Fortitude - Chapter 2
Title: Fortitude
Rating: M
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
Pairing(s): Angeal/Cloud, slight Reno/Cloud
Summary: Angeal gets to meet his student's trooper friend through some strange course of events.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 ----vvvvvvvvvv----
Zack sighed for the nth time that afternoon, the raven haired teen was being exceptionally loud; ensuring that Angeal would hear his displeasure. The burly man really hated to punish his student, but Tseng had insisted he keep his 'puppy' on a leash; so, he had done exactly that. Zack was sitting on the floor beside Angeal's desk, with a dog collar and leash tethering him to the solid work area. He'd been there since that morning.
"'geal, can I at least have my phone? I'm so bored," Zack griped loudly. His back was to the side of the desk and his arms were outstretched over bent knees. Angeal couldn't see his face, but he could easily picture the teen's expression.
"Punishment Zack. Reno is in the infirmary for two days-" the larger man was speaking softly, but Zack still wasn't going to listen.
"He deserved it!" the usually excitable SOLDIER shouted.
"You broke his hand, Zack! And last time I checked, Turks need those…" Angeal said firmly. "You're lucky this is all I did, I could have had you assigned to guard duty," he huffed irritably.
"I'm sorry Angeal…" it was almost a silent whisper as it passed Zack's lips. "I- I got carried away…" the teen hung his head and really thought about the situation he had put himself in, "But, ya know what? Reno's ambidextrous, so he'll live."
Angeal tried not to laugh, he dropped his head and let out an exasperated sigh instead. "That's hardly the point…" he wasn't sure what Reno had done but if he had made Zack angry it must have been something serious; his student hardly ever lost his temper. The larger man couldn't bring himself to ask for some reason unknown to him.
A buzzing caught the older SOLDIER's attention. Slate blue eyes fell on the company issue PHS on the corner of his desk. Zack's PHS… His student perked a little, hoping his mentor would at least let him answer it. Angeal humored the idea for a moment but without thinking answered the phone himself. Zack drooped visibly.
"Zack, how could you? He said it was an accident…" a boyish voice scolded from the other end. Angeal smiled softly.
"Is this Cloud?" the large SOLDIER asked, already knowing the answer. The other end of the phone went silent before a soft, undeterminable sound was made.
"U-um… I-Is Zack there?" the poor boy sounded embarrassed. Angeal finally let out the laugh he'd been holding back, it came out as a hearty sound.
"Yes, he is here. But I'm sorry to say that you cannot talk to him," he told the faceless teen softly, also aiming his response at Zack to answer the unasked question of if he could talk to his friend.
"O-Oh… Is he in trouble?" there was shuffling on the other end of the phone that made Angeal wonder what the trooper could be doing. Then he heard another voice, muffled and drawn out. Reno. The redhead was stating that if Zack wasn't in trouble he should be.
"Is the… Victim of Zack's temper with you?" the slate eyed man asked while eyeing his student for a response. The young SOLDIER stiffened and whipped his head around to look at him with wide eyes that blazed with an unknown emotion.
"Yes. I'm visiting him in the infirmary," Cloud sounded guilty. Somehow Angeal knew that the boy was the cause of the problem between the Turk and his student.
"Cloud stay away from him, he's a pervert and a liar," Zack said loudly enough for the boy to hear him. Angeal gave him a warning look but the younger man stayed defiant.
There was shuffling on the other end and Reno's voice became clearer, "Fair, you've lost your damn mind. Can't believe you'd do this over an accident yo." Cloud complained in the background about his phone being stolen.
"Watch it Turk. I don't know what you did, but if it incurred the wrath of a good natured man like Zack then you probably should be lying low," Angeal warned, defending his student against unknown accusations.
Reno choked on the other end and was silent for a long moment, "Hewley?" Cloud sounded awed as he questioned Reno. Angeal smiled at the boy's soft voice asking the obnoxious Turk if he was really talking to General Hewley.
"Yes, this is Hewley." Angeal stated matter-of-factly, his voice almost bored. His eyes however were dancing with amusement as he watched Zack fidget.
"So, I take it Fair is with you then?" Reno asked hesitantly, calculating. Angeal didn't like the sound of it and could almost see the sly look on the redhead's face.
"Yes, Zack is here. He's undergoing punishment for his actions," the burly SOLDIER said carefully. There was a shuffling sound on the other end of the phone and then muffled talking. Zack was listening intently, wide blue eyes full of panic as Angeal admitted his location. He knew something the larger man didn't about the situation…
More shuffling and the line went dead. The larger man hadn't been expecting that… "Hello?" he asked softly, confused. He pulled the phone from his ear and looked down at it for a moment before pressing end. A soft grunt left him as he flipped the phone shut and turned to look at Zack. Only he didn't see his student peaking over the edge of his desk, he saw eyes blazing with something that could only be described as 'Protective'.
The desk screeched as Zack made a brake for the door, pulling Angeal's entire work area with him. The other SOLDIER sat dumbfounded as the leg the leash was tied to was broken clean off the desk in his student's rush to get out the door. Zack was long gone, flying down the hallway at some ungodly speed that would have made Sephiroth envious, with the collar, leash, and desk leg trailing behind him.
The large man listened to the items on his work area slide of and hit the floor, leaving a huge mess of papers, a shattered glass mug and paperweight, along with his computer and desk lamp.
It was just his luck that Sephiroth would walk by at that exact moment, sidestepping the mess like it wasn't even there, and tell him in the most boring voice he possibly could, "Clean that up Hewley."
