Butterfly Effect: Chapter 34
Jun. 30th, 2008 03:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bard_linnAuthors: Bard Linn and Kiraya
Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: ZackxSeph, Assorted Past
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Summary: Well, face it, you were mostly angry at not having things go the way you wanted them to.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
“If you’re not up to anything tonight, wanna get out of the compound for a while?”
Zack froze, doing a dramatic double take. “Do my ears deceive me, or did Cloud Strife just ask if I wanted to go out for a night on the town? I may just pass out in shock.”
“Knock it off, Zack.” Cloud rolled his eyes at his friend.
“Would our destination be the Flying Dragon, by any chance?” the other SOLDIER asked, a knowing twinkle in his eyes.
“Yeah,” Cloud muttered, ears pink.
“Going to visit your girlfriend?” The dark-haired man’s grin was teasing. “Maybe I shouldn’t come along after all. Give you a bit of alone time…”
“She’s going to be working,” Cloud reminded him. “And besides… I’m not sure ‘girlfriend’ is the right word for it.”
“Really?” Zack asked. “Even after you’ve been on, what, three dates now? Sounds like ‘girlfriend’ to me.” He nudged the other SOLDIER’s arm, wearing a sly smile. “Well, then… if she’s working tonight, when’s your next hot date?”
Cloud sighed. Little did Zack know how frustratingly skittish Tifa was being about this whole thing. Three dates and they still hadn’t even kissed — unless the quick, awkward peck on the cheek they’d tried last time before Tifa disappeared into Aeris’s house counted. He wasn’t about to give up, though. “I dunno. The only night I’m free next week is Tuesday—”
“Tuesday?” Zack echoed, frowning. “I thought we were trying to set up a session with Seph for that night, since last week didn’t work out.”
“Oh man,” Cloud groaned, hand hitting his forehead, “how could I have forgotten?” What had begun as impromptu training sessions about once a month, during which each of them pit themselves against each other to keep their skills and speed up, had evolved into intense three-way sparring matches. Though he was always a little sore after these workouts, Cloud loved them, loved being able to fight on an equal footing with Sephiroth and Zack — at least, as “equal” as things could be for a SOLDIER Second Class going up against two of the outfit’s finest Firsts — and he wouldn’t miss them for anything. “Count me in, of course.”
The other man grinned. “Awesome. But what about Tifa, then?”
“Oh, I’ll just ask her about the week after,” Cloud told him. “Got a more flexible schedule then, anyway.” Ignoring that little nagging voice that added, somehow I don’t think she’ll mind the change in plans too much, he continued, “But anyway, you coming tonight or what?”
Zack shrugged. “Why not? Just let me get changed, all right? I’ll meet you at the gate.” He paused. “Want a bike of your own?”
It was a tempting thought, but Cloud brushed it aside. “Nah, might as well share. Less paperwork that way.”
“And Odin knows we see enough of it already.” Zack nodded. “See you at the main entrance in fifteen.”
Forty-five minutes later the pair entered the Flying Dragon, both in civilian clothes. Tifa smiled at them from her place behind the bar, passing a drink to a familiar redhead. Her boss had started teaching her a little bartending when things were slow, and she’d confided to Cloud she did enjoy it, though she got a little restless staying behind the bar too long.
“Well well, if it isn’t SOLDIER’s own dynamic duo.” Looking over his shoulder, the Turk at the bar waved them over. “What brings you boys to this neck of the woods?”
Cloud rolled his eyes, but Zack just gave an easy smile, sauntering over to the bar without hesitation. He’d had his share of disagreements with Reno, sure, but the Turk was still a halfway decent guy, and did know how to have a good time. As long as they avoided certain topics of conversation, they got along just fine. “What, you think I’m honestly gonna let you drink up all the good stuff?” he drawled as Cloud reluctantly followed.
“Who, me? I’d worry more about you doing that.” The redhead grinned. “But c’mon, have a seat.”
Zack did, much to Cloud’s disgruntlement. The blond would rather not be any nearer the Turk than necessary, especially off-duty, but with Tifa behind the bar he might as well sit next to Zack.
“So,” Tifa broke in, smiling slightly at her newest customers, “what can I get you two?”
