![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: Tears
Author: GW Katrina aka![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
icedark_elf
Beta:forgottenlover
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Pairings: If you look at it sideways, Zack/Cloud, Zack/Aeris
Warning: Sequel to Wait. It won't make sense without reading it.
Wordcount: 1,152
Summary: Not all tears are bad.
A/N: I asked for words, and I got them. About 250 of them. This is number -three-. So far, words given to me are sitting at 3=2,969. Some type of odd math going on there. >.>
Tears
It had been hard, really. Tears and sweat and pain aplenty.
Zack had never, ever expected this chain of events. Even when he had opened his eyes and seen nothing, his tears mixing with the river water still on his cheeks, he hadn’t really reacted. It had been a numbing pain, which was something he had been grateful for, that it didn’t actually hurt past the sting of the burn on his cheeks.
He had never been so happy as to hear Cloud’s voice, rusting from disuse and almost hesitant as the blond had realized how bad it was. But that voice meant Cloud was awake and reactive and that was all he had ever wanted.
The travel had been slow, and he had given up on the idea of Midgar. It would have been hard enough as was, but with Cloud still shaky and Zack not able to see, it just wasn’t going to happen.
He had to tell Aeris somehow, though, that he was alive. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he had been reported dead. Else people would have wondered. Probably the entire group sent to Nibelheim.
Zack wondered what lie they had told everyone. What lie that would have been believed. What in the little backwater town of Nibelheim could take down General Sephiroth and his SiC? The two troopers with them were nonentities, but for two of the best SOLDIERs to just…vanish or die….
It must have been one hell of a lie.
Random thoughts like that filled his days between listening for pursuit and hugging close to Cloud. It certainly was a reversal of roles, and he wasn’t sure if he was more pleased by this or not.
There was never a doubt in his mind that, if he was left alone and lived long enough, his eyes would heal themselves. He might not be like Cloud was; whatever they had done to him in the labs had made him better than any 1st Class, so much more like Sephiroth than anyone Zack had ever known. And they had called him the failure.
Just went to show how stupid scientists were.
It was easier to adapt to his condition than Zack would have thought possible. His hearing was also enhanced, and he had been trained for blind fighting. Well, maybe not trained for it, but he had learned it damn fast in the war.
Funny how the war had given him so many skills he had found useful later on in life.
Learning Cloud’s gait had been child’s play, and he knew the rhythm of the steps troops were trained in. That let him know if the person coming close to where he was hidden was Cloud, or someone he needed to kill, or someone to hide from.
He had killed two troops early on. They hadn’t expected a man with a blindfold on to move so fast or so sure. At least, that was Zack’s guess. All he knew was that they hadn’t put up any real fight, and were greener than anything. The set of their steps said that they were fresh trained, without the easy acceptance of it that long practice wore into the pattern of footsteps.
Then, one day, he realized that they weren’t being chased anymore. They were someplace warm, and Cloud didn’t seem so afraid.
“I don’t think they are following us anymore. We’re in Mideel.”
That explained the sea crossings.
“What are we going to do here?” he asked softly.
“We’ll figure out something. Hell, maybe we could breed chocobos. Got a big market for them down here.” A bit of a wistful tone. “I always did love chocobos.”
“Well,” Zack said cheerfully, giving Cloud a one arm hug, “let’s raise us some chocobos.”
Surprisingly, it was both harder and easier to do than either of them had any right to expect. Cloud was something of a natural touch with them. Even the most skittish and snappy of birds would calm down for him, and he had lots of side business helping the local bird doctor keeping her patients calm.
While he did that, Zack would do simple tasks around the house and barn. One rule that was very clear and kept at all times was that things just weren’t left out. As long as that was followed, Zack was able to do things like make sure the birds had food and water and check their gear.
Several of the chicks seemed to pick up that he couldn’t see, and he found himself with extra help, as they would chirp if he walked to near something in a certain tone, or would trot next to his legs and help him move around. Cloud teased him about it and claimed it was the hair. The chicks had adopted him as an honorary chocobo.
