Forced meeting, pretty much
Who: Cloud Strife and Zack Fair
When: night of January 14th into the 15th, after midnight (during the full moon effect)
What: Zack really needed to see Cloud (IM to real-time)
Warnings: friend fluff? yeah
(23:04:19) Pwned by Issues: ......
(23:04:33) BUSTERMercenary: Hey, Cloud
(23:08:07) BUSTERMercenary: What's up?
(23:08:24) Pwned by Issues: Nothing.
(23:08:35) BUSTERMercenary: ...Are you busy right now?
(23:10:43) Pwned by Issues: No...
(23:11:47) BUSTERMercenary: Alright, I'm heading over there in a few minutes, then
(23:11:53) Pwned by Issues: ...Zack, no.
(23:12:54) BUSTERMercenary: Why not?
(23:12:59) Pwned by Issues: Because...
(23:13:07) BUSTERMercenary: ...because...?
(23:14:07) Pwned by Issues: Just because....
(23:14:25) BUSTERMercenary: Cloud...
(23:14:34) BUSTERMercenary: I'm going over there.
(23:14:37) Pwned by Issues: Zack, no...
(23:14:41) Pwned by Issues: I... I want to be left alone...
(23:15:11) BUSTERMercenary: I can't do that
(23:15:14) BUSTERMercenary: I need to see you
(23:15:31) Pwned by Issues: ...Why?
(23:16:06) BUSTERMercenary: I just do
(23:16:20) BUSTERMercenary: I haven't seen you since...then
(23:17:31) Pwned by Issues: ....
(23:17:58) BUSTERMercenary: I'm going over now
(23:18:34) Pwned by Issues: Zack...
Zack had sad something to the Turk before heading out of his own dorm to see Cloud. It wasn't a long walk, seeing as it was only a flight of stairs he had to go down. For some reason he had a great desire to see Cloud. He'd felt it all week, but decided to respect Cloud's wishes to be alone... but the ex-SOLDIER couldn't take it anymore. He had to see his friend, even if his frend didn't want to see him. He found himself in front of room 106 and knocked on the door.
And there was that knock. That knock that he feared he was gonna get when his friend finally appeared idle on the messenge program. He stood up and opened the door, knowing full well who was behind it.
The door opened and Zack was staring at a blonde with spikey hair. ...The same spikey hair he remembered so many years ago. There was a pair of Mako blue eyes like his own, and... it was Cloud. There were a few things that were different... He'd gotten older; he'd grown up a little and it showed, though it was no surprise to Zack. "Cloud..."
"......" Cloud remained silent. His face was blank. His expression did not change, and it was nigh impossible to read. Immediately, he closed the door (not slammed, mind you) in front of his supposed dead best friend and walked to the couch and lowered his head. Why was he here and why now.
Zack stared at the dark wood of the door for a while with his mouth open. Well, Cloud did say that he didn't want to see him.... but really? He knocked on the door again. He had to get him to open it again. "Cloud..." He leand against the door. "Spike... open up."
Ugh, there was Zack again. Well, Cloud thought about this for a minute. It sounded like Zack. It looked like Zack. The eyes were Zack. The only thing left to do, really, was see if this was real or not. Hesitantly, he opened the door one more time. "....."
Zack smiled. Mission Accomplished! He got Cloud to open the door! He stepped forward (just to make sure Cloud couldn't close the door on him again). Finally after all this time, he got to see his best friend. It'd taken him almost a month, but he did it!
"What... What's up...?" Cloud managed to say. Even though he was saying all of this, Cloud could somehow not look him in the face. He just couldn't. He wanted to, but couldn't. What the heck was going on? Why was he even here? HOW did he get here. Too many questions ran in his mind.
"Uh...not much?" Zack looked Cloud over. He seemed healthy, normal... nearly the same as when he last saw him (minus the Mako Poisoning). His hand reached out and touched the blonde's arm. He just had to make sure this was real. That he wasn't dreaming or in the life stream. He had to make sure that Cloud was really standing in front of him... talking.
And he really was. That's Cloud, alright. Standing in front of him, attempting at a lame conversation. "Oh...." was all he could muster up. Well, Zack reaching for his arm and feeling his hand was enough for him to know that he's real and in the flesh. He had a sudden urge of somehow hugging him, and did so as he couldn't resist it.
Zack's eyes widened a bit when he felt himself be pulled into a hug. It was almost funny since HE expected to be the one doing the hugging, not vice versa. But it was... nice. His arms wrapped around Cloud and he hugged him back.
