![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Title: Snow
Author: GW Katrina aka![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-userinfo.gif)
icedark_elf
Beta:skeren
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Claim: Zack Fair
Themeset/Prompt: Ten Set 04, 10-Snow for![[insanejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/ij-community.gif)
story_arc
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1,002
Link to Archive Post: Interconnected
Things had certainly changed, Vincent thought as he stood easily, waiting for Zack to do what he needed to do.
Even a few months ago, he had never expected the things that had come to pass to happen. He was a loner by nature, even before he had joined the Turks, and years in the lab, asleep and not, had only made the habit worse. But he was good at picking out changes in people.
Cloud, the one of the group that he had seen most, was...happier. Calmer. Though Vincent hadn’t realized it before, the blond was always tense, always waiting for something. Now, however, there was a relaxation around him, an air of letting go. Vincent wondered if Cloud was afraid to let people get really close again. Just listening to the stories, watching the interaction between Cloud and Tifa as they had traveled around chasing Sephiroth told him a great deal. However close they were now, they had not been that way before. Cloud had apparently been a very reserved child, and Tifa the popular girl. The fact that he had worked up the courage to even tell her that he was going to Midgar in the first place was something of a surprise. Though they seemed to have become much better friends now.
Still, that meant that the one person Cloud had felt closest to in his hometown was his mother, who had died. Then years in a lab, followed by the supposed death of the man he claimed was his best friend. Later still, seeing Aeris’s death, a woman that Cloud had let in.
Cloud cared. Too deeply at times, Vincent thought. He cared, and was continuously let down by those he cared for. Tifa hadn’t really cared for him, not until later. Zack had, look at the fact that he had dragged a mako-poisoned Cloud halfway across the world, then fell protecting him. Aeris had said good-bye to Cloud. The only person she had said good-bye to.
Now, though, some of that wary expectancy seemed to have faded, and Cloud was smiling more now than Vincent ever remembered.
As for Vincent himself....
It hadn’t crossed his mind, really, to hunt for his sisters. As far as he was concerned, they thought he was dead, and it was better for everyone if he had stayed that way. He had no idea of how the demons would respond to the concept of family, and he did care for his little sisters, so he kept danger away from them.
Well, at least that was what he had told himself at first, but Vincent knew very well on why he really didn’t go looking for them.
He was afraid.
They had been so young when he had seen them last, and it had been over thirty years. They would have grown up, grown older. It would have been yet another jarring reminder that he wasn’t human anymore. At least not like he once was. That he would always be different. They were Wutian, true, and a long lived people who changed little, but there was a difference between changing little and not changing at -all-. A massive difference, one that he didn’t want to contemplate.
Though it seemed his nephew had other plans.
Shaking his head mentally, Vincent wondered what had been going through the boy’s head. Especially once he heard -why- Zack had joined. Going hunting for a missing Turk uncle was a good way to get yourself killed if the wrong person found out. Even if he was your mom’s very much loved older brother, and you though it would be cool to know him. Almost as cool as being in SOLDIER in the first place, being a hero to people.
If Zack was any younger, Vincent would have had a few choice comments.
But he was in his twenties, and Vincent highly doubted that any comments he had to make would get through that spiky black head of his. Zack was just as stubborn as all of his family, and Vincent had to smile at the idea of Rusha trying to deal with her headstrong child. Served her right, as well.
It was nice, in a way, to know that his sister loved him that much. Even if she was less than thrilled to see her son follow, in a way, her brother’s footsteps. Especially after the war had really started. Yuffie still huffed at Zack for that on a regular basis, muttering about him joining SOLDIER, who were tearing through Wutai at the time. Zack told her it was cooler than being a ninja. Which just set her off, and Vincent -knew- that was the response Zack was going for.
That, actually, had gotten Zack smacked upside the hand with his not-clawed hand. Though he had been tempted to use the claws. A ranting Yuffie wasn’t something anyone wanted. Now that he knew who her mother was, Vincent could -definitely- see his sister Mara in the girl. And they both reminded him of a dimly remembered figure, their mother’s father, Naru. Loud, talkative, and just as likely to hit you when you weren’t looking.
Letting the thoughts tumble through his mind, Vincent waited for a long moment to make sure that Zack was steady on his feet, so far down below, and then withdrew some, tugging Yuffie with him. Zack deserved privacy for this, and it was easier to just move upwards again, not far. Up enough to smell the snow that was being promised by clouds he couldn’t see from here, but still close enough to hear if Zack went down. The splash would be loud, he was sure.
Vincent knew what it was like, saying good-bye to someone you loved, and he was willing to give Zack the time that he needed.
There would be plenty of time, after this, to really get to know his family again. And to learn how to deal with them all over again.