Cloud shrugged, looking at Zack. The other SOLDIER, knowing full well his companion had almost no opinion when it came to drinks, placed an order. Handing over their glasses, Tifa moved to take care of another customer. At his gesture she gave him a new glass, collecting the old and carrying it to the sink.
Cloud’s sharp SOLDIER eyes noted the small scrap of paper beneath the glass as she slid it off the bar, and he was rather surprised when she placed it under Reno’s newest glass when the Turk conveniently finished his drink shortly thereafter. The SOLDIER knew the Turks used the Dragon as an information source, but he hadn’t realized Bill had gotten Tifa to help out that way. He gave Reno a sharp look, and received only a sardonic smile in return. “So, Cloud, have you met Tifa yet?”
As if you didn’t already know, Cloud thought, still glaring. If Tifa was being integrated into their system of informants, the Turks probably already had a file an inch thick on her.
“Oh, I’ve known Cloud a long time,” Tifa replied. “We came from the same hometown.”
“Ah.” Reno looked between the pair with a look that could only be classified as a leer. “Didn’t realize you were so well acquainted.”
Cloud’s eyes narrowed. “Reno—”
“I don’t suppose,” the redhead continued, eyes bright with mischief, “you’d be willing to share your girlfriend here, hmmm?”
Cloud spluttered, and Tifa went beet red. Zack tried to look sympathetic, but it wasn’t really working; he was clearly struggling to hide his amusement at their reactions. Cloud silently repeated his promise to Tseng not to rearrange Reno’s face, lest he forget himself and put the man through a wall. He opened his mouth to snarl a retort—
“Oh, no,” Tifa interjected hurriedly, “Cloud’s like a brother to me.”
Not again! Cloud bit back a groan. Hopefully Tifa was just trying to put Reno off and wasn’t actually serious. This was getting old.
“I see. So, you available, then?” Reno leaned over, giving Tifa the once-over, eyes lingering on her hips and breasts.
Cloud was slowly turning purple with suppressed anger, and Tifa herself was still red in the face as she shook her head firmly. This was hardly the first time she had been propositioned at her job, but no matter how many times it happened it still made her really uncomfortable. “Not interested,” she said shortly.
“And if you try to press the issue, you’re likely to regret it,” Cloud muttered, giving Reno a dark look as he sipped his drink. The Turk, who undoubtedly knew full well Cloud had started showing Tifa some of the same martial arts techniques Vincent had taught him, just raised his glass in silent acknowledgement.
Trying to lighten the atmosphere, Zack started up a conversation with Reno about some of the newest company gossip, acting as a much-appreciated buffer. For his part, Cloud kept one eye on Tifa throughout the dialogue, managing to snag her attention when the other two got into a heated discussion on the newest batch of SOLDIER candidates. “Did you mean it, what you said to Reno?” he asked quietly.
“Cloud…” Tifa sighed and picked up a glass, wiping it dry with the towel in her hand. She studied the transparent material as she replied. “I just… I’m not ready for what you want. I’m sorry. You’re my friend, practically like an older brother to me some days… a protective older brother, I might add,” she teased as she looked up at him, reminding the SOLDIER of how he’d bristled.
“Well, I guess that’s better than being like a younger brother,” Cloud muttered, downing the rest of his drink in a single gulp. Dammit, getting shot down was depressing. He was really getting tired of his attempts at relationships going absolutely nowhere.
“Who said that?” Tifa looked sympathetic.
“Aeris.”
The brunette winced. “Oh.” She hadn’t known there’d been anything going on there… though it did explain why Aeris seemed so determined to pair them up.
There was an awkward silence between the two of them for a while. Cloud stifled a sigh as he stared glumly at his glass. Why didn’t these things ever work out the way he wanted them to? He liked to think he was a decent person, polite and even-tempered; he had a steady job with good prospects, and he wasn’t exactly ugly, either…
If I were a girl I’d be half in love with you already.
He shook his head firmly —Zack had been joking, and had nothing to do with any of this. But honestly, he did have a lot of positive qualities, dammit, so why…?
