![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: Share the Secret
Author: GW Katrina aka![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
icedark_elf
Beta:forgottenlover
Warning: Implied torture, some cursing, part of an darkish AU
Wordcount: 1,471
A/N: Based onkemis's Ode of Diversion.
For previous fics, go here.
Share the Secret
Home
It seemed like it took years for the doctors to release them. Zack was actually to the point of calmly considering snapping necks if it got him out of there faster.
Every morning it was the same. Bloodwork and jabbing and tests and it was so much like the lab that Zack was going to scream if he didn’t get out of there. And the questions. Over and over and over, the same questions. Did he remember anything, did he know what had happened to him, did he remember this, did he remember that?
He continued to deny remembering anything. Just hot, and hurting, but mostly just heat.
That’s all he told them, over and over.
Then, one day, Seph was visiting when the doctors got too close. He obviously noticed the twitch of Zack’s fingers because he stood and went to speak to the man in low words that Zack couldn’t quite catch.
Obviously, however, the doctor could, as he turned white and hurried out of the room. Seph nodded, then settled next to Zack’s bed again and continued giving him food. After Zack had complained that the stuff they tried to pass off as food in the hospital was making him feel sick, Seph had taken to either bringing food himself, or sending Cloud, a new recruit who Zack had become pretty good friends with, to bring food to Zack every day. Usually the food runs turned into visits as Zack convinced them to stay and chat with him so he’d have some company.
He didn’t want to be alone. It was…something that bothered him of late.
Zack had no idea of what he was going to do when he was sent back out on mission. Those were usually solitary runs.
Seph had barely sat back down before the doctor had come back in with a few bits of paper and a packed, then handed the papers over and made Zack sign off on them. Then he had backed off quickly and declared Zack free to go, even if he wasn’t healed nearly enough yet.
Zack was happy that they were more afraid of Seph than they were of Hojo.
Thank the gods.
“Come along, Zack,” Seph had said quietly, having opened the packet and found Zack’s clothing. It was ragged and more than a little stained, but Zack didn’t care. He pulled it on, ignoring the blood that was dried into the fabric. Seph frowned faintly as he studied Zack, but said nothing, simply moving close enough that Zack could use him as a stable point if needed.
They continued on silently, with Zack not saying a word, which drew more and more frequent looks from Seph as they continued on, each more tinged with worry and concern than the one before. When Zack caught the look, he tried to give the man a smile back, but he was exhausted, and knew it showed.
But they were leaving.
He’d be able to tell Seph what happened soon.
///
It seemed to take forever, but he did not plan on leaving Zack alone in his room in this condition, so Sephiroth steered them for his rooms. Zack didn’t even seem to notice till they were almost there, and that made him feel even more concerned. A quiet Zack, an unobservant Zack just was not right.
Plus the smell of blood, Zack’s blood, even dried, made him want to break things. If he wasn’t able to check on Zack frequently after smelling that, he would have been forced to damage something.
He managed to keep his calm until they were safely in his rooms, then he was next to Zack, tugging insistently at the clothes. Zack had some extras over here from the nights when they had worked too late and he crashed on the couch. He could change into them, but Sephiroth wanted him out of the ones he was wearing. Now.
It took a minute and the sound of fabric ripping, but Zack got the idea and peeled off the material. His hands were shaking, and Sephiroth knew that he was still sick, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to strip the man and getting the clothes away from him. Calmly tossing them into the trash, he burned them, watching calmly as the fire deal with the blood.
The blood wasn’t the only thing that had bothered Sephiroth. It was the things it meant that really made the hair on the back of his neck twitch.
He didn’t like it to come back from a mission out of town and discover that Zack had mysteriously been sent elsewhere, and they refused to tell him where the other man had been sent. And there were no reports sent, he knew that for a fact. No message from Zack, and Zack always left a message and usually some sort of foolish gift, not that Sephiroth had ever tossed any of them away.
None of it had felt right.
Especially when the President had started making noises of maybe he should let them permanently reassign Zack elsewhere and give a new SOLDIER a chance at learning what it took to be his assistant.
Sephiroth had told the President that he would not even consider the option until he had talked to Zack, and started to search. He didn’t even attempt to hide it, either.
A week later, he was told that Zack was in the hospital and they weren’t sure that he would make it.
Sephiroth had broken the man’s arm, he who had delivered the news, when the man tried to make him stay in his office. Fool.
Watching the fire till it burnt itself out, Sephiroth almost jumped when, suddenly, Zack spoke.
“I need a shower.” Then he started towards the bathroom.
Well, he didn’t plan on leaving Zack alone until he was certain the man would be stable enough for it, and so he followed. Right into the bathroom as well. Not that Zack seemed to mind, simply shakily sitting on the tub’s edge and started playing with the water, turning on both at near full force. Then, suddenly, he reached out and gripped Sephiroth’s jacket and tugged the man towards him.