Still in that hug, Cloud noticed that this was the same Zack that died in front of him, sans the gunshot wounds and the blood. But still, something in the back of his mind was making him question all of this. "I hate you, Zack..."
Zack tensed. Ouch. Those weren't the words he was necessarily expecting to hear at this moment. Something a little more traditional like "I missed you" or "Hi there best friend" was what he was expecting. But an "I hate you?" Definitely not. Cloud DID tell him that the other day, but Zack figured it had just ben a bad day. "I... I'm sorry?"
Even though Cloud already unloaded all that crap about dying in an instant message, he still said bits and pieces of it anyway. "You... You freakin' died. I can't believe you, ugh..." A part of Cloud wanted to punch Zack for doing something stupid like that. But a bigger part was just glad that he was here again.
"I wanted you to live," Zack tried explaining again. His hold on Cloud tightened a bit. "It's because of me that everythibg happened to you... You had to live."
"I friggin hate you..." Cloud kept on. But still, he had his arms wrapped around the other. His dead best friend. His dead best friend.... that is now somehow alive. He loosened his grip so that he could look into Zack's eyes. "And you still don't know how to listen."
"I...." Zack blinked. He was staring into another pair of eyes. Mako blue eyes, just like his own. It was... weird. "I know how to listen." He just didn't know how to pay attention. There was a difference.
Like hell there's a total difference. Not paying attention can equate to not listening, too. "Yeah, right." Then Cloud turned to the side, not really knowing what else to say to Zack. He was here, he was in front of him. Still, Cloud was at a loss for words.
In one ear out the other? Zack might have been known for that... "So do you still hate me?" he forced a smile. Cloud... spike couldn't hate him. They were best friends! You couldn't hate your best friend!
And sadly, Cloud really couldn't. "Yeah.... I still hate you..." But of course, his mouth said otherwise. And we won't go into why again. But in all seriousness, Cloud was very glad to see Zack.
Zack frowned. Greeeat. "Come on, Cloud!" He couldn't leave knowing that Cloud hated him.... or at least was saying that he hated him; Zack did have his doubts.
"I know...." Cloud said, still staring to the side. At the same time, he didn't really want to say it, either. So he thought that a subject change was a little more than necessary. "So... how's Aerith..?"
Oh Zack would make him say it, even if he had to force it out of the blonde eventually! Oh, change of subject. "Aerith...? She's... great." She was. She was almost perfect. Sweet, adorrible... perfect.
"That's good...." was all Cloud managed to say. Now, he didn't really have anything else to talk about. But still, Zack was here. And he was close by.
"How are you?" Zack asked. Oh crap. Stupid question. Oh well, it was already asked.
"I'm okay..." Cloud said. "Managing. Adjusting to this place..." And he still sorta was. Especially after finding out that two people he considered close to him died and now, they're here.
"That's good." Zack stretched his arms over his head. "Must be easier adjusting here than in my room with Reno." Not really, but he could make it look bad. Plus, Reno could get annoying.
Cloud rather liked it in his room. Piotr was quiet and Cloud liked that. They respected each other's privacy. Though at times, he sorta wished that his roommate talked to him a little more. "I guess so."
"Well you know, you can come over to our room if you ever want to." Zack shrugged. It'd be nice if Cloud came to visit every once in a while.
Still, Cloud wasn't sure how to approach that. He hadn't seen Zack in so long and had believed for so long that he's dead. "Well... okay..." He scratched the back of his neck a bit.
"It'd be better than staying here by yourself, right?" Come on, be positive, Cloud! ...At least Zack could hope for it.
"If I'm not busy, I guess I could come over..." Cloud settled for that instead. And he hoped that Zack would, too. It wasn't that he didn't want to come over. It'd just feel a little awkward.
"You should. We can... do stuff, you know?" What exactly? He didn't know. But he could find something. Maybe they could even go kill some shadows after curfew-oh wait. Zack lacked a sword...
"I guess we can... But what about Aerith..?" Cloud almost immediately asked. Zack had someone else to worry about other than Cloud.
"....She can come to?" Yeah, not really. But it was the best answer Zack could give at the moment.
"I mean... It's not just me here, it's her, too." Cloud pointed out. He wasn't even sure how to feel about being with both Zack and Aerith at the same time.
"She's fine...." At least Zack THOUGHT she was fine. "Plus she'd be happy to see you." And there was a pat on the shoulder.
