Night 47: M51-M60 Hallway
[From M59]Dinner hadn't been Italy's cooking, but Prussia finished it anyway; food was food, and if he succeeded in breaking out of here, it might be a while before he had another chance at a meal
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It had been nice to meet up with a roommate who actually walked around and talked and did things, but by now Zack was ready to get out and do something. He still wasn't entirely sure what was going on this night, but he found that he didn't mind so long as he was with Aerith. With any luck Cloud would be there too, but he knew better than to expect too much. The kid (he wasn't really a kid anymore, was he?) was good at making himself scarce when he wanted to.
Tieria had been quick to depart the second night came, and Zack had made sure to wish the man luck. He got the feeling he wouldn't need it, though. He'd seemed efficient and serious, which probably meant that there was a lot of strength hidden under what had seemed to be an almost frail appearance. Still, Zack knew better than to judge just by looks.
While he still felt bad that he was making Aerith come find him, Zack realized that he had to treat her differently than he had before. His instinct had always been to protect, but the girl had told him herself that she'd been on a whole journey of her own. She was probably far more capable than he gave her credit for.
Waiting for her to arrive gave him some time to lace up the boots from his closet and grab his flashlight from where he'd placed it in his desk. The Head Doc had said something about the radio, so Zack decided he might as well take that too. He didn't really know what the man had been babbling about, but it was easy to loop the thing around his arm using the strap on it. No big deal.
After that he'd had to wait for a bit, and had naturally fallen into doing some squats to pass the time until a knock came at his door. He smiled to himself when he heard that hushed voice and then immediately headed over and opened the door.
"You made it!" Zack announced, though he also made an effort to keep his voice down. "Thanks for coming to get me. You're my hero," he joked. It had been sweet of her to go out of her way to pick him up, though. Now all they had to do was make it to wherever they were going without getting lost.
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"That's right! Your knight in shining armor," Aerith was happy to reply. Really, what would anyone do without her around to keep them straight? Of course she had Yuffie's maps and notes to thank, even if she hadn't gotten the chance to copy anything down. She had a fairly good memory and could only hope it would help them get to the staff recreational area.
"Hmmm... Looks like you didn't get your old clothes back," she mused, cupping her chin in her hand as she gave him a very obvious once over. It was easier to be casual now that the initial shock of seeing him had passed. Not that it wasn't still a hefty mixture of wonderful and strange to see him again like this. "That's too bad, but I guess the smiley face suits you."
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It was good to see that Aerith was a bit steadier than she'd been this morning. The day had given her some time to let everything sink in, he was guessing, and while things weren't exactly the same as they'd been four years ago, it was a little closer.
When she mentioned his clothing, Zack tilted his head and then used his flashlight to illuminate his friend. "Oh!" he exclaimed when he saw the pink getup. The outfit was new to him, but even now he recalled the advice he'd given her. "That looks great on you!" he easily complimented, seeing how it was completely sincere.
He wasn't sure how he would have felt about getting his First Class uniform back. On one hand, he'd practically lived in that thing. On the other, he was supposed to be done with all that. The smiley face wasn't his style as much as Aerith thought, but he wasn't going to complain about it.
"Guess we should get going, huh? I don't want to make you late."
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But Zack was right. They should get moving before anyone started to worry. That was if she remembered Yuffie's directions correctly. Aerith turned around, closet rod in one hand and flashlight back in the other. She should probably at least look like she knew where they were headed.
"Stairwell on the opposite side of M-Block..." she mused quietly to herself. "Okay! This way!" And off she went.
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