The best of those chicks they kept, and they trained, and she stayed there as Zack’s bird, who he named Noisy. Zack managed to train her in warbird techniques, though he refused to tell Cloud how he did it, even when he trained Cloud’s bird, Flutter, in the same.
It was a simple life. During the day, they dealt with the birds, and at night, they curled around each other and simply touched. Both had expected to be dead, and they simply enjoyed the fact they weren’t.
Noisy was his first warning the day unfamiliar steps told him someone he didn’t know as in the yard.
“You might want to stay back,” he warned. “Some of the birds are a bit jumpy and might snap and do some serious damage.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem.”
The voice was soft, light, and familiar. Zack had spun for it, Noisy instantly moving to his side and pressing against him to act as support.
“Aeris?” A soft, startled voice, completely out of character for Zack, squeaked its way out of his throat.
“Out here with a sunburned nose, playing with chocobos. Not what I expected from a SOLDIERboy, but I think I like it.”
Her voice was teasing, but then she was there, arms tight around him as she seemed to try to squeeze the shock out of him.
“I missed you,” she said softly, barely heard under Noisy’s surprised wark. Zack patted the bird’s shoulder, then wrapped his arms tight around her.
“Missed you too, Babe. How did you…?”
“You can thank your Cloud for that. He’s nice, can we keep him?”
A soft laugh. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”
“I think,” Cloud's voice said with a smile in it, “that we should continue the talk inside. Aeris brought pies, and I’ll eat them by myself if I need to.”
Well, that wasn’t allowed.
Ignoring the tears on his cheeks, and the ones he tasted as he kissed Aeris, Zack let her lead him inside.
Not all tears were bad, after all.
Wait: Previous Fic
Next Fic: Leather
Wordcounts:
Word fics: 2,969
Nov 2: 5,078
November so far: 10,454
Author: GW Katrina aka
icedark_elfBeta:
forgottenloverFandom: Final Fantasy VII
Pairings: If you look at it sideways, Zack/Cloud, Zack/Aeris
Warning: Sequel to Wait. It won't make sense without reading it.
Wordcount: 1,152
Summary: Not all tears are bad.
A/N: I asked for words, and I got them. About 250 of them. This is number -three-. So far, words given to me are sitting at 3=2,969. Some type of odd math going on there. >.>
Tears
It had been hard, really. Tears and sweat and pain aplenty.
Zack had never, ever expected this chain of events. Even when he had opened his eyes and seen nothing, his tears mixing with the river water still on his cheeks, he hadn’t really reacted. It had been a numbing pain, which was something he had been grateful for, that it didn’t actually hurt past the sting of the burn on his cheeks.
He had never been so happy as to hear Cloud’s voice, rusting from disuse and almost hesitant as the blond had realized how bad it was. But that voice meant Cloud was awake and reactive and that was all he had ever wanted.
The travel had been slow, and he had given up on the idea of Midgar. It would have been hard enough as was, but with Cloud still shaky and Zack not able to see, it just wasn’t going to happen.
He had to tell Aeris somehow, though, that he was alive. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he had been reported dead. Else people would have wondered. Probably the entire group sent to Nibelheim.
Zack wondered what lie they had told everyone. What lie that would have been believed. What in the little backwater town of Nibelheim could take down General Sephiroth and his SiC? The two troopers with them were nonentities, but for two of the best SOLDIERs to just…vanish or die….
It must have been one hell of a lie.
Random thoughts like that filled his days between listening for pursuit and hugging close to Cloud. It certainly was a reversal of roles, and he wasn’t sure if he was more pleased by this or not.
There was never a doubt in his mind that, if he was left alone and lived long enough, his eyes would heal themselves. He might not be like Cloud was; whatever they had done to him in the labs had made him better than any 1st Class, so much more like Sephiroth than anyone Zack had ever known. And they had called him the failure.
