Fortitude - Chapter 4
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
Chapter 3
Chapter 4 ----vvvvvvvvvv----
It had been a week since he had started training Cloud and he was already recognizing a raw talent similar to the one that Zack had had when he first began training under him. The blonde was focused and serious about his training, something that Angeal respected in someone so young. Sometimes he couldn’t get Zack to sit still long enough to explain what he needed him to do. The differences were innumerable, the main one being that where one was reserved the other was rambunctious.
Cloud listened to instructions well, and fought on even when he knew that help would make things easier. Angeal admired his perseverance, but warned him that sometimes he would have to ask for assistance; to which Cloud would scowl but nod in agreement to. He couldn’t train the blonde the same way that he trained Zack. Cloud was unenhanced, and couldn’t be thrown into battle without close supervision; Angeal wasn’t willing to risk the boy’s life if he couldn’t react fast enough so he settled on one-on-one training. It was an exercise in restraint for the bulky First, holding his strength in check while attacking the blonde. To Cloud’s credit, he took it all in strides even when he was sent sprawling.
Every evening, at around five, they would meet in the matted training room and go over basics, making sure that they were drilled into the blonde’s head; until training ended at seven thirty. Zack would forego work to go to the observation room above the matted floor and watch. He hadn’t taken it well when Angeal had told him that he could not train them together because of the strength difference; but he was adjusting, and often telling the older man that he was being too rough with Cloud.
Late one night, after sending the blonde boy back to the barracks, Angeal saw Sephiroth coming out of the observation room. The silver haired man had a thoughtful look on his face as he made his way over to his black haired friend. They walked together in silence for some time before Angeal spoke up.
“So, were the other two VR rooms occupied?” he asked, already knowing that Sephiroth was there to see his new student.
“No. I thought that I would come and see what kind of trouble you adopted this time,” the silver haired man said softly. Angeal knew that the criticism was coming, Sephiroth was notorious for being brutally honest. “I see potential in him, but he is a bit small to be using a broad sword, is he not?” the General asked, knowing that Angeal was going to disagree with him.
“Cloud handles himself quite well with a large weapon, he has trouble with the M16 that he hauls around,” the black haired man chuckled, “he told me that it would do more damage if he threw it at the enemy.”
Sephiroth’s lips quirked slightly, smirking at the thought. “Do you think you can handle mentoring two students? I am aware that it has already been a week since you started training him; but do you think that you can keep up this routine?” the small smirk was gone and his voice was calm, giving no indication of his worry.
“It’s kind of nice, and really different. Do you know how hard it is to train an unenhanced? It takes a lot of restraint… I’m mindful, but I’m still afraid that I’m going to hurt him somehow,” Angeal said honestly, then continued on, “Even if I did hurt him, he wouldn’t say anything… It’s troublesome at times,” he concluded softly.
Sephiroth grunted in agreement and stopped walking. When Angeal slowed and turned back to look at him he saw that the General’s arms were crossed, and he had a conflicted look on his face. “I assigned his unit to patrol during the Kalm Festival. Do you think he will be able to handle that?” he asked, searching Angeal’s face for any sign of anxiety. Sephiroth’s handsome face remained stoic and calm, but his black haired friend could tell that he was concerned.
“He should be, it’s just patrolling. You never showed concern like this for Zack,” the black haired man gave Sephiroth a suspicious look, unsure of the man’s motives.
“Strife is very… pretty, Angeal. I have heard the Seconds, Thirds, and Genesis talking about him since you have taken him in. I am just… concerned about him being able to adequately defend himself if need be,” the silver haired man lifted a hand to silence Angeal before he could interrupt. “I understand that, before he came to train under you, a Turk was harassing him. I do not wish for anything that involves sexual misconduct to be pushed on any of the troops or SOLDIERs under my command; and it would be extremely unfortunate for such a thing to happen to a student training under my friend. I am not showing favoritism, I am only trying to help protect my men,” Sephiroth’s voice sounded bored and disinterested, but Angeal knew better.
The black haired man smiled warmly at his friend, “Thank you, Sephiroth.” He knew that the General was socially inept, but the man’s heart was in the right place. “Zack mentioned that people have a tendency to look at Cloud, and I’ve noticed some of the others staring at him; but to be honest I put it off as them being curious about an infantryman being in the SOLDIER training area. Hm,” the more Angeal thought about it the more he realized that Sephiroth was right.
“I have made my point. He will be sent out during the middle of the week, so see that he doesn’t slack off. If this apprenticeship interferes with his normal duties it will have to stop, so make certain that you don’t work him until he drops,” Sephiroth began to walk again as he spoke; his long legs carried him almost all the way down the hall before Angeal decided to follow.
xXx
Zack sat heavily upon the chair before Angeal’s desk, his boots propped up on the corner. His feet hurt and his uniform was caked with mud, blood, and Gaia knows what else. He had just come back from a mission, and hadn’t even had the decency to bathe before barging in, and making a nuisance of himself. The older man tried not to let it bother him. He knew that Zack was worried about his friend, hell, Angeal himself was worried for his little blonde student. He had been sent out on a mission to the Mythril Mines to help clear out a small Castanets infestation. Nothing for that a SOLDIER, or trained trooper couldn’t handle; but that didn’t stop the worry from setting in.