"I've.... already seen her..." Cloud admitted, albeit it was only for about 3-4 minutes in the classroom hallways and he remembers that they were both lost.
"Oh, really?" Zack blinked. She didn't say anything... but she wasn't supposed to know Cloud and... This was confusing. He'd have to ask Cloud about everything that happened after he died at a later time.
"We only saw each other for a few minutes," Cloud admitted. "I was in the middle of going to class when I ran into her. She seemed happy and everything, so...."
Zack smiled and almost sighed a sigh of relief. "That's good." Maybe eventually he could be with both Cloud and Aerith in one place. Two people he cared about so much in one place? It was almost a dream.
Sadly, Cloud didn't feel exactly the same. It was awkward enough to be right in front of Zack, but to be with both him and Aerith? It'd be a little too much. "Yeah...."
"You do know that we're here for you, right?" He had to make sure Cloud knew. It was more of a promise than anything else.
"I... I guess...." Hearing that sort of hurt Cloud a bit. He lost them (both of them) once already, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to go through that again.
"I'll never abandon you, okay?" Huh, deja vu. Did he say that to Cloud before?
He did, and Cloud remembered it. "......." The blond stayed quiet. There goes Zack making more promises, but Cloud knew better this time.
"What?" Zack smiled. "I mean it!" He meant it last time, too. He just didn't expect the Shin Ra army to surround him a few minutes later.
Still, all of that literally traumatized Cloud. And he didn't want to relive it, and that fear is pretty much stuck there. "......" Still, Cloud kept silent. Only this time, he really couldn't look at Zack anymore so he turned around.
"Ah...?" did he say something wrong? Maybe? "Well... It's getting late, you know." Awkwaaard. "I...guess I better go."
"Yeah....." Cloud slowly said as he slowly turned around. He faced Zack, but his eyes were diagonal to the bottom right side of him. "Zack...?"
"Yeah?" Zack had already started to leave and looked over his shoulder. Maybe this would be less awkward than it already was.
"Thanks for coming..." Cloud said. He did appreciate Zack coming over. But still, there were things that Cloud needed to come to terms with before he could be casual with either Zack and Aerith again.
Zack grinned. YES! Mission Accomplished! "Any time. Just tell me if you need anything, okay?" And he was out the door. This felt good. Very good.
When: night of January 14th into the 15th, after midnight (during the full moon effect)
What: Zack really needed to see Cloud (IM to real-time)
Warnings: friend fluff? yeah
(23:04:19) Pwned by Issues: ......
(23:04:33) BUSTERMercenary: Hey, Cloud
(23:08:07) BUSTERMercenary: What's up?
(23:08:24) Pwned by Issues: Nothing.
(23:08:35) BUSTERMercenary: ...Are you busy right now?
(23:10:43) Pwned by Issues: No...
(23:11:47) BUSTERMercenary: Alright, I'm heading over there in a few minutes, then
(23:11:53) Pwned by Issues: ...Zack, no.
(23:12:54) BUSTERMercenary: Why not?
(23:12:59) Pwned by Issues: Because...
(23:13:07) BUSTERMercenary: ...because...?
(23:14:07) Pwned by Issues: Just because....
(23:14:25) BUSTERMercenary: Cloud...
(23:14:34) BUSTERMercenary: I'm going over there.
(23:14:37) Pwned by Issues: Zack, no...
(23:14:41) Pwned by Issues: I... I want to be left alone...
(23:15:11) BUSTERMercenary: I can't do that
(23:15:14) BUSTERMercenary: I need to see you
(23:15:31) Pwned by Issues: ...Why?
(23:16:06) BUSTERMercenary: I just do
(23:16:20) BUSTERMercenary: I haven't seen you since...then
(23:17:31) Pwned by Issues: ....
(23:17:58) BUSTERMercenary: I'm going over now
(23:18:34) Pwned by Issues: Zack...
Zack had sad something to the Turk before heading out of his own dorm to see Cloud. It wasn't a long walk, seeing as it was only a flight of stairs he had to go down. For some reason he had a great desire to see Cloud. He'd felt it all week, but decided to respect Cloud's wishes to be alone... but the ex-SOLDIER couldn't take it anymore. He had to see his friend, even if his frend didn't want to see him. He found himself in front of room 106 and knocked on the door.
And there was that knock. That knock that he feared he was gonna get when his friend finally appeared idle on the messenge program. He stood up and opened the door, knowing full well who was behind it.