Rating: M
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
Pairing(s): Angeal/Cloud, slight Reno/Cloud
Summary: Angeal gets to meet his student's trooper friend through some strange course of events.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 ----vvvvvvvvvv----
Zack sighed for the nth time that afternoon, the raven haired teen was being exceptionally loud; ensuring that Angeal would hear his displeasure. The burly man really hated to punish his student, but Tseng had insisted he keep his 'puppy' on a leash; so, he had done exactly that. Zack was sitting on the floor beside Angeal's desk, with a dog collar and leash tethering him to the solid work area. He'd been there since that morning.
"'geal, can I at least have my phone? I'm so bored," Zack griped loudly. His back was to the side of the desk and his arms were outstretched over bent knees. Angeal couldn't see his face, but he could easily picture the teen's expression.
"Punishment Zack. Reno is in the infirmary for two days-" the larger man was speaking softly, but Zack still wasn't going to listen.
"He deserved it!" the usually excitable SOLDIER shouted.
"You broke his hand, Zack! And last time I checked, Turks need those…" Angeal said firmly. "You're lucky this is all I did, I could have had you assigned to guard duty," he huffed irritably.
"I'm sorry Angeal…" it was almost a silent whisper as it passed Zack's lips. "I- I got carried away…" the teen hung his head and really thought about the situation he had put himself in, "But, ya know what? Reno's ambidextrous, so he'll live."
Angeal tried not to laugh, he dropped his head and let out an exasperated sigh instead. "That's hardly the point…" he wasn't sure what Reno had done but if he had made Zack angry it must have been something serious; his student hardly ever lost his temper. The larger man couldn't bring himself to ask for some reason unknown to him.
A buzzing caught the older SOLDIER's attention. Slate blue eyes fell on the company issue PHS on the corner of his desk. Zack's PHS… His student perked a little, hoping his mentor would at least let him answer it. Angeal humored the idea for a moment but without thinking answered the phone himself. Zack drooped visibly.
"Zack, how could you? He said it was an accident…" a boyish voice scolded from the other end. Angeal smiled softly.
"Is this Cloud?" the large SOLDIER asked, already knowing the answer. The other end of the phone went silent before a soft, undeterminable sound was made.
"U-um… I-Is Zack there?" the poor boy sounded embarrassed. Angeal finally let out the laugh he'd been holding back, it came out as a hearty sound.
"Yes, he is here. But I'm sorry to say that you cannot talk to him," he told the faceless teen softly, also aiming his response at Zack to answer the unasked question of if he could talk to his friend.
"O-Oh… Is he in trouble?" there was shuffling on the other end of the phone that made Angeal wonder what the trooper could be doing. Then he heard another voice, muffled and drawn out. Reno. The redhead was stating that if Zack wasn't in trouble he should be.
"Is the… Victim of Zack's temper with you?" the slate eyed man asked while eyeing his student for a response. The young SOLDIER stiffened and whipped his head around to look at him with wide eyes that blazed with an unknown emotion.
"Yes. I'm visiting him in the infirmary," Cloud sounded guilty. Somehow Angeal knew that the boy was the cause of the problem between the Turk and his student.
"Cloud stay away from him, he's a pervert and a liar," Zack said loudly enough for the boy to hear him. Angeal gave him a warning look but the younger man stayed defiant.
There was shuffling on the other end and Reno's voice became clearer, "Fair, you've lost your damn mind. Can't believe you'd do this over an accident yo." Cloud complained in the background about his phone being stolen.
"Watch it Turk. I don't know what you did, but if it incurred the wrath of a good natured man like Zack then you probably should be lying low," Angeal warned, defending his student against unknown accusations.
Reno choked on the other end and was silent for a long moment, "Hewley?" Cloud sounded awed as he questioned Reno. Angeal smiled at the boy's soft voice asking the obnoxious Turk if he was really talking to General Hewley.
"Yes, this is Hewley." Angeal stated matter-of-factly, his voice almost bored. His eyes however were dancing with amusement as he watched Zack fidget.
"So, I take it Fair is with you then?" Reno asked hesitantly, calculating. Angeal didn't like the sound of it and could almost see the sly look on the redhead's face.
"Yes, Zack is here. He's undergoing punishment for his actions," the burly SOLDIER said carefully. There was a shuffling sound on the other end of the phone and then muffled talking. Zack was listening intently, wide blue eyes full of panic as Angeal admitted his location. He knew something the larger man didn't about the situation…
More shuffling and the line went dead. The larger man hadn't been expecting that… "Hello?" he asked softly, confused. He pulled the phone from his ear and looked down at it for a moment before pressing end. A soft grunt left him as he flipped the phone shut and turned to look at Zack. Only he didn't see his student peaking over the edge of his desk, he saw eyes blazing with something that could only be described as 'Protective'.
The desk screeched as Zack made a brake for the door, pulling Angeal's entire work area with him. The other SOLDIER sat dumbfounded as the leg the leash was tied to was broken clean off the desk in his student's rush to get out the door. Zack was long gone, flying down the hallway at some ungodly speed that would have made Sephiroth envious, with the collar, leash, and desk leg trailing behind him.
The large man listened to the items on his work area slide of and hit the floor, leaving a huge mess of papers, a shattered glass mug and paperweight, along with his computer and desk lamp.
It was just his luck that Sephiroth would walk by at that exact moment, sidestepping the mess like it wasn't even there, and tell him in the most boring voice he possibly could, "Clean that up Hewley."