“…It’s not your fault, really,” Tifa eventually said, focusing on drying glasses. “It’s just that… well, it’s only been about six months since I left home, and I’m not ready to settle into anything long-term yet, you know? I want a chance to see more of what’s out there so I can do what I really want to do with my life. I don’t know what that is, yet,” she added when Cloud opened his mouth to speak, “but…” She trailed off. “Can’t we just be friends for now?”
The blond looked pensively at his drink, moving the glass so the alcohol swirled around. “Does ‘for now’ mean ‘I’d be willing to give you a chance in the future once I figure myself out,’ or what?”
Tifa smiled unevenly. “Maybe,” she allowed.
Cloud frowned, not liking that answer. “‘Maybe’?” he pressed.
The brunette sighed. “Cloud,” she began, “you’re a really great guy and everything, but, well, I’m not really very comfortable with… some stuff.”
Not comfortable with some stuff? Oh, was that why she was barely letting him touch her? “What, not even kissing?” His voice was skeptical. She couldn’t possibly be serious, right?
“Well… yeah,” Tifa said defensively. “That, and sometimes touching, and—” she went pink “—other stuff.”
“Sex, you mean.”
Her face turned even redder. “Yeah, sex,” she confirmed, a defiant edge to her voice. “‘Scuse me for not being all ‘anything goes, yippee, let’s do it already’ about it like all these crazy cityfolk.”
Cloud felt a stab of guilt at that, remembering how off-putting that sort of thing had been to him when he’d first come to Midgar. And as far as the people of Nibelheim went, his mom had been pretty open-minded on the topic of sex; he could only imagine what Tifa had — or hadn’t — been told about it. Not quite willing to just let the issue go, though, he muttered, “You could’ve said something, you know.”
“Well, I’m saying something now, loud and clear.” Tifa stood up a little straighter, expression resolute. “I’m not ready for a relationship with you. I like you, but not in the way you seem to want me to. And I don’t know when or if that’s going to change.”
Cloud bit back a sigh of frustration. “Fine,” he said shortly, his grip on his drink tightening until Tifa yelped and jumped back, and he discovered himself with a handful of ice and glass shards, dripping alcohol onto the counter.
Reno raised an eyebrow at them. “SOLDIERs’ romantic squabbles always this lively?”
Cloud ignored the question, and it seemed like Tifa hadn’t even heard it, watching the blond somewhat uneasily even as she pulled out another rag to clean up with.
“Cloud, you okay?” Zack turned in his seat, reaching for his friend’s arm. “Let me see that…”
“It’s fine,” the other SOLDIER said flatly, tugging his hand away as he plucked a couple of pieces of glass out of his palm. “Nothing major.”
“Are you su—”
“It’s fine.” Rising, Cloud fished a 20-gil note out of his pocket, laying it on the counter. “Sorry ‘bout the mess.” And with that, he turned and briskly strode out of the bar.
He was about halfway to the station when a hand fell on his shoulder, startling him. “Hey, easy,” said Zack as the blond turned to face him, cutting off his instinctive strike. “I’m not a mugger, promise.”
“Zack?” he asked, surprise at seeing him overshadowing his annoyance at being followed. “What are you—?”
“Going home with a friend,” the other man said matter-of-factly. “What else?”
Cloud felt a twinge of guilt. “You didn’t have to cut your night out short because of me—”
“Shush,” Zack interrupted, shaking his head, giving him one of his warm, easy, almost-contagious smiles. “SOLDIERs stick together, remember?”
As usual — when they weren’t arguing, that is — the dark-haired man’s presence soothed Cloud’s stung feelings, somehow making the hurt seem a little less than it first was. “Yeah,” he said softly.
“That’s the spirit,” Zack declared, clapping him on the back. “Wanna spar for a bit when we get back, get your mind off it?” His smile turned into a grin. “Best of three, loser buys the winner lunch for the next week?”
Cloud almost smiled in spite of himself. “You and your ulterior motives.” But even as Zack, completely unapologetic, shrugged, he nodded. “You’re on.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“So,” Zack began, reaching for his sandwich again, “how about heading down to the Dragon for a drink later?”