The door opened and Zack was staring at a blonde with spikey hair. ...The same spikey hair he remembered so many years ago. There was a pair of Mako blue eyes like his own, and... it was Cloud. There were a few things that were different... He'd gotten older; he'd grown up a little and it showed, though it was no surprise to Zack. "Cloud..."
"......" Cloud remained silent. His face was blank. His expression did not change, and it was nigh impossible to read. Immediately, he closed the door (not slammed, mind you) in front of his supposed dead best friend and walked to the couch and lowered his head. Why was he here and why now.
Zack stared at the dark wood of the door for a while with his mouth open. Well, Cloud did say that he didn't want to see him.... but really? He knocked on the door again. He had to get him to open it again. "Cloud..." He leand against the door. "Spike... open up."
Ugh, there was Zack again. Well, Cloud thought about this for a minute. It sounded like Zack. It looked like Zack. The eyes were Zack. The only thing left to do, really, was see if this was real or not. Hesitantly, he opened the door one more time. "....."
Zack smiled. Mission Accomplished! He got Cloud to open the door! He stepped forward (just to make sure Cloud couldn't close the door on him again). Finally after all this time, he got to see his best friend. It'd taken him almost a month, but he did it!
"What... What's up...?" Cloud managed to say. Even though he was saying all of this, Cloud could somehow not look him in the face. He just couldn't. He wanted to, but couldn't. What the heck was going on? Why was he even here? HOW did he get here. Too many questions ran in his mind.
"Uh...not much?" Zack looked Cloud over. He seemed healthy, normal... nearly the same as when he last saw him (minus the Mako Poisoning). His hand reached out and touched the blonde's arm. He just had to make sure this was real. That he wasn't dreaming or in the life stream. He had to make sure that Cloud was really standing in front of him... talking.
And he really was. That's Cloud, alright. Standing in front of him, attempting at a lame conversation. "Oh...." was all he could muster up. Well, Zack reaching for his arm and feeling his hand was enough for him to know that he's real and in the flesh. He had a sudden urge of somehow hugging him, and did so as he couldn't resist it.
Zack's eyes widened a bit when he felt himself be pulled into a hug. It was almost funny since HE expected to be the one doing the hugging, not vice versa. But it was... nice. His arms wrapped around Cloud and he hugged him back.
Still in that hug, Cloud noticed that this was the same Zack that died in front of him, sans the gunshot wounds and the blood. But still, something in the back of his mind was making him question all of this. "I hate you, Zack..."
Zack tensed. Ouch. Those weren't the words he was necessarily expecting to hear at this moment. Something a little more traditional like "I missed you" or "Hi there best friend" was what he was expecting. But an "I hate you?" Definitely not. Cloud DID tell him that the other day, but Zack figured it had just ben a bad day. "I... I'm sorry?"
Even though Cloud already unloaded all that crap about dying in an instant message, he still said bits and pieces of it anyway. "You... You freakin' died. I can't believe you, ugh..." A part of Cloud wanted to punch Zack for doing something stupid like that. But a bigger part was just glad that he was here again.
"I wanted you to live," Zack tried explaining again. His hold on Cloud tightened a bit. "It's because of me that everythibg happened to you... You had to live."
"I friggin hate you..." Cloud kept on. But still, he had his arms wrapped around the other. His dead best friend. His dead best friend.... that is now somehow alive. He loosened his grip so that he could look into Zack's eyes. "And you still don't know how to listen."
"I...." Zack blinked. He was staring into another pair of eyes. Mako blue eyes, just like his own. It was... weird. "I know how to listen." He just didn't know how to pay attention. There was a difference.
Like hell there's a total difference. Not paying attention can equate to not listening, too. "Yeah, right." Then Cloud turned to the side, not really knowing what else to say to Zack. He was here, he was in front of him. Still, Cloud was at a loss for words.
In one ear out the other? Zack might have been known for that... "So do you still hate me?" he forced a smile. Cloud... spike couldn't hate him. They were best friends! You couldn't hate your best friend!
And sadly, Cloud really couldn't. "Yeah.... I still hate you..." But of course, his mouth said otherwise. And we won't go into why again. But in all seriousness, Cloud was very glad to see Zack.
Zack frowned. Greeeat. "Come on, Cloud!" He couldn't leave knowing that Cloud hated him.... or at least was saying that he hated him; Zack did have his doubts.
"I know...." Cloud said, still staring to the side. At the same time, he didn't really want to say it, either. So he thought that a subject change was a little more than necessary. "So... how's Aerith..?"