Kneeling next to Zack, Sephiroth watched him, looking closely for signs that anything was wrong.
He didn’t expect the hug.
With Zack’s face buried against his neck and the man shaking, he did the only thing he could and, almost hesitantly, petted his back. Zack was the one who always knew what to do with upset people. Sephiroth didn’t have a clue, and just continued to pet, hoping that was helping somewhat with what was wrong with the other man.
“They’re insane.”
The words were soft, sudden, and spoken directly into his ear. Even then, with water running, he barely heard it. Drawing in a breath, his mouth opened to reply, and then Zack’s grip actually tightened enough to make his ribs ache. That was the second time since his return that Zack’s strength had surprised him.
“Don’t. They wanted me to kill you.”
A sick feeling twisted in his stomach. No need to ask who this mysterious ‘they’ were. Only a few people besides him had the authority to actually order Zack around. That list was short enough that it didn’t matter who it was, just that it had happened. He knew Zack had said no. Knew it.
Right?
“Punished me for turning them down. Didn’t mean to vanish.”
Zack’s voice actually wavered on the word ‘punished’, and the sick tone of his voice made Sephiroth’s fist clench. What had they done to him? He felt the need to harm someone quite badly.
“Tried to make me forget, Seph. Wouldn’t let them. Don’t trust them. Need to get you someplace safe.”
Now was not the time for this talk, and while Zack had done adequate measures to keep them from being overheard, this wasn’t the place either. Sephiroth let his fingers card through Zack’s hair for a moment, then turn and sighed against his temple softly. “Later. Will talk, though. When safe.”
That seemed to be enough for Zack, and he slowly let go, shaking hard. Studying him, seeing the faint scars that only the worst injuries could leave, Sephiroth felt a cold, hard lump settle in his stomach.
He didn’t say anything, only helped Zack get into the shower, then tucked into the bed, sitting next to him as the other man drifted to a restless sleep.
Where he lived was no longer safe. It didn’t matter to Sephiroth, though. He had finally learned what home was. Home was safe, home was where you could relax. Home was with Zack. Someone had hurt and damaged the one who meant home to him.
Someone was going to pay for this. And pay dearly.
Wordcounts:
Nov 3: 4,970
November so far: 15,424
Nibelheim Burning: 2,784
Author: GW Katrina aka
icedark_elfBeta:
forgottenloverWarning: Implied torture, some cursing, part of an darkish AU
Wordcount: 1,471
A/N: Based on
kemis's Ode of Diversion. For previous fics, go here.
Share the Secret
Home
It seemed like it took years for the doctors to release them. Zack was actually to the point of calmly considering snapping necks if it got him out of there faster.
Every morning it was the same. Bloodwork and jabbing and tests and it was so much like the lab that Zack was going to scream if he didn’t get out of there. And the questions. Over and over and over, the same questions. Did he remember anything, did he know what had happened to him, did he remember this, did he remember that?
He continued to deny remembering anything. Just hot, and hurting, but mostly just heat.
That’s all he told them, over and over.
Then, one day, Seph was visiting when the doctors got too close. He obviously noticed the twitch of Zack’s fingers because he stood and went to speak to the man in low words that Zack couldn’t quite catch.
Obviously, however, the doctor could, as he turned white and hurried out of the room. Seph nodded, then settled next to Zack’s bed again and continued giving him food. After Zack had complained that the stuff they tried to pass off as food in the hospital was making him feel sick, Seph had taken to either bringing food himself, or sending Cloud, a new recruit who Zack had become pretty good friends with, to bring food to Zack every day. Usually the food runs turned into visits as Zack convinced them to stay and chat with him so he’d have some company.
He didn’t want to be alone. It was…something that bothered him of late.
Zack had no idea of what he was going to do when he was sent back out on mission. Those were usually solitary runs.
Seph had barely sat back down before the doctor had come back in with a few bits of paper and a packed, then handed the papers over and made Zack sign off on them. Then he had backed off quickly and declared Zack free to go, even if he wasn’t healed nearly enough yet.
Zack was happy that they were more afraid of Seph than they were of Hojo.
Thank the gods.
“Come along, Zack,” Seph had said quietly, having opened the packet and found Zack’s clothing. It was ragged and more than a little stained, but Zack didn’t care. He pulled it on, ignoring the blood that was dried into the fabric. Seph frowned faintly as he studied Zack, but said nothing, simply moving close enough that Zack could use him as a stable point if needed.
They continued on silently, with Zack not saying a word, which drew more and more frequent looks from Seph as they continued on, each more tinged with worry and concern than the one before. When Zack caught the look, he tried to give the man a smile back, but he was exhausted, and knew it showed.