Just went to show how stupid scientists were.
It was easier to adapt to his condition than Zack would have thought possible. His hearing was also enhanced, and he had been trained for blind fighting. Well, maybe not trained for it, but he had learned it damn fast in the war.
Funny how the war had given him so many skills he had found useful later on in life.
Learning Cloud’s gait had been child’s play, and he knew the rhythm of the steps troops were trained in. That let him know if the person coming close to where he was hidden was Cloud, or someone he needed to kill, or someone to hide from.
He had killed two troops early on. They hadn’t expected a man with a blindfold on to move so fast or so sure. At least, that was Zack’s guess. All he knew was that they hadn’t put up any real fight, and were greener than anything. The set of their steps said that they were fresh trained, without the easy acceptance of it that long practice wore into the pattern of footsteps.
Then, one day, he realized that they weren’t being chased anymore. They were someplace warm, and Cloud didn’t seem so afraid.
“I don’t think they are following us anymore. We’re in Mideel.”
That explained the sea crossings.
“What are we going to do here?” he asked softly.
“We’ll figure out something. Hell, maybe we could breed chocobos. Got a big market for them down here.” A bit of a wistful tone. “I always did love chocobos.”
“Well,” Zack said cheerfully, giving Cloud a one arm hug, “let’s raise us some chocobos.”
Surprisingly, it was both harder and easier to do than either of them had any right to expect. Cloud was something of a natural touch with them. Even the most skittish and snappy of birds would calm down for him, and he had lots of side business helping the local bird doctor keeping her patients calm.
While he did that, Zack would do simple tasks around the house and barn. One rule that was very clear and kept at all times was that things just weren’t left out. As long as that was followed, Zack was able to do things like make sure the birds had food and water and check their gear.
Several of the chicks seemed to pick up that he couldn’t see, and he found himself with extra help, as they would chirp if he walked to near something in a certain tone, or would trot next to his legs and help him move around. Cloud teased him about it and claimed it was the hair. The chicks had adopted him as an honorary chocobo.
The best of those chicks they kept, and they trained, and she stayed there as Zack’s bird, who he named Noisy. Zack managed to train her in warbird techniques, though he refused to tell Cloud how he did it, even when he trained Cloud’s bird, Flutter, in the same.
It was a simple life. During the day, they dealt with the birds, and at night, they curled around each other and simply touched. Both had expected to be dead, and they simply enjoyed the fact they weren’t.
Noisy was his first warning the day unfamiliar steps told him someone he didn’t know as in the yard.
“You might want to stay back,” he warned. “Some of the birds are a bit jumpy and might snap and do some serious damage.”
“I don’t think that will be a problem.”
The voice was soft, light, and familiar. Zack had spun for it, Noisy instantly moving to his side and pressing against him to act as support.
“Aeris?” A soft, startled voice, completely out of character for Zack, squeaked its way out of his throat.
“Out here with a sunburned nose, playing with chocobos. Not what I expected from a SOLDIERboy, but I think I like it.”
Her voice was teasing, but then she was there, arms tight around him as she seemed to try to squeeze the shock out of him.
“I missed you,” she said softly, barely heard under Noisy’s surprised wark. Zack patted the bird’s shoulder, then wrapped his arms tight around her.
“Missed you too, Babe. How did you…?”
“You can thank your Cloud for that. He’s nice, can we keep him?”
A soft laugh. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”
“I think,” Cloud's voice said with a smile in it, “that we should continue the talk inside. Aeris brought pies, and I’ll eat them by myself if I need to.”
Well, that wasn’t allowed.
Ignoring the tears on his cheeks, and the ones he tasted as he kissed Aeris, Zack let her lead him inside.
Not all tears were bad, after all.
Wait: Previous Fic
Next Fic: Leather
Wordcounts:
Word fics: 2,969
Nov 2: 5,078
November so far: 10,454