Open!
Who: Zack Fair i_love_squats, OPEN
When: Today or tomorrow.
Where: Zack and Angeal’s home.
Format: Paragraph or action, whichever you want. Feel free to hop in an already established thread or start a new one for new guests who want to arrive at a different time. Either or. :D
What: For anyone who wants to come and visit Zack and make sure he doesn’t escape ( Read more... )
When: Today or tomorrow.
Where: Zack and Angeal’s home.
Format: Paragraph or action, whichever you want. Feel free to hop in an already established thread or start a new one for new guests who want to arrive at a different time. Either or. :D
What: For anyone who wants to come and visit Zack and make sure he doesn’t escape ( Read more... )
Besides, his SOLDIER clothes were going to need a really good tailor after that explosion.
Zack was attempting to do a squat (something that made his knees pop and his body hurt) when Itachi knocked and poked his head in. Tilting precariously to the side, a surprised Zack managed to catch himself and fall onto the bed, looking as though he was sitting on the edge the entire time. Good puppy wouldn't be straining himself, oh no. Not him. Never.
"Hey! Fancy meeting you here." He laughed a little, then nodded to the chair in the corner. "Come on, pull up a seat. Could use the company." Because time alone left him to think, to dwell, to contemplate way too much on what had gone wrong.
"I'd ask if I could get you anything, but I think Angeal has a tripwire set to go off if I leave the room."
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"You're not fooling anyone," he began, not skipping a beat.
It was only after handing over the soup that he took the seat opposite Zack's bed, however, his back against the padding of the chair, dark eyes studying the ex-SOLDIER's bright blue. Angeal had said that Zack was transparent... and it was true. It was easy to see that the man across from him was troubled, not despite the cheerful front he put up, but because of it.
"I hope that you realize... you're being as reckless as Elena-san? Recuperation is not strictly physical. Your mind needs to rest, as well."
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“Thanks.” He smiled as he took the soup, refusing, absolutely refusing to show that he wasn’t thrilled to have it. Contrary to popular belief, Zack exhibited manners at time, especially when someone had gone out of their way to bring him a present. And he was happy for it, for the symbolism; it showed Itachi cared, made an effort. He wondered how many other people could say that in relation to the wayward ninja?
Zack’s head jerked up at the mention of Elena, his eyes widening. Elena. She wasn’t taking this well either, and he knew it, but it was strange hearing it like this. And it didn’t go over his head that she was avoiding him; part of him thought he was avoiding her, too. Same reason. Same idea.
“Must be something in the Shinra handbook,” he tried, an uncomfortable chuckle at the end of it before he stopped.
“How is she? Is she… is she okay?”
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"She has buried herself in her work." Organizing, planning, writing reports. Nothing new for Elena, except, "I think if let alone she would forget to eat or sleep. She isn't talking much about what happened, either."
Not that he was anything but hesitant to ask.
He supposed that it was more difficult for Elena and Zack than it was for himself. Death was a way of life; this was something he had been taught-or rather, forced-to accept from a very early age. As a shinobi it was necessary, made easier by learning how to detach oneself from others. Elena and Zack, however, weren't afforded that luxury, were emotionally invested in... well, everything and everyone that entered their lives. The death of the Native girl was a tragedy to them; for Itachi, it was merely a sore reminder of what happened when one was not proficient enough in their line of work.
"What about you...?" Itachi couldn't help but imagine Zack was going stir-crazy, what with being pent up indoors all day. It was... perhaps the only thing (work ethic aside) that the three of them really had in common.
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That knowledge took root inside him, started to branch out, slide out and he hung his head. She was in shock, she was suffering, she was burying her face in her work, and while he wasn’t surprised, it was still difficult to hear it. She wasn’t forgiving herself either, and both of them twisted in the breeze of guilt and anguish.
“She shouldn’t--” Stop. Start again. “You need to make her stop.” Work. Blaming herself. Suffering. Hurting. Everything. And it was you, to you, Itachi. That pointed statement, becaue he knew he couldn’t see her, that she didn’t want to see him, that they walked on eggshells in the heat of these summer days.
What about him? He looked at the walls around him, at the way they seemed to come in closer the more time passed, or the loudness of the ticking clock until it seemed to rattle windows and his brain alike. The blankets itched. His muscles were sore. His injuries were painful. He didn’t sleep and the soup had started to blur over his tastebuds.
“I’m still alive.” And he meant it to come out cheery, hopeful, optimistic, really tried, but it slithered forth like a worm, weak and looking for shadows. “Everyday is a new adventure here.” And now it was just the biting sarcasm of a very bored, very disgruntled man.
“How’re you?”
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I'm still alive. Zack's words were haunting. They reminded him... of himself. And of all the times he'd uttered the very same thing while thinking in the back of his mind, I don't deserve to be. For the terrible things he had done, or for all of the things he had failed to accomplish.
Was that how Zack felt? Because of what had happened to the young Native girl?
Itachi shook his head apologetically. "I can't make any promises..."
Although he wanted nothing more than to help Elena overcome her tribulation, she would be as hard to dissuade as Zack. Neither Turk nor SOLDIER would relent, particularly if given so much as an inch of leeway; it simply wasn't in their genetic makeup. And while that kind of tenacity was ordinarily something to admire, right now it hindered more than it helped.
"To tell the truth," Itachi added, perforating the silence that had begun to well up, "I would be much better if I did not have to worry about Elena-san working herself to death, or you giving Angeal-san too hard a time." After all, Itachi had seen Zack's mentor on his way in, could tell after having spoken with him and lain eyes on him that he was every bit as concerned for Zack's well-being as Itachi was for Elena's.
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No promises. Of course not, especially when dealing with a Turk as stubborn and emotional as Elena. Maybe that’s why, out of all the Turks, she had become Zack’s favorite. There was a genuine belief in her job, in what she did, and her heart was still intact, rather than being clutched together by barbed wire after years of missions.
Most would have simply accept the girl as an unfortunate casualty, but she felt guilt. Guilt in the same way he did, even though he thought she shouldn’t, that it wasn’t her fault. Itachi would be good for her now, would help her around the right way, just as Angeal and Cloud would help him. They had their rocks, and for that, they were fortunate, lucky. Not everyone could say that.
Maybe that’s what kept the barbed wire away.
“‘Course not,” he murmured. “But I know you’ll do your best. Just like I know she’ll listen to you.” He smiled, soft, to himself.
“You remind me of someone I used to know. Strong guy. Good guy, underneath the whole Turk part. You’ll bring her around, ‘cause I don’t think you’ll give up ‘til you do.”
Bright blue eyes blinked up at him, then snorted in a little laughter. “Hard time? Shiva, you make me sound like a troublemake-You know what? Just don’t answer that. Don’t worry; I won’t give him premature gray hair.” There was a brief memory of a degrading Angeal, a flash, but he shook it away.
“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about us.”
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Dressing up a storm cloud with silver lining, and for all the world... still pretending that it wasn't a storm cloud rolling in off the horizon.
Of course, all the make-belief in the world couldn't alter reality, and the reality was... Elena was suffering inside, and so was Zack. Itachi more than anyone recognized the signs; the reluctance to accept help from anyone else, the withdrawal from friends, drowning oneself in one's work... they were all present, very nearly overwhelming.
Standing once more and folding his arms over his chest, Itachi murmured, "You say that I shouldn't worry, but I've yet to see proof of why not."
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