And When Your Faith is Gone

[loveandstrife]

Characters: Zack and Cloud
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: Zack needs to slap some sense into Cloud
Location: Luca
Date: Late May, 1804
Warnings: Angstu~

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[firstclassdream]

Zack had slept for what felt like a day when they got back to Luca. Not having his mako had given his body a bit of a shock and while he was feeling ten times better than before he was still a bit off. He wouldn't worry about it though, it would only last for a bit and then he would be back to normal in no time.

That aside, there was something else that was worrying Zack more than his lack of glowing eyes. Cloud. Hearing Cloud blame himself over what had happened did not sit well with Zack. Between feeling sick and having Tifa there, Zack didn't bring anything up. But now that he was feeling better that was going to change.

Finding Cloud wasn't hard, Zack always had a great record on finding the blond. He walked over and sat down with his legs crossed so not to get his boots wet. In a rare moment Zack wasn't sure what to say and he so looked out at the water before speaking.

"So, ya done beating yourself up, Spike?"

[loveandstrife]

It was awkward conversations like this that made Cloud glad he didn't have a voice. Shifting away slightly as Zack sat and spoke, the blonde didn't reply. Not verbally nor physically, and he just kept on splashing his feet in the water.

He wasn't beating himself up, or so he thought. He just knew what he was guilty of and didn't hide the fact that he deserved blame for it. If he hadn't insulted Sephiroth so horrendously, he wouldn't have been killed, wouldn't have lost his voice and would have been able to call out to Zack and save him from the dragon. If he'd just stayed away from that nethicite, this chain of events wouldn't have happened.

Sighing without a sound, Cloud pulled his shirt off, after shedding his sunglasses, diving into the water a moment later, trying to avoid Zack.

[firstclassdream]

Of all the reactions, this was one Zack had not planned on. Frowning, Zack had to fight the want to pull his hair out.

"Fine! If you wanna play this way, fine." Zack muttered to himself while yanking his boots off. "I'll come right after you, mountain boy." Tossing his shirt on the dock, Zack drove into the water after Cloud.

"You know me better than this, Cloud. I'm not gonna let you mope like this. There's no damn reason for it!"

[loveandstrife]

Cloud could just about hide his smirk. Seeing Zack react like that made him want to laugh, but he'd learned how to control those sorts of reactions a lot better than the sorrowful ones.

As his friend dove into the water, Cloud took a breath and dove under the surface, swimming further out, half expecting Zack to grab him by his ankle.

It was probably mean for him to make Zack chase him like this when he had lost his mako, but he wasn't going to just give in. Besides, he couldn't help but blame himself when he was certain he was at fault for letting things happen around him without trying to stop them.

[firstclassdream]

Zack let out a annoyed sigh as Cloud went under the water. "I can't believe this." Having Cloud avoid him like this would have been hurtful if it wasn't for the fact that Zack wasn't a bit angry over what had caused everything.

"Gotta come up for air sometime, Spike. I can wait!"

[loveandstrife]

Cloud was smarter than that, however, and he soon swam right for the edge of the dock, dipping under the concrete structure and coming up for air silently under the pier of the dock. He waited quietly, his smirk widening.

It was very childish, and Cloud knew Zack was probably going to start panicking when he didn't resurface, but he was tired of everything being so serious. Maybe once Fenrir was finished, he'd take Zack for a ride, and they could get away from the serious world of responsibilities for a while, maybe hunt some monsters together.

If Zack could even lift the Buster Sword.

[firstclassdream]

Yep, any moment Cloud would come up. Because mako or not, he needs to breathe... Another moment passed by and Zack laughed a bit, though the panic could be clearly heard. "Cloud? This isn't funny." Still nothing. "Cloud?"

The knot in his stomach tighten and Zack took a deep breath and went under searching for Cloud only to find nothing. When Zack came up he coughed, lungs burning from lack of air. "CLOUD?!"

[loveandstrife]

Just as Zack called his name the last time, Cloud tackled him from behind, that mako-fueled strength helping him as he latched onto Zack's back. He was probably going to get told off for making him worry, and maybe finally have to suffer through the lecture Zack already had stored up, but Cloud was okay with that.

He was going to get an earful regardless, so why not take it the whole way and give Zack something to complain about for real? Playfully punching his arm, Cloud let go and tried to swim away again.

[firstclassdream]

Zack almost screamed when he felt someone grab him. When he saw it was Cloud he was torn between happiness and anger. "Y-you jerk! Almost gave me a heart attack, ya know?"

He splashed water at Cloud's face once Cloud let go. However, when Cloud went to swim away again Zack grabbed him. "Oh no! I got my full of panic today, chocobo head."

[loveandstrife]

Snickering silently, Cloud gave up, though he knew he was stronger and could have fought his way from Zack's grasp very easily now he was the one with enhancements. He didn't think it'd be appreciated if he swam off again, and Zack was still his best friend.

However, he couldn't exactly speak to him, so Cloud just stared up at Zack with big blue eyes, waiting for him to start telling him off for everything.

[firstclassdream]

Zack was thankful that Cloud wasn't trying to get away. With a soft sigh, Zack let go of Cloud and ruffled his wet hair. "I swear..." It wasn't fair that Cloud's eyes were the same as they were when he was a cadet.

"Look, I know in your head your at fault for some stupid reason, but you're not. Got that?"

[loveandstrife]

Continuing to stare up at him with those large blue eyes that really hadn't ever changed, aside from getting the strange ability to appear like Sephiroth's when he was exposed to nethicite for a long time, Cloud frowned when he was told he wasn't at fault and that his reasons were stupid.

Cloud's gaze fell, and he lowered his head, turning it away from Zack. He couldn't explain it to anyone without them saying that he was wrong, or stupid, not even Tifa or Zack, because Cloud was aware of his issues with blame, and couldn't avoid them when they hit.

[firstclassdream]

Zack frowned more as Cloud looked away with his head lowered. He knew it wasn't fair to do this when Cloud couldn't speak back, but he wasn't about to wait and let things get worse.

"Cloud..." He reached out and put a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "I'm not trying to be mean, ya know? I just don't want you beating yourself up or avoiding me. I'm you're friend, right?"

[loveandstrife]

Cloud just nodded, unable to argue or even agree with anything when he couldn't even say one word. He'd thought about making tapping noises to use as responses, but even that was too complicated. He just wanted his voice back, and it had almost been two months, but he couldn't keep suffering without it.

Sighing quietly, Cloud kept his pout and tried to retreat, attempting to climb out of the water. He wanted to find somewhere he could hide and brood for a while, though Zack always seemed to find him anyway.

[firstclassdream]

Now it was Zack's turn to sigh again. "You're running away from me again, Cloud? I can't help if you do this whenever I try to talk to you."

Zack followed, pulling himself back onto the dock. "Hate seeing you like this and I'll do whatever needs to be done to make it right." Another sigh, he fumbled with his shirt and boots. "But if you don't want me around...I'll leave you alone."

[loveandstrife]

That puppy dog pout broke Cloud and, stood there in just his dripping wet pants, one leg still rolled up to his knee, while the other had fell down, Cloud latched onto Zack, just with one hand on his arm, tight and almost desperate in his grip.

He pouted up at Zack in response to that look he was given, tugging a little on his arm. How was he supposed to make his point without a voice? It just wasn't working.