“No thanks,” replied Cloud shortly. Usually he rather enjoyed lunches with Sephiroth and Zack like this, something they’d taken to doing every so often whenever all three of them were on base, but Zack had turned the conversation in a direction he really would’ve preferred it hadn’t gone. “I’m not really in the mood.”
“Oh, come on,” Zack said, exasperated. “It’s been three weeks and you’ve hardly left the compound. Don’t tell me you’re still sulking about that silly little spat.”
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at that, but wisely said nothing. Today they were eating in the General’s office instead of the mess hall; that had been Zack’s idea, coupled with vehement insistence that even if Cloud stayed a little later than just for lunch he wouldn’t be a distraction, as Sephiroth had suggested. Cloud still wasn’t quite sure he believed the dark-haired man’s assertions (and he was pretty sure Sephiroth didn’t either), but he’d gone along with it anyway… though now he found himself wishing he hadn’t, since the more private environment gave Zack far more freedom in terms of conversational topics.
“Honestly, Cloud,” he was saying, gesturing with his drink, “you’re really making way too huge a deal out of it. I know it sucks, but this kinda thing happens sometimes; all you can do is suck it up and get over it.”
“I know, I know,” the SOLDIER Second grumbled, stabbing a tomato on his plate with a little more force than necessary. “It’s just so frustrating.” In more ways than one.
From the look Zack was giving him, Cloud might as well have said that addendum out loud. “You know,” he ventured after a brief silence, “if you’re really that—”
“No,” the blond said with a heavy sigh. “I’m not going to pay someone just so I can get laid.” How many times was he going to have to say this — and even to Zack, of all people? “Besides, even without worrying about the possibility of disease, it’s still dangerous. You never know who might be an assassin or a spy or—”
Zack stared. “You’re joking, right?”
“It is a possibility,” Sephiroth pointed out reasonably. “It’s especially common in political circles—”
“Not you too, Seph,” the dark-haired man said with a groan, shaking his head. “I mean, I’d expect Turk-level paranoia like this from Cloud, but come on. Sometimes — more often than not, if you can believe it — a call girl really is just a call girl.” He paused, then added, “Or a call boy, as the case may be. But really, Cloud, I’m sure a guy like you could find someone without having to pay for it…”
The younger SOLDIER merely shook his head. Zack did have a point — it wasn’t like he hadn’t been approached by people, both men and women, from in the SOLDIER program and outside it. Hell, his current roommate had made it clear more than once that he’d be quite willing to fool around a little. But…
He bit back a sigh. There were two types of intimate physical relationships between company personnel: the quick and casual liaisons SOLDIERs often indulged in to take the edge off, which generally happened only a couple times before the people involved went their separate ways, and the far rarer couplings that lasted longer and were much more exclusive, like what Zack and Sephiroth seemed to have. Most of the offers Cloud had gotten had been of the no-strings-attached sort, and… well, to be perfectly honest, he would’ve preferred something more solid.
But beggars can’t really be choosers, can they? Maybe the SOLDIERs who teased him about still being a virgin were right — being picky wouldn’t get him anything except more frustrated. “I guess,” Cloud eventually said aloud, hoping Zack would change the subject. Thinking about it so much didn’t make it any easier, that was for sure.
The other man was giving him that look again, the one that said he totally knew there was more going on than Cloud was letting on, but for a wonder he didn’t press the issue. “In any case,” he said after a long moment, “I think you should apologize to Tifa.”
Cloud blinked. “Huh?” This was… definitely not the change in subject he’d been expecting.
“She tried to let you down lightly, but you’re being kind of a dick about it, with the whole just up and walking out and not saying a single thing to her since thing,” Zack pointed out, draining the last of his drink. “I know you guys’re pretty good friends, and I’d hate to see you blow that friendship on something like this.”
The younger SOLDIER almost snorted at that — considering his situation with Aeris, Zack hardly had room to talk there. He was tempted to say something along those lines, in fact, but Sephiroth caught his eye and shook his head a little, so he didn’t. Perhaps— okay, no, it was selfish of the General to be so insistent on avoiding all mention of Zack’s former girlfriend, but… well, Zack tended to get a bit touchy whenever anyone mentioned her anyway, and Cloud had to admit he generally tried stayed away from the topic because of that. Granted, with the whole Sephiroth issue that situation wasn’t anywhere near as cut-and-dry as his was, but… Zack really should at least say something to Aeris at some point. I’m not gonna bring that up when Sephiroth’s around, though — that’d just be really awkward.
