Fic: Fever(FFVII, Reeve, Cloud, Zack, 02-Fever)

[icedark_elf]

Title: Fever
Author: GW Katrina aka icedark_elf
Beta: skeren
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Claim: Zack Fair
Themeset/Prompt: Ten Set 04, 02-Fever for story_arc
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 2,155
Link to Archive Post: Interconnected



Cloud hadn’t known what to expect when he had gotten Reeve’s message. Just that it was urgent for him to get back to Edge right away.

He had half expected something to have happened to Tifa and the kids, given that none of them had called him, and Cloud had not wasted any time pushing his bike as fast as it could towards what he considered home.

The look on Reeve’s face when the man had met him didn’t help Cloud’s worries, either. When he had asked what was going on, the older man had just shook his head and led Cloud back to one of the rooms used for those who were sick, but needed guarding.

Seeing dark hair on the pillow, Cloud paused, knowing immediately that it wasn’t Tifa’s hair. Her hair didn’t spike like that. In fact, the only hair he did know that did….

“Clone?”

His voice was tight and low, and he was torn between feeling furious and feeling tired. He didn’t want to deal with Shin-Ra’s mistakes anymore. Especially if this was who he thought it was.

They had no right to ruin his memories like that.

“Real thing.”

That had quickly torn Cloud out of his half frozen state as he twisted his head to look at Reeve. “What?” Strained tones, and he studied the other with narrowed eyes.

“According to what we have, that’s the real thing. The lab reports my team pulled said that he was collected just outside of Midgar after being reported dead. Not sure what Hojo did, but scars and various marks match up to old medical files. Whatever happened, that’s the real deal.” Brown eyes were sympathetic as Reeve looked at Cloud. “That really is Zack Fair, SOLDIER 1st Class.”

The room had a really, really hard floor, Cloud decided, hitting it hard as he sat. Curling forward, he rested his head on his knees. “This isn’t funny,”

“I know. “

Reeve rested his hand on Cloud’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. They had gotten to be pretty good friends over the last two years, and Reeve came down on occasion to help Cloud work on his bike, making it even better than before. Sometimes, Cloud would play bodyguard for the other man. All in all, they had spent a lot of time with each other, and it was nice to have someone to talk to when he needed to.

And now Reeve dropped this on him.

“You going to be okay?”

“I…don’t know.” He lifted his head, and looked at the man on the bed, as best he could from this angle. “He was dead. I know he was. I…tell me I didn’t leave him up there to die. Please?”

The hand tightened again. “I don’t know, Cloud. Who knows what Hojo has done to him? We’re still finding notes from projects halfway across the planet in various labs. The man left things everywhere. As you know.”

Which Cloud did. Otherwise, he’d probably have all his files by now. But while there was a large chunk of them in Nibelheim, more had been found in other labs. Seemed Hojo had a habit of scattering his paperwork. Bastard. Cloud almost wished they would find Hojo alive, just so he could kill him again.

“They found him just a few miles out of Gongaga. New lab none of us had known about till about six months ago, hidden under the reactor. Dr. Solita’s team found him. One of her men, Michaels, was an old SOLDIER. He had worked with Zack in Wutai. He did the initial identification.”

There was a long pause, and Cloud looked up at Reeve, not sure if he liked that.

“Zack asked for you.“

And Cloud felt the pit of his stomach fall again. “What…did he say? Do you know?”

The corner of Reeve’s mouth quirked. “He asked for Spike.”

“Sounds like Zack….”

Pushing himself to his feet, Cloud took a deep breath, and looked over at the man on the bed. “He’s thin.”

“Yes. From their best guesses, he was in a mako tank for a while. Thankfully, mako tends to slow down the need for food and such to non-existent, as long as one stays in it. Still, it’s hard on the reserves.”

Cloud nodded, knowing far too well what Reeve was talking about. “How is he, otherwise?”

“Vitals are good, though he started to run a fever about an hour or so after being pulled out of the mako. Doctors think that it’s just him adjusting to the lack of mako.”

“If he’s been in it since he…died, that’s about four years worth, with a year in the middle of no mako immersion.” A pause. “Maybe five. It’s hard to remember.” He looked at Reeve again. “Anything else.”

“Minor irregularities in his vitals, but nothing that can’t be explained by the fact he’s been in mako for a very, very long time. He hasn’t been awake yet since he went to sleep, but we only found him a day ago.”

He gave Cloud a punch in his shoulder, not really holding back, but Cloud barely noticed. “You know, if you picked up your phone when people called you, I could have told you when he first got here.”

“Hey! I came back as soon as I got the message. I thought something had happened…. Does Tifa know about him?”

Looking a bit startled by the sudden change of subject, Reeve shook his head. “No. He asked for you, and given I’m not sure how she felt about him and his involvement in Nibelheim….”

“He saved people in Nibelheim,” Cloud cut in, voice sharp. Then both men froze as the man on the bed shifted, a sound escaping him. After a moment, Zack settled again, never waking up fully.

Cloud studied his friend, noting the red of his cheeks. “Zack saved as many people as he could in Nibelheim, and he helped keep Sephiroth from killing more. But you did the right thing. Tifa doesn’t need to know this yet. I know she was angry at everyone connected to Shin-Ra for the longest time. Even if she isn’t mad at him anymore, I don’t…. She was really mad at them. Zack told me what she said.”

Or Cloud had remembered it in whatever strange way that let him remember other things that only Zack had lived in Nibelheim.

“Is it okay if I…?”

Reeve was nodding. “I’ll make sure they bring in a comfortable chair. I had one waiting.” He gave Cloud a slight smile. “This was what I was expecting, once we convinced you that it really was Zack. I take it you plan on staying here at least until he wakes up?”