Well, I'm slow. A little over three years, and 15,541 words later, I finally have a ZackLives story done. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and tada! It finally comes to an end. Thanks for all the words of commentary, they help keep me writing. Even if I am slow. *coughs*
Author: GW Katrina aka
icedark_elfBeta:
skerenFandom: Final Fantasy VII
Claim: Zack Fair
Themeset/Prompt: Ten Set 04, 10-Snow for
story_arcRating: PG-13
Wordcount: 1,002
Link to Archive Post: Interconnected
Things had certainly changed, Vincent thought as he stood easily, waiting for Zack to do what he needed to do.
Even a few months ago, he had never expected the things that had come to pass to happen. He was a loner by nature, even before he had joined the Turks, and years in the lab, asleep and not, had only made the habit worse. But he was good at picking out changes in people.
Cloud, the one of the group that he had seen most, was...happier. Calmer. Though Vincent hadn’t realized it before, the blond was always tense, always waiting for something. Now, however, there was a relaxation around him, an air of letting go. Vincent wondered if Cloud was afraid to let people get really close again. Just listening to the stories, watching the interaction between Cloud and Tifa as they had traveled around chasing Sephiroth told him a great deal. However close they were now, they had not been that way before. Cloud had apparently been a very reserved child, and Tifa the popular girl. The fact that he had worked up the courage to even tell her that he was going to Midgar in the first place was something of a surprise. Though they seemed to have become much better friends now.
Still, that meant that the one person Cloud had felt closest to in his hometown was his mother, who had died. Then years in a lab, followed by the supposed death of the man he claimed was his best friend. Later still, seeing Aeris’s death, a woman that Cloud had let in.
Cloud cared. Too deeply at times, Vincent thought. He cared, and was continuously let down by those he cared for. Tifa hadn’t really cared for him, not until later. Zack had, look at the fact that he had dragged a mako-poisoned Cloud halfway across the world, then fell protecting him. Aeris had said good-bye to Cloud. The only person she had said good-bye to.
Now, though, some of that wary expectancy seemed to have faded, and Cloud was smiling more now than Vincent ever remembered.
As for Vincent himself....
It hadn’t crossed his mind, really, to hunt for his sisters. As far as he was concerned, they thought he was dead, and it was better for everyone if he had stayed that way. He had no idea of how the demons would respond to the concept of family, and he did care for his little sisters, so he kept danger away from them.
Well, at least that was what he had told himself at first, but Vincent knew very well on why he really didn’t go looking for them.
He was afraid.
They had been so young when he had seen them last, and it had been over thirty years. They would have grown up, grown older. It would have been yet another jarring reminder that he wasn’t human anymore. At least not like he once was. That he would always be different. They were Wutian, true, and a long lived people who changed little, but there was a difference between changing little and not changing at -all-. A massive difference, one that he didn’t want to contemplate.
Though it seemed his nephew had other plans.
Shaking his head mentally, Vincent wondered what had been going through the boy’s head. Especially once he heard -why- Zack had joined. Going hunting for a missing Turk uncle was a good way to get yourself killed if the wrong person found out. Even if he was your mom’s very much loved older brother, and you though it would be cool to know him. Almost as cool as being in SOLDIER in the first place, being a hero to people.
If Zack was any younger, Vincent would have had a few choice comments.
But he was in his twenties, and Vincent highly doubted that any comments he had to make would get through that spiky black head of his. Zack was just as stubborn as all of his family, and Vincent had to smile at the idea of Rusha trying to deal with her headstrong child. Served her right, as well.
It was nice, in a way, to know that his sister loved him that much. Even if she was less than thrilled to see her son follow, in a way, her brother’s footsteps. Especially after the war had really started. Yuffie still huffed at Zack for that on a regular basis, muttering about him joining SOLDIER, who were tearing through Wutai at the time. Zack told her it was cooler than being a ninja. Which just set her off, and Vincent -knew- that was the response Zack was going for.
That, actually, had gotten Zack smacked upside the hand with his not-clawed hand. Though he had been tempted to use the claws. A ranting Yuffie wasn’t something anyone wanted. Now that he knew who her mother was, Vincent could -definitely- see his sister Mara in the girl. And they both reminded him of a dimly remembered figure, their mother’s father, Naru. Loud, talkative, and just as likely to hit you when you weren’t looking.
Letting the thoughts tumble through his mind, Vincent waited for a long moment to make sure that Zack was steady on his feet, so far down below, and then withdrew some, tugging Yuffie with him. Zack deserved privacy for this, and it was easier to just move upwards again, not far. Up enough to smell the snow that was being promised by clouds he couldn’t see from here, but still close enough to hear if Zack went down. The splash would be loud, he was sure.
Vincent knew what it was like, saying good-bye to someone you loved, and he was willing to give Zack the time that he needed.
There would be plenty of time, after this, to really get to know his family again. And to learn how to deal with them all over again.
Well, I'm slow. A little over three years, and 15,541 words later, I finally have a ZackLives story done. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and tada! It finally comes to an end. Thanks for all the words of commentary, they help keep me writing. Even if I am slow. *coughs*