Zack cleared his throat, looking at him expectantly, and so Cloud shook himself out of his thoughts. “All right, all right,” he finally conceded. “I’ll go.”
The other man smiled, pleased. “Good.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Flying Dragon was always hopping on the weekends, and Tifa had told her friends that they weren’t likely to see much of her then, that they should come other nights. So it was that she was rather surprised to see Cloud show up about halfway through the after-theater rush — alone, no less, which was even more unusual; as far as she knew, he never went out drinking without Zack along (or perhaps, considering his distaste for alcohol, it was the other way around).
She had planned to head over to the little two-person table he took, at least say hello, maybe try to see if three weeks had cooled his temper at all… but Annelie, the pretty little redhead server whose hair she envied like nothing else, beat her to it, stopping beside his table and smiling warmly as she struck up a conversation.
Tifa scowled. Annelie and the other servers were all nice people, but it really bothered her how some of them would stop by a customer’s table and waste time there for ten, fifteen minutes at a time (like Marten over there, charming a pair of tipsy businesswomen), sometimes disappearing altogether for far too long — and come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Lora at all in the past hour. And the worst of it was that Bill didn’t seem to mind at all, when he even noticed. She sighed. It was awfully frustrating sometimes.
“Ooh, is that Cloud?” came a voice just behind her, and she turned to see Lora leaning against the bar. “And here alone on a Friday night, no less… how unusual.”
“Where have you been?” Tifa demanded, unable to keep a hint of irritation out of her voice.
“Just had a bit of work to take care of in the back, dear,” the other woman said easily, tucking a bit of blond hair behind her ear. She patted Tifa’s cheek. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” Straightening, she glanced at the order Tifa had been getting together, took the tray of drinks, and waded right back among the crowded tables like she’d never been gone.
Tifa shook her head. Lora wasn’t more than a couple years older than her, and yet she still had this weirdly affectionate way about her, like a big sister or someone’s mother or something.
…“Or something,” indeed, she thought with a sigh as the blonde, having delivered her order, stopped at another table, smiling winsomely at the gentlemen there.
It took another fifteen minutes for things to calm down enough that Tifa could get over to see Cloud, at least without neglecting her duties. Not that she was technically a server, anyway — she’d been hired as a bouncer, though on busy nights like this she helped out wherever she could. But with Bill behind the counter and the large group of rowdy university students finally leaving, she had a few minutes to relax.
Tifa felt rather apprehensive as she approached Cloud’s table. She had no idea how he’d react after their almost-argument three weeks ago. Yeah, she had missed him in the weeks he’d been gone, but it had been a lot like she’d felt when he’d gone on long missions before they’d started dating — a ready acceptance that he needed to be away for a time, which only confirmed in her mind that what she felt for Cloud wasn’t the love he’d wanted from her. Except… she felt almost guilty about the whole thing, as dumb as that was.
Honestly, though, what had bothered Tifa most about it was knowing that he was in Midgar but making himself scarce. Cloud had been trying to arrange at least one morning practice session a week to work with both Aeris and Tifa on the staff and martial arts, respectively, and he hadn’t shown since they’d broken up. For her part, Aeris hadn’t said anything more than ‘boys can be such jerks’ and given Tifa a hug when she'd heard what had happened.
In any case, Tifa definitely didn’t want to lose her friendship with Cloud; he was one of the few familiar things she had in this crazy city. So, despite the awkwardness she felt, she forced herself to walk over to his table a few minutes after Annelie had left.
“Hey,” Cloud echoed, looking up at her from his glass, eyes bright even in the dim lighting of the bar, almost emphasizing his… differences from much of their clientele. Still, something had changed in them since the last time she had looked in them — they were still warm and kind, but less appraisingly appreciative, much to Tifa’s relief. Whether or not he’d let his feelings for her go in the past three weeks, they weren’t so uncomfortably obvious and making her second-guess her decision to break it off.
