but never really possible in practice. He knew from his own experience that there were things Zack would never be able to talk about, covert missions or classified assignments which they would be assigned that required the highest levels of security clearance. He had even tried to point this out during their discussion but Zack had not seen the problem, his confidence in Cloud's trust in him blinding the soldier to the possible danger.
Then there was the blonde himself admitting to things which they had only guessed at, his stories hinting at a childhood which they could never have imagined for someone. The Turk had guessed that there was more to Cloud's past than just having a rough time at ShinRa, the deep seated rage within the cadet's eyes being the unspoken evidence of years of torment and abuse. But he would never have guessed it to be so bad, that the cadet had actually given up on feeling he deserved happiness and joy in his life. Reno shuddered as Zack's words repeated in his mind, the way he had described Cloud's admission chilling him to the very core and only making the unsettling feeling stronger. A sudden thought occurred to Reno, a thought which made his heart convulse in his chest. What if Cloud became solely dependent on Zack? What if the soldier became the single object holding the cadet together, the bond between them being the only thing to keep the blonde from completely losing his mind.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Zack calling to him until the soldier shouted his name.
"Reno!"
"Yea." The Turk shot back, jumping slightly at the sudden interruption to his thoughts.
"You ok? You were pretty distant just then."
"Just thinking." Reno replied faintly, his eyes momentarily unable to meet with the soldier's until he had calmed himself.
"You want to talk about it?" Zack asked cautiously, his instincts already telling him what the conversation would be about based on the red heads averted gaze.
"You already know how I feel about certain things and I'm keeping it to myself like you ... suggested." The Turk replied evenly.
"I didn't mean to snap at you back then." The soldier apologised awkwardly, remembering the moment well.
"It's ok you're forgiven, after all what are friends for." Reno joked back, trying to lighten the mood as they entered the lift.
"Yea." Zack sighed in agreement, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"Just do me a favour and don't keep all this stuff to yourself."
"I'm still worried about what's going to happen tomorrow." Zack admitted, as the lift came to a stop and the doors opened.
"If it was going to be bad Angeal would have warned you not made you wait till the morning to talk about it." Reno pointed out helpfully, his hand moving up to pat the soldier's shoulder reassuringly.
"Yea, you're right." Zack sighed, as he slid his key card through the lock and pushed the door open.
Inside the apartment Cissnei sighed as she heard the door open and the low but easily recognisable voices drifted into the room. She was up and out of the chair in a second, her quick reflexes moving her towards the door before Zack had even cleared the threshold.
"Where have you been?" She demanded in a harsh whisper, her sudden appearance catching both men by surprise.
"Sorry we lost track of time." Zack replied apologetically, while trying not to smile as Reno cursed the girl's stealth under his breath.
Cissnei ignored the red heads comments and smiled back, her relief at seeing the soldier smile and being relieved of babysitting duty now very clear on her face.
"How's it been?" Zack asked as he moved into the apartment.
"Boring actually." Cissnei replied thoughtfully. "Not that I wanted anything to happen, but you know."
"Well I appreciate it all the same. In fact I probably owe you a drink as well." The soldier offered by way of thanks.
"I'd like that." The brunette agreed before Reno cut in.
"We should get going."
"Sure." Zack agreed, his thoughts already drifting to the blonde in his bed. "Thanks again."
"No worries." The red head replied with a smile, as he grabbed the Turk beside him and began to steer her towards the door.
Zack watched with an amused expression as Cissnei waved back over her shoulder and Reno rolled his eyes at her, the pair barely closing the door before they started to argue. The soldier managed to restrain the laughter which bubbled up inside him and instead allowed a small chuckle to escape his mouth, the lips forming a soft smile as his eyes drifted towards the closed bedroom door. Suddenly Zack felt tired, his body aching not only from the long day but also with an undeniable need to lie beside Cloud and hold him tight.
Realising that he now stunk of alcohol and cigarettes Zack quickly hurried towards the bathroom, his hair getting a quick wash and his aching muscles a few minutes to soak as he cleansed his skin of the distinctive smell of being in a bar. It was closer to two in the morning by the time he was finished and safely tucked up in bed where he belonged, his arms quickly wrapping around Cloud's slender figure and gently easing it back against him. It was only when he felt the cadet's heart beating against his own that the tension within him truly began to ease, his body relaxing into the soft mattress as the strains of the day slowly faded away and he drifted off to sleep.