Disclaimer: I do not now or before and most likely not in the future, own Final Fantasy, Square Enix or any of the characters.
A/N: I am really excited about posting this chapter. Writing this one, I was so excited, however, I cried at the implications. I certainly hope I conveyed some of the emotion and you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think!
I do not have a beta, so forgive any mistakes and just enjoy them, I do!
"There are glimpses of heaven to us in every act, or thought, or word that raises us above ourselves." –A. P. Stanley
To You I Give My Heart
Chapter 9
~Quality Time~
Several days after the valron attacked and after walking for a few hours, to Zack's relief they finally came across a small slow-moving river. The dried blood on his back, shirt and pants had stiffened and it just felt all together yucky. One good thing, his wounds had healed, for the most part. They still were a little sensitive, but at least he wasn't bleeding anymore.
Dropping the bags, he set Cloud down next a tree and began his search for a safe place where they could bathe and make camp. Several feet down stream, there was a calm natural pool of fresh water underneath a small two foot waterfall.
Roaming around and checking the pristine area's perimeter, he stopped when he saw gentle blooms of different shades of pink flowers. Tilting his head, he took note that it was near the area surrounded by trees and natural barriers on two sides. A fallen tree, covered in dark green moss and small saplings were making their way up to fight for their rightful place as part of the canopy.
Getting Cloud and the bags back to the place he had scoped out, he set up camp next to the waterfall and the flowers. The sound of the flowing water was a more than welcome sound, "What do you think Cloud? Look around, its beautiful here," Lowering his voice to a defeated whisper, "I know you would love it." Waiting for a moment, he watched her dream and then her fingers twitched. Was it from the dream, or something else?
Digging in the bag for the extra clothes, he relaxed at the overall sight of the natural untouched beauty. Under the canopy of trees, the swaying branches caught in a cool breeze and set shadows over the ground and her face. Grass lined the area they sat in and birds sang their melodic songs from the branches above. With the sun up at its peak now, the heat that morning had worn him out. Carrying the bags, his sword and Cloud was beginning to chip away at his resolve and strength. Looking healthier than she did before they escaped, it gave him a bit of a challenge when she wouldn't walk.
Pausing his search, he looked over to her and sadly said, "Please open your eyes. Look at the trees, listen to the breeze rustle the leaves." Still not getting any kind of response, he returned his attention back to the bag. Feeling crushed, his love for her began to hurt him worse, he never, in his life, felt this way. It was something he had a problem understanding, sure he loved her more than anything, but there was something else. That one little thing was becoming bigger as the days, weeks and now months rolled on and that was sorrow.
Having her so close to him, he could touch her, smell her, feel her breaths, but she wasn't there. Mentally, Zack didn't know where she was, or even if she would ever return to her normal self. The ex-Soldier didn't want to accept or admit that his problem might boil down to the fact that he had her body in front of him, but not her heart. It would have been easier if she was either gone from his sight or one hundred percent there with him.
When he pulled out their extra shorts and shirts, a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo fell to the ground. Rolling down the dirt incline toward the shallow shore, a raised tree root stopped the shampoo from going into the water. Not trying to catch it at first, he couldn't take his eyes off of the bottle simply labeled 'Shinra Corp.' Scoffing at the fact that he was now using the very products that represented everything he hated. However, he had to hand it to Harding; he had thought that far enough ahead to include shampoo and soap.
With the bottle in his hands, he tossed it in the air and caught it, "Are you ready to get cleaned up?" Not receiving an answer, not that he was expecting one, he went ahead and removed his clothing, "I'm gonna go first, so just stay right here."
Laying her close to the pool, just a couple of feet away, he wanted to keep her close if she needed him for anything. Jumping in the ever tempting water, he screeched at the temperature, "It's a little cold, but on a hot day like today, it feels reeeally good!"
Standing chest deep in the clear water, he washed himself up quickly, reveling in the fantastic feel of cleanliness. Dipping down into the water, he finished with his hair and brushed it back out of his eyes. Wiping the water from his face, his hands felt rough, but his whole body felt renewed.
Floating on his back for a moment, he let his sore muscles relax with the feeling of weightlessness. Wondering what astronauts felt like, he heard that floating in water was the closest to it that you get down here on the ground.
Watching the sunshine break through temporarily, taking note of each leaf. Having done this many times before when he was a kid, he often ventured out to the forest with his friends. After a full day of playing, he and his friends would often lay in the shade with their hands behind their heads and daydream. Zack had always loved the way the sun outlined each leaf and the wind made them dance to its own whim. Pretending that the leaves were the ones that actually were radiating the light from within, he supposed that he wanted to feel that way. To be someone else's light was a notion he wanted to explore with Cloud.