“I came down here to apologize,” Cloud finally said, breaking Tifa out of her thoughts. “What happened wasn’t… exactly your fault.”
Tifa shook her head. “I should’ve said something about how I felt sooner,” she admitted. “I dunno. I just kept waiting for that something to happen, but…”
Cloud stayed quiet for a long moment after she trailed off. “Well,” he began, “if you wanted something to happen, I could have arranged it…”
The martial artist felt her face go hot — Cloud’s tone made it perfectly clear what he was referencing. “That’s not what I meant!” she hissed.
“I know, I know.” Tifa relaxed as she saw Cloud grin, his eyes mischievous. “Honestly, though, you’ve got to lighten up on that issue. No need to flail so much every time someone mentions it.”
She snorted. “Don’t get all patronizing on me, Cloud. Just ‘cause I’m not comfortable with the idea doesn’t mean I’m completely ignorant.”
Cloud gave her a skeptical look.
Tifa glanced around for a customer to rescue her from this, but the other were being far too efficient. “Look,” she finally said in a low voice, “I know the basic gist of it, okay? I’ll figure out whatever else I need to when the time comes.” Not that that’ll be anytime soon.
Instead of backing off, however, the blond frowned at that. “Do you know how to protect yourself?”
Tifa scowled at that. “I’m no pushover, Cloud! You of all people should know that—”
“From disease and pregnancy, I mean.” Cloud looked at her, face serious. “Even I knew that much before coming to Midgar. So, do you?” Tifa could do nothing else than reluctantly shake her head. “Then you better learn. Just in case something happens.”
“I’m not going to have sex anytime soon, Cloud!” Tifa hissed. “I don’t plan on just sleeping around!” Face red, she looked away from the SOLDIER. She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation.
“You may not be planning on it, but… well, accidents happen, and I wouldn’t want to see you end up in a bad situation. I know you could probably fight off anyone who’d give you a hard time, but sometimes people just get carried away, especially with this stuff involved.” Cloud tapped his half-finished glass of liquor. “Hell, they even make the SOLDIERs sit through a talk on alcohol because we can have some of the same problems after a treatment as people do when they’re drunk.” He straightened in his seat. “Why don’t you talk to Lora about it? You seem to get along okay.”
Tifa was grateful Cloud wasn’t going to insist on giving her details about this — Gaea, wouldn’t that be embarrassing, for both of them? — but… why Lora, of all people? “I don’t know,” she said, her voice neutral. “Maybe I’ll just ask Elmyra.”
Cloud somehow managed to raise just one eyebrow at her, a trick she desperately wished she could learn. “Those armbands aren’t just for decoration, you know.”
Tifa blinked. “…I don’t follow.” Sure, she had noticed the colored armbands some of her coworkers wore nightly, but she had never understood what they were for.
“Well…” He hesitated for a moment, then said bluntly, “They’re markers for members of the sex workers’ union.”
“What?” Tifa flushed at her outburst, biting her lip as every eye in the room turned towards her.
But Cloud came to her rescue, rising from his table and leaving enough gil to cover his bill. “Let’s go outside. I think you need to take a break.”
Tifa shook her head firmly. “It’ll be crowded out there this time of night. There’s a break room in the back.” The pair ducked behind the bar, Tifa trying to ignore the stares at their backs. When they had settled into two of the worn chairs in the break room, Tifa tried to explain. “It’s just — Bill said no whoring—”
“He probably only deals with folks certified by the union,” Cloud mused aloud. “Safer that way, I guess. They have to have regular checkups and stuff, or so I hear.”
“Is everything all right?” Lora asked as she entered. “You two were causing a bit of a scene out there…”
“Fine,” Tifa said shortly, the other woman’s presence making her clearly wary.
Lora looked between the pair. “Not like you to bring anyone back here, Tifa… Did you want me to leave so you can spend a bit of time with your boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Tifa asserted.
“She dumped me,” Cloud said at the same time.
“Oh, really?” Lora’s eyes lit up, and she slinked over towards him. “I don’t suppose you came seeking some company, then?”
“Actually,” Cloud admitted, “I just dropped by to apologize. We had a bit of a fight.”