Oh Zack would make him say it, even if he had to force it out of the blonde eventually! Oh, change of subject. "Aerith...? She's... great." She was. She was almost perfect. Sweet, adorrible... perfect.
"That's good...." was all Cloud managed to say. Now, he didn't really have anything else to talk about. But still, Zack was here. And he was close by.
"How are you?" Zack asked. Oh crap. Stupid question. Oh well, it was already asked.
"I'm okay..." Cloud said. "Managing. Adjusting to this place..." And he still sorta was. Especially after finding out that two people he considered close to him died and now, they're here.
"That's good." Zack stretched his arms over his head. "Must be easier adjusting here than in my room with Reno." Not really, but he could make it look bad. Plus, Reno could get annoying.
Cloud rather liked it in his room. Piotr was quiet and Cloud liked that. They respected each other's privacy. Though at times, he sorta wished that his roommate talked to him a little more. "I guess so."
"Well you know, you can come over to our room if you ever want to." Zack shrugged. It'd be nice if Cloud came to visit every once in a while.
Still, Cloud wasn't sure how to approach that. He hadn't seen Zack in so long and had believed for so long that he's dead. "Well... okay..." He scratched the back of his neck a bit.
"It'd be better than staying here by yourself, right?" Come on, be positive, Cloud! ...At least Zack could hope for it.
"If I'm not busy, I guess I could come over..." Cloud settled for that instead. And he hoped that Zack would, too. It wasn't that he didn't want to come over. It'd just feel a little awkward.
"You should. We can... do stuff, you know?" What exactly? He didn't know. But he could find something. Maybe they could even go kill some shadows after curfew-oh wait. Zack lacked a sword...
"I guess we can... But what about Aerith..?" Cloud almost immediately asked. Zack had someone else to worry about other than Cloud.
"....She can come to?" Yeah, not really. But it was the best answer Zack could give at the moment.
"I mean... It's not just me here, it's her, too." Cloud pointed out. He wasn't even sure how to feel about being with both Zack and Aerith at the same time.
"She's fine...." At least Zack THOUGHT she was fine. "Plus she'd be happy to see you." And there was a pat on the shoulder.
"I've.... already seen her..." Cloud admitted, albeit it was only for about 3-4 minutes in the classroom hallways and he remembers that they were both lost.
"Oh, really?" Zack blinked. She didn't say anything... but she wasn't supposed to know Cloud and... This was confusing. He'd have to ask Cloud about everything that happened after he died at a later time.
"We only saw each other for a few minutes," Cloud admitted. "I was in the middle of going to class when I ran into her. She seemed happy and everything, so...."
Zack smiled and almost sighed a sigh of relief. "That's good." Maybe eventually he could be with both Cloud and Aerith in one place. Two people he cared about so much in one place? It was almost a dream.
Sadly, Cloud didn't feel exactly the same. It was awkward enough to be right in front of Zack, but to be with both him and Aerith? It'd be a little too much. "Yeah...."
"You do know that we're here for you, right?" He had to make sure Cloud knew. It was more of a promise than anything else.
"I... I guess...." Hearing that sort of hurt Cloud a bit. He lost them (both of them) once already, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to go through that again.
"I'll never abandon you, okay?" Huh, deja vu. Did he say that to Cloud before?
He did, and Cloud remembered it. "......." The blond stayed quiet. There goes Zack making more promises, but Cloud knew better this time.
"What?" Zack smiled. "I mean it!" He meant it last time, too. He just didn't expect the Shin Ra army to surround him a few minutes later.
Still, all of that literally traumatized Cloud. And he didn't want to relive it, and that fear is pretty much stuck there. "......" Still, Cloud kept silent. Only this time, he really couldn't look at Zack anymore so he turned around.
"Ah...?" did he say something wrong? Maybe? "Well... It's getting late, you know." Awkwaaard. "I...guess I better go."
"Yeah....." Cloud slowly said as he slowly turned around. He faced Zack, but his eyes were diagonal to the bottom right side of him. "Zack...?"
"Yeah?" Zack had already started to leave and looked over his shoulder. Maybe this would be less awkward than it already was.
"Thanks for coming..." Cloud said. He did appreciate Zack coming over. But still, there were things that Cloud needed to come to terms with before he could be casual with either Zack and Aerith again.
Zack grinned. YES! Mission Accomplished! "Any time. Just tell me if you need anything, okay?" And he was out the door. This felt good. Very good.