Now, having experienced being at the will and whim of a crazy scientist, he just wanted his freedom to move his own way.
Wading over to her in the waist deep water, he undid the braid and washed her hair while she rested on the large flat rock. Feeling the long strands of hair in his hands, he ran his fingers through it, loosening the small tangles.
Once he finished with her hair and got her clothes off, he pulled her in, keeping her close to him. Staying in the waist deep water for now, he let her get used to the temperature of the water. Embracing her, the soft skin of her breasts and stomach ran a shiver of goose bumps through his body. The way her head hung back, it exposed her long slim neck to him. Reaching up, he gently caressed her cheek as he softly cooed, "I miss you." The blonde's arms limply floated out to her sides and he took her chin in his hand and leaned down. He wanted to let his lips touch hers, wanted her to wake up with a kiss, like in a fairytale.
Moving to the deeper water, he closed his eyes, he just held her to him, his lips just close enough to touch hers lightly and briefly. Pulling back just a bit, his breath lightly brushed her lips as he spoke, "I wish you were awake," Nudging her nose softly with his, he moved his face so that their cheeks touched, "I wonder if you can even hear me." Concentrating on her breaths as they tickled his earlobe, he pulled back and opened his eyes and noticed hers were open as well. Looking around at her surroundings, he held his breath and kept hope in his heart.
Remaining limp in one of his muscled arms, he asked hesitantly and wondered expectantly, "Cloud?" Stroking her hair slowly with his free hand, she leaned into his touch. Inhaling harshly, she held it and cut her eyes over in his direction, "Cloud? Can you see me? Can you hear me?!"
Still hanging, pliable and unmoving, only her head turned slightly to better see his face. The bright glow of mako deepened the blue of her eyes and she seemed to really see him. Quickly capturing her lips with his, he felt hers move with a subtle quiver. Closing his eyes again, he squeezed out the tears of painful relief in his eyes. Resting his forehead on hers, he felt something in his hair. His breaths increased with the beating of his heart and out of the corner of his eye, her fingers weakly gripped at his hair. Taking her wrist in his gentle grip, he pulled her soft hand down to his cheek as he gazed in her eyes, getting lost in the galaxy of the deepest blue glow of the hottest star.
Being here, in this moment, together like this, with her in his arms as her eyes focused on him, his body trembled from the intensity. For too long, he had gone without her touch and now, the look in her eyes touched his very soul. Never had he felt so vulnerable, as naked as he did right then. Within the span of just a few seconds, this woman had him stripped to the very bone from the emotion that she emitted in her fierce gaze.
Hearing a quiet breathy whisper, it sounded like she was trying to say his name. If his heart could actually explode, this would be the time, "Come on, talk to me. Please?" The thumping in his chest increased as his anticipation grew. He allowed the corners of his mouth to tip up in a tentative, but wishful smile.
Looking down to his mouth, she struggled to move her hand on her own and her small fingers ghosted across his lips. The sting of tears in his eyes made her move her eyes back up to his. When she furrowed her eyebrows and her tears gathered, her lips moved as if to say something, but again no sound escaped.
"Come on, talk to me, tell me to shut up or something," Zack waited, frozen, wanting her to finally be fully awake, but it just wasn't going to happen. Falling loosely back to the water, her hand splashed and her head jerked. Watching the muscles in her neck forcefully swallow, she opened her mouth again and then nothing. Slowly shutting her eyes, her jaw went rigid and she fell silent, back to her previous state.
Shaking her gently, he felt his chest tighten and the panic set in as he frantically tried waking her, "Please wake up, I need you." Sniffing back the painful tears he didn't know that he was shedding, he pulled her closer to his chest, "Cloud, please come back." Holding her firm against his body, he trembled in fear, would she ever fully wake up? His ability to speak, to move had temporarily ceased, his need to have her skin touching his, won out. Standing in the middle of a small piece of Gaia's wondrous paradise, he held her and wept.
Once he was able to think straight, he cleared his throat and dried his internal tears, "I'm never gonna give up on you. We're going to find someone who can help you," Promising himself he would think of this positively, he talked it out, "I know that you actually saw me." Wiping his face, he swallowed hard and doubled his effort to sound strong, but his voice still faltered, "That's a great start to you getting over the mako poisoning."