Lora tsked sadly. “Pity. But you know, I’d give such a handsome SOLDIER a discount…” she murmured to Cloud, but not soft enough Tifa didn’t hear her. The woman leaned even closer, giving the blond a good view of her bosom. “What d’you say?”
Cloud shifted back in his chair. “Uh, thanks, but I’m not really interested,” he said gruffly. As Lora pursed her lips in pouty disappointment, he continued, “Actually, though, there is something we’d like to ask you about. There are, uh, some things Tifa needs to—”
“Cloud!” Tifa refused to admit it came out almost as a squeak as Lora turned to give her an appraising look.
“For safety’s sake!” Cloud hastened to add, and was that just a hint of a blush? “Contraception and that sort of stuff.”
“Damn, girl, you don’t even know that much?” Lora shook her head disbelievingly. “If I’d known, I would’ve told you months ago. You really need to be careful in Midgar, here in the slums especially.” She turned back to Cloud. “No problem at all. I can pull some things together and make sure she knows where to get anything she’ll need.”
“I don’t need—” Tifa began.
“Better safe than sorry,” Lora interrupted, voice firm. “You really should have some hands-on experience, but anything’s better than nothing. I’ll do it free of charge, even.” She leaned in close to Tifa, eyes bright, and the brunette suppressed the nervous little shiver she felt at that. “But you know,” the other woman murmured, her voice low and rich, “if you want to repay me somehow, I’ll never say no to kisses from a girl like you.”
Tifa simply stared at her with wide eyes, sure she must’ve heard Lora wrong. The other woman chuckled, leaning forward to speak softly into her ear. “And if you ever want to change jobs, just let me know. I can get you introduced to the right people. You’ve got a great figure for it, and you’re strong enough you’d make a killing with the SOLIDERs.” Lora kissed her lingeringly on the cheek, finally pulling away.
Tifa sputtered. “What— why did you—”
“Why not?” She smiled, leaning on Cloud’s chair. “You’re drop-dead gorgeous.”
“What, giving us up for the SOLDIERs, Lora?” came a voice as a woman wearing a Turk uniform entered. “I’m disappointed.”
Lora immediately straightened, fishing a key out of her pocket. “You know I always have time for you,” she purred at the red-haired newcomer. She walked over to the door on the other side of the room, which had been locked for as long as Tifa had been here, and opened it, gesturing for the Turk precede her inside. Tifa caught just a glimpse of a bed inside the room before Lora shut the door behind her.
“…Feel like going on a walk?” Cloud suggested after a moment of awkward silence.
“Good idea,” Tifa agreed quickly, all but running for the door to avoid hearing anything worse than the quiet murmurs emanating from the other room. The pair quickly left out the back, walking along the dark alleyway to the main street, busy at the current hour with friends and lovers enjoying a night out on the town. Tifa stayed quiet for a few minutes, grateful Cloud was leaving her alone with her thoughts.
“Why would she do that anyway?” she finally mused aloud.
“Why would who do what?” asked Cloud.
“Lora. Why would she…?” Tifa waved her hand vaguely.
“Have sex for a living?”
“Yeah,” Tifa muttered, flushed with embarrassment.
Cloud shrugged. “I don’t know; you’d have to ask her. Maybe she just… really likes sex?”
“But… with other women?” She paused. “How does that even work, anyway?”
Even remembering when he’d been in Tifa’s position, the blond couldn’t help a smile at her shocked expression. “You’re askin’ the wrong person for that, but… well, yeah. Some men like other men, and some women like other women.”
Tifa momentarily froze at that, recalling how Lora had made her feel. Being around Cloud hadn’t ever done anything like that to her — but did that mean she…? She shook her head. “That’s so weird…”
“Confused the hell out of me when Zack first explained it to me,” Cloud admitted. “I don’t know if Lora genuinely likes women more or what, but she might.”
“….People can like both?” Tifa felt a little of her unease subside.
Cloud nodded. “Happens all the time in SOLDIER.”
Tifa thought about that, reflecting on the groups of SOLDIERs she’d seen at the Dragon while she’d been working. “…Scott and Paul?”
“Been together since before I even knew ‘em,” Cloud told her. “It was a little weird when I first found out about it, but… I dunno. They just… really fit well together, you know?”