After Sephiroth had given him a heads up on the mission he had trained the blonde with fire materia, something to give him a bit of an edge over his companions. Zack called it favoritism, on both Sephiroth and Angeal’s part, but he really had no room to talk when he was coaching the blonde on what kind of monsters were in the area.
“I hope Cloud’s okay…” Zack finally voiced his worry. Angeal nodded absently as he skimmed another request for new equipment. The man was trying to keep busy, to keep his mind off of such things, but it wasn’t working well with Zack sitting there voicing Angeal’s own worries.
“What if they run into a Zolom?” His student asked, horror evident in his voice. Angeal stopped his reading and looked up at the younger man. He hadn’t even considered the Zoloms, it was something that Sephiroth would have mentioned; the possibility of his student being eaten alive by a giant snake…
“He’s not going to run into any Zoloms Zack. Sephiroth would have mentioned something like that, they’re just going to take care of a small infestation. They’ll be back soon,” Angeal tried to reason, not doing very well at convincing Zack, let alone himself.
“But, what if they do? What if Sephiroth didn’t think about it?” Zack said frantically as he removed his muddy boots from the corner of Angeal’s desk.
“I’m sure that-” Angeal tried to answer, but was cut off.
“What if he’s dying in the mud from the poison? Or was eaten by the damn thing?” the young first covered his face with his hands. “I can’t even think about it. My little buddy… OH ANGEAL!” Zack wailed, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes.
Angeal let loose a long suffering sigh, and tried not to let those thoughts sink in too far.
“Sephiroth thinks everything through, Zack,” he answered, “you know that.”
Zack wailed again, jumped up from the chair, and started toward the door.
“Where are you going?” the older man asked, rising from his seat; hoping the boy wasn’t going to do anything stupid or troublesome.
“I’m gonna get a chopper to fly me out to the mines,” Zack told him, determination clear in his voice. Before Angeal could open his mouth, Zack flung the door open, and slammed into the person waiting on the other side. The raven haired teen still stood while the visitor fell back onto his bottom.
It took all of five seconds for Zack to make a noise, in a pitch only dogs should have been able to hear, and gather the stranger into his arms.
Angeal let out a heavy breath, he knew who it was; and was thankful that the boy had at least made it back. Zolom or not, he had completed his mission, and that put him one step closer to his goal.
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
Chapter 3
Chapter 4 ----vvvvvvvvvv----
It had been a week since he had started training Cloud and he was already recognizing a raw talent similar to the one that Zack had had when he first began training under him. The blonde was focused and serious about his training, something that Angeal respected in someone so young. Sometimes he couldn’t get Zack to sit still long enough to explain what he needed him to do. The differences were innumerable, the main one being that where one was reserved the other was rambunctious.
Cloud listened to instructions well, and fought on even when he knew that help would make things easier. Angeal admired his perseverance, but warned him that sometimes he would have to ask for assistance; to which Cloud would scowl but nod in agreement to. He couldn’t train the blonde the same way that he trained Zack. Cloud was unenhanced, and couldn’t be thrown into battle without close supervision; Angeal wasn’t willing to risk the boy’s life if he couldn’t react fast enough so he settled on one-on-one training. It was an exercise in restraint for the bulky First, holding his strength in check while attacking the blonde. To Cloud’s credit, he took it all in strides even when he was sent sprawling.
Every evening, at around five, they would meet in the matted training room and go over basics, making sure that they were drilled into the blonde’s head; until training ended at seven thirty. Zack would forego work to go to the observation room above the matted floor and watch. He hadn’t taken it well when Angeal had told him that he could not train them together because of the strength difference; but he was adjusting, and often telling the older man that he was being too rough with Cloud.
Late one night, after sending the blonde boy back to the barracks, Angeal saw Sephiroth coming out of the observation room. The silver haired man had a thoughtful look on his face as he made his way over to his black haired friend. They walked together in silence for some time before Angeal spoke up.
“So, were the other two VR rooms occupied?” he asked, already knowing that Sephiroth was there to see his new student.
“No. I thought that I would come and see what kind of trouble you adopted this time,” the silver haired man said softly. Angeal knew that the criticism was coming, Sephiroth was notorious for being brutally honest. “I see potential in him, but he is a bit small to be using a broad sword, is he not?” the General asked, knowing that Angeal was going to disagree with him.
“Cloud handles himself quite well with a large weapon, he has trouble with the M16 that he hauls around,” the black haired man chuckled, “he told me that it would do more damage if he threw it at the enemy.”
Sephiroth’s lips quirked slightly, smirking at the thought. “Do you think you can handle mentoring two students? I am aware that it has already been a week since you started training him; but do you think that you can keep up this routine?” the small smirk was gone and his voice was calm, giving no indication of his worry.