Thinking about something else, he cleared his throat again and simply changed his thinking back to her bath, "So, how does it feel to be clean after all this time on the run?"
Once it was time to get her out of the water, he laid her back on the smooth rocks that lined one small area close to camp. Getting out of the water, he pulled her over to the log and laid her head in the crook of his arm and shoulder. Lazily, he pulled his fingers through her hair, "You know, laying out here naked, it's kind of cool. Don't ya think? Well don't worry, we are all alone out here, so we can just air dry for a while."
Craning his neck, he looked to her face, "Too bad you aren't awake, this would be an awesome place for a little messing around," Wagging his eyebrows, he smiled, "How about this, once you wake up and get better, we can come back here and I can show you how much fun it is to make love outside; and by a waterfall to boot," Laying his head back, he closed his eyes and just relaxed at the feel of her breath across the wet skin of his chest.
Once they were dry, he began talking to fill the silence between them, "Well, relaxation time is over for now, gotta wash the dirty clothes, they outright stink." Finally working her clean clothes on her limp and uncooperative body, he spoke to her, "Why don't we stay here tonight, I like it, you know all nature-ry and everything."
Pulling her shorts up to her waist, he noticed that they were tighter than the other ones. Thinking it strange he took her dirty ones and fit them over her, and they were tight also, "I guess you gained more weight than I thought, but then again you have had a really good appetite," His eyes whipped back to her face and he quickly added, "Oh, I'm not saying that you're fat! So don't even think that."
Taking the dirty clothes after moving her to the mossy log, he went to do the laundry, "Well, you getting sick and throwing up every day, I figured you would have it balanced out. Well, mako poisoning can do that to a person, they teach that in the academy you know. That green mako shit that you're throwing up is some nasty stuff." Thinking back to the few times that he actually got sick so far while they were on the run, he also threw up the thick green liquid. Hojo hadn't overdosed him so the times he was sick were far fewer than hers.
Getting their filthy clothes clean was a more difficult task than he thought originally, the blood stains weren't coming out. He didn't think that they would, it had been several days and he didn't exactly have laundry soap, "Oh well, I guess it really doesn't matter, as long as I get it clean we can still use it as a wash cloth."
Spending the rest of the afternoon lounging in the shade and napping, he woke up and once again noticed the flowers. It had blooms as pink as her lips and the even more beautiful blush that would rise in her cheeks that he missed so much. Picking one of them, he smelled it as he twirled the stem between his thumb and fore finger, "What do you think? You like it?" Placing the bloom above her ear, he situated it so that it sat well in place.
Picking another, he slowly recalled a memory, "I remember once, it was about the time that Angeal left Soldier, I fell through a roof of a church down in the slums," Glancing at her, he finished, "Do you remember when that happened?" With a wave of his hand he continued, "Anyway, the girl that I almost fell on, she had flowers growing, right there in the middle of that old church. These flowers remind me of her." Picking a couple more, he wove the stems together as he talked, "She was a really nice girl. I think you two could be really good friends."
Straightening his back he blushed, "And before you start jumping to conclusions, we never went out," Pausing he sheepishly added, "Well that's not exactly true, we went on a couple of dates, but that's it," As he added more flowers to her hair and the new and improved braid, he went on, "Well… I should tell you, I did kiss her. But that's it! I swear!"
Once he got several flowers in her hair, he sat back and admired his work, "I tell ya, you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." With a sad but loving smile he touched her cheek.
After sun set, he got dinner out, "Well, what is it you're going to eat tonight? All we really have left is a shit load of toaster pastries and then some protein bars, both of which you hate." Getting her in place, he sighed as he took her jaw and opened it to put a small bit of the protein bar on her tongue. Expecting a flailing fit like before, surprisingly she swallowed it without a fuss, "Oh, so now you like the protein bars?"
Feeding her a total of five bars and half a bottle of water, laying her down, he finished off the last two protein bars for his dinner. Lying out on the soft grass, the blanket held their body warmth when the temperature dropped. Cuddling up to her back, "Well, I sure as hell feel better," Kissing her neck and ear, he noticed goose bumps pop up on her neck, all the way down her leg, "I enjoyed our talk, we should do it again very soon." Closing his eyes, he pictured the way she looked for that short amount of time in the water. It was a start to recovery and now, he had renewed confidence that she would be awake soon.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reads, favorites, subscribes and/or reviews, I appreciate your time and I dedicate all of this to you. To quote another author, "Getting reviews makes me feel all warm and squishy."
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