Tifa pondered that statement as they continued to walk, eventually settling on one of the benches in a nearby garden, planted courtesy of the MMG Project. Cloud was right; Scott and Paul had an easy, comfortable warmth to their relationship, a genuine depth that few other couples or friends she knew had. On a sudden whim, she asked, “Kinda like you and Zack?”
“Huh?” Cloud blinked, clearly surprised by her words… and then shook his head firmly. “Nuh uh, no way! We’re just friends.”
Tifa nodded at that, though she had to admit she was surprised at the vehemence of his reply. Had something happened between them in the past? Cloud had said it was common in SOLDIER… but it was still so weird to think about… “Just how do you know so much about this stuff, anyway?” she said after a moment.
“I’ve had my share of talks.” Cloud looked a bit embarrassed. “On my last birthday a bunch of the guys, uh, arranged for some ‘education’ for me.” He squirmed a bit at the look Tifa gave him. “They dragged me down to the Honeybee Inn, purchased the services of one of the, ah, ladies for the evening, and informed me that if I left the place before dawn there was going to be one hell of a training session in store for me.”
Tifa felt distinctly uncomfortable. “You didn’t—”
“No!” Cloud looked upset at the very thought. “Of course not. I don’t sleep with girls for hire.”
“Why not?” she asked, genuinely curious. In her work she had encountered a lot of men, soldiers in particular, who would have taken advantage of that situation in a heartbeat. Especially if someone else had paid for it.
“Because I didn’t know if it was safe,” he explained. “I’m not gonna get involved with anyone I can’t trust implicitly — and even if I did trust her, I was pretty sure she wasn’t strong enough. We ended up spending most of the night talking; one way or another, I did get quite an education, even if it wasn’t quite what they intended.”
Tifa couldn’t help being relieved for some reason that Cloud hadn’t… done anything with that girl. But thinking about what he said reminded her of Lora’s words. “Why’s everyone keep going on about this ‘strong enough’ thing, anyway?”
“SOLDIERs, especially those higher than Third Class, have to be very careful with the unenhanced. It’s very easy when you’re, uh… distracted to hurt someone by accident, and pretty seriously, too.” He shook his head. “I never want that to happen.”
Tifa paled at that, remembering how effortlessly Cloud had shattered his glass at the bar three weeks ago. No wonder he always tried to be so careful. “Um, how can you tell?” she asked. “If someone’s strong enough, I mean.”
“Oh, well,” he said casually, though he was looking across the garden rather than at her, “if they don’t have to overwork themselves to keep up with me, or can hold their own against me in a sparring match, that’s usually a good sign.”
Tifa found herself flushing again at the reminder that Cloud had wanted more from their relationship than dates or even kisses, but… at the same time, she was touched that he’d trust her that much, and once again felt an irrational pang of guilt about their breakup. She shook her head, looking at her watch — and sighing. The late-night rush would be starting soon. “I better go…”
“Should probably head back topside myself,” Cloud said, nodding.
“See you Wednesday morning for practice?” Tifa asked as he turned away.
The blond gave her a bright grin, almost Zacklike in its intensity. “You bet.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
ShinRa’s executive board consisted of the most powerful people in the world. They controlled the life of all those on the Planet, even held the life of the Planet itself in their hands. They let nothing get in the way of their goals. They had absolute control. They were omnipotent.
They were sitting in the dark again.
“This is becoming quite irritating,” Matheson observed as the emergency generators finally kicked in, restoring light to the room. Alas, the projector did not restart, making it more difficult for him to continue his presentation on the progress being made with the MMG Project and in the Science Department.
“What is this, the third time this week?” Heidegger demanded, puffing up with rage. “We can’t stand for this!”
Reeve was frowning, looking pensive. The terrorists that had been plaguing Midgar for the last few months had done their share of damage, but normally the power grid could handle outages more easily, and there was less downtime, if any, between the outage and ShinRa Tower’s backup systems taking over. “They must have hit something major this time, not just one of the converters or a relay,” he mused aloud, and the room went quiet as each executive present reached for their PHS, asking their underlings for a report.
“…They took out the No. 1 Reactor!”