But they were leaving.
He’d be able to tell Seph what happened soon.
It seemed to take forever, but he did not plan on leaving Zack alone in his room in this condition, so Sephiroth steered them for his rooms. Zack didn’t even seem to notice till they were almost there, and that made him feel even more concerned. A quiet Zack, an unobservant Zack just was not right.
Plus the smell of blood, Zack’s blood, even dried, made him want to break things. If he wasn’t able to check on Zack frequently after smelling that, he would have been forced to damage something.
He managed to keep his calm until they were safely in his rooms, then he was next to Zack, tugging insistently at the clothes. Zack had some extras over here from the nights when they had worked too late and he crashed on the couch. He could change into them, but Sephiroth wanted him out of the ones he was wearing. Now.
It took a minute and the sound of fabric ripping, but Zack got the idea and peeled off the material. His hands were shaking, and Sephiroth knew that he was still sick, but that didn’t stop him from continuing to strip the man and getting the clothes away from him. Calmly tossing them into the trash, he burned them, watching calmly as the fire deal with the blood.
The blood wasn’t the only thing that had bothered Sephiroth. It was the things it meant that really made the hair on the back of his neck twitch.
He didn’t like it to come back from a mission out of town and discover that Zack had mysteriously been sent elsewhere, and they refused to tell him where the other man had been sent. And there were no reports sent, he knew that for a fact. No message from Zack, and Zack always left a message and usually some sort of foolish gift, not that Sephiroth had ever tossed any of them away.
None of it had felt right.
Especially when the President had started making noises of maybe he should let them permanently reassign Zack elsewhere and give a new SOLDIER a chance at learning what it took to be his assistant.
Sephiroth had told the President that he would not even consider the option until he had talked to Zack, and started to search. He didn’t even attempt to hide it, either.
A week later, he was told that Zack was in the hospital and they weren’t sure that he would make it.
Sephiroth had broken the man’s arm, he who had delivered the news, when the man tried to make him stay in his office. Fool.
Watching the fire till it burnt itself out, Sephiroth almost jumped when, suddenly, Zack spoke.
“I need a shower.” Then he started towards the bathroom.
Well, he didn’t plan on leaving Zack alone until he was certain the man would be stable enough for it, and so he followed. Right into the bathroom as well. Not that Zack seemed to mind, simply shakily sitting on the tub’s edge and started playing with the water, turning on both at near full force. Then, suddenly, he reached out and gripped Sephiroth’s jacket and tugged the man towards him.
Kneeling next to Zack, Sephiroth watched him, looking closely for signs that anything was wrong.
He didn’t expect the hug.
With Zack’s face buried against his neck and the man shaking, he did the only thing he could and, almost hesitantly, petted his back. Zack was the one who always knew what to do with upset people. Sephiroth didn’t have a clue, and just continued to pet, hoping that was helping somewhat with what was wrong with the other man.
“They’re insane.”
The words were soft, sudden, and spoken directly into his ear. Even then, with water running, he barely heard it. Drawing in a breath, his mouth opened to reply, and then Zack’s grip actually tightened enough to make his ribs ache. That was the second time since his return that Zack’s strength had surprised him.
“Don’t. They wanted me to kill you.”
A sick feeling twisted in his stomach. No need to ask who this mysterious ‘they’ were. Only a few people besides him had the authority to actually order Zack around. That list was short enough that it didn’t matter who it was, just that it had happened. He knew Zack had said no. Knew it.
Right?
“Punished me for turning them down. Didn’t mean to vanish.”
Zack’s voice actually wavered on the word ‘punished’, and the sick tone of his voice made Sephiroth’s fist clench. What had they done to him? He felt the need to harm someone quite badly.
“Tried to make me forget, Seph. Wouldn’t let them. Don’t trust them. Need to get you someplace safe.”
Now was not the time for this talk, and while Zack had done adequate measures to keep them from being overheard, this wasn’t the place either. Sephiroth let his fingers card through Zack’s hair for a moment, then turn and sighed against his temple softly. “Later. Will talk, though. When safe.”
That seemed to be enough for Zack, and he slowly let go, shaking hard. Studying him, seeing the faint scars that only the worst injuries could leave, Sephiroth felt a cold, hard lump settle in his stomach.
He didn’t say anything, only helped Zack get into the shower, then tucked into the bed, sitting next to him as the other man drifted to a restless sleep.
Where he lived was no longer safe. It didn’t matter to Sephiroth, though. He had finally learned what home was. Home was safe, home was where you could relax. Home was with Zack. Someone had hurt and damaged the one who meant home to him.
Someone was going to pay for this. And pay dearly.
Wordcounts:
Nov 3: 4,970
November so far: 15,424
Nibelheim Burning: 2,784