Cloud nodded, looking at Zack. “Yeah. If nothing else…well, I should be. If it really isn’t him anymore, I’ll be here to deal with it. And if it is….”

His throat closed. If it was Zack, Cloud had his friend back.

How as he ever going to tell him about Aeris?

///

He hurt. All over. Hadn’t felt like this since…. Hells, since the last time he had gotten out of the mako tank.

Zack pondered that for a moment. He was out. That was something that was undeniable. And it was a nice change. And he really did ache.

It had been like this before. Too long pickling in mako, not being able to really move. Then fleeing, dragging Cloud along with him. That had hurt.

Not this time. No Cloud this time.

Better fix that.

Forcing his eyes open, Zack blinked at the blurry ceiling. It only took a few minutes for it to come into focus, and he ignored the burn. Stupid mako, but it lets hear it for SOLDIER enhancements. If it wasn’t for them, he’d be just as bad as Cloud had been the first time around. He was lucky that he hadn’t been, or he and Cloud would still be in the labs.

Cloud.

Hearing breathing, Zack looked that way. Maybe if he was lucky, they would let him call Cloud. Or maybe they would know where he was. He was -sure- he hadn’t imagined what they had said about his friend. Saving the world had to have gotten Cloud -some- sort of attention. So maybe he would get lucky.

He hoped Cloud remembered him.

Then, seeing the hair, he paused. Chocobo?

Then his common sense kicked in, and he blinked. Once, then again.

Cloud?

The man was slumped down in the chair, not really asleep, but he definitely didn’t seem to be awake, just staring blankly into space.

Zack felt something tighten in his chest. He was sure that Cloud had been awake last time he had saw him. Hadn’t he?

Reaching out with a shaking hand, willing it as stable as he could make it, Zack more dropped it than anything onto the blond hair. He didn’t like feeling this drained. “Spi-ike?” And, look, his throat hurt, too.

Blue eyes instantly focused on him, looking blankly at him, as if Cloud didn’t understand what was going on, then Zack shifted his hand, petting the hair a bit. “Come on, Spiky, let’s not scare Zack.”

“You’re awake….”

The voice was soft and different. Deeper than he had remembered. Lots of things were different. He didn’t remember Cloud looking so pale, and he could swear his hair was lighter. “Spike?”

There was a blur, and he found himself wrapped tight in a hug, Cloud’s face pressed against his hair.

“You’re -awake-!” His friend’s voice hitched. “You’re -alive- and you’re awake!”

Cloud wasn’t speaking any louder, but there was an intensity there that made Zack happy for that. Otherwise, he’d probably be deaf, and his head hurt enough as it was. Ignoring that, though, he curled his arms around the other and hugged for all he was worth.

“Hear you been saving the world. Knew you were going to do good.”

Another hitch in Cloud’s breathing. “You should have been there. I shouldn’t have left you like I did….”

“Spike, you were barely holding onto the Buster. No way could you have dragged my sorry ass along as well. “ He tightened the hug as he started to get more of his strength back . “You did good. I’m proud of you. Though I expect to hear all about it.”

Reluctantly, he slowly loosened his grip, starting to get kind of dizzy, and just petted at Cloud’s arm. “You got new clothes. With a pointy thing.” He poked at the wolf’s head that he could just barely see.

“Got a bike, too,” Cloud said in a rough voice. “You can’t have her.”

Zack chuckled, even as Cloud slowly let go and settled back, eyes bright as they watched him. “Then I’ll just have to pout at you till you get me one.” Letting his hand rest on Cloud’s arm, he gave the man a tired smile. “I bet you have a hell of a story to tell. Saving the world?”

Cloud’s expression turned sheepish. “Kinda. Sephiroth came back.” A pause. “Twice.” He obviously saw Zack’s grimace. “But I’ll tell you later. You need to rest.”

His hand came up, cool against Zack’s face. “Still have a fever, though it’s coming down. You’re getting over the mako. That’s good.”

“Yeah. I’ll be my lovable self soon enough.” He looked at Cloud. “Where are we, anyway?”

“Edge. It’s what replaced Midgar after it got destroyed.”

Zack choked. “W…what?” he rasped, even as Cloud moved to help shift him onto his side. “Can I get water or something?”

Cloud bit his lip. “I’ll have to ask. And it’s part of the long story.”

Nodding, Zack coughed a few more times. “Go ask.”

He realized what was missing as Cloud stood up and headed for the door.

“Spike.” A pause. “Where’s Aeris?”

The look of…hell, he had only seen that look on Cloud’s face once, when he had failed out of the SOLDIER exams. That kind of loss didn’t happen often. “I…it’s part of the story.”

Then he was gone. Only Zack’s enhancements let him catch Cloud’s words.

“I don’t want you to hate me yet.”

Settling back as best he could, eyes focused on the door, Zack didn’t like this. Why had Cloud avoided the question like that, and where -was- Aeris? Had she forgotten about him? Still, as much as he talked about her to Cloud, he would have thought maybe his friend could have convinced her to come see him.

And why would Cloud think Zack would hate him?

Zack had missed a lot, it seemed.

He wondered if he would ever find out everything that had happened while he had been gone.

Didn’t matter. He was here now, and if Cloud thought Zack was going to leave, then his dear blond chocobo of a friend had a reminder coming that Zack didn’t abandon his friends.

Even if he had to out stubborn them to do it.



While writing this, the song I had on repeat was Pandora's Box from the Tomb Raider-The Cradle of Life soundtrack. Mostly because I had seen in on a Zack and Cloud AMV, and it makes me wibble. So, thus, you get wibbly style fic from it.