“It’s kind of nice, and really different. Do you know how hard it is to train an unenhanced? It takes a lot of restraint… I’m mindful, but I’m still afraid that I’m going to hurt him somehow,” Angeal said honestly, then continued on, “Even if I did hurt him, he wouldn’t say anything… It’s troublesome at times,” he concluded softly.
Sephiroth grunted in agreement and stopped walking. When Angeal slowed and turned back to look at him he saw that the General’s arms were crossed, and he had a conflicted look on his face. “I assigned his unit to patrol during the Kalm Festival. Do you think he will be able to handle that?” he asked, searching Angeal’s face for any sign of anxiety. Sephiroth’s handsome face remained stoic and calm, but his black haired friend could tell that he was concerned.
“He should be, it’s just patrolling. You never showed concern like this for Zack,” the black haired man gave Sephiroth a suspicious look, unsure of the man’s motives.
“Strife is very… pretty, Angeal. I have heard the Seconds, Thirds, and Genesis talking about him since you have taken him in. I am just… concerned about him being able to adequately defend himself if need be,” the silver haired man lifted a hand to silence Angeal before he could interrupt. “I understand that, before he came to train under you, a Turk was harassing him. I do not wish for anything that involves sexual misconduct to be pushed on any of the troops or SOLDIERs under my command; and it would be extremely unfortunate for such a thing to happen to a student training under my friend. I am not showing favoritism, I am only trying to help protect my men,” Sephiroth’s voice sounded bored and disinterested, but Angeal knew better.
The black haired man smiled warmly at his friend, “Thank you, Sephiroth.” He knew that the General was socially inept, but the man’s heart was in the right place. “Zack mentioned that people have a tendency to look at Cloud, and I’ve noticed some of the others staring at him; but to be honest I put it off as them being curious about an infantryman being in the SOLDIER training area. Hm,” the more Angeal thought about it the more he realized that Sephiroth was right.
“I have made my point. He will be sent out during the middle of the week, so see that he doesn’t slack off. If this apprenticeship interferes with his normal duties it will have to stop, so make certain that you don’t work him until he drops,” Sephiroth began to walk again as he spoke; his long legs carried him almost all the way down the hall before Angeal decided to follow.
xXx
Zack sat heavily upon the chair before Angeal’s desk, his boots propped up on the corner. His feet hurt and his uniform was caked with mud, blood, and Gaia knows what else. He had just come back from a mission, and hadn’t even had the decency to bathe before barging in, and making a nuisance of himself. The older man tried not to let it bother him. He knew that Zack was worried about his friend, hell, Angeal himself was worried for his little blonde student. He had been sent out on a mission to the Mythril Mines to help clear out a small Castanets infestation. Nothing for that a SOLDIER, or trained trooper couldn’t handle; but that didn’t stop the worry from setting in.
After Sephiroth had given him a heads up on the mission he had trained the blonde with fire materia, something to give him a bit of an edge over his companions. Zack called it favoritism, on both Sephiroth and Angeal’s part, but he really had no room to talk when he was coaching the blonde on what kind of monsters were in the area.
“I hope Cloud’s okay…” Zack finally voiced his worry. Angeal nodded absently as he skimmed another request for new equipment. The man was trying to keep busy, to keep his mind off of such things, but it wasn’t working well with Zack sitting there voicing Angeal’s own worries.
“What if they run into a Zolom?” His student asked, horror evident in his voice. Angeal stopped his reading and looked up at the younger man. He hadn’t even considered the Zoloms, it was something that Sephiroth would have mentioned; the possibility of his student being eaten alive by a giant snake…
“He’s not going to run into any Zoloms Zack. Sephiroth would have mentioned something like that, they’re just going to take care of a small infestation. They’ll be back soon,” Angeal tried to reason, not doing very well at convincing Zack, let alone himself.
“But, what if they do? What if Sephiroth didn’t think about it?” Zack said frantically as he removed his muddy boots from the corner of Angeal’s desk.
“I’m sure that-” Angeal tried to answer, but was cut off.
“What if he’s dying in the mud from the poison? Or was eaten by the damn thing?” the young first covered his face with his hands. “I can’t even think about it. My little buddy… OH ANGEAL!” Zack wailed, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes.
Angeal let loose a long suffering sigh, and tried not to let those thoughts sink in too far.
“Sephiroth thinks everything through, Zack,” he answered, “you know that.”
Zack wailed again, jumped up from the chair, and started toward the door.
“Where are you going?” the older man asked, rising from his seat; hoping the boy wasn’t going to do anything stupid or troublesome.
“I’m gonna get a chopper to fly me out to the mines,” Zack told him, determination clear in his voice. Before Angeal could open his mouth, Zack flung the door open, and slammed into the person waiting on the other side. The raven haired teen still stood while the visitor fell back onto his bottom.
It took all of five seconds for Zack to make a noise, in a pitch only dogs should have been able to hear, and gather the stranger into his arms.
Angeal let out a heavy breath, he knew who it was; and was thankful that the boy had at least made it back. Zolom or not, he had completed his mission, and that put him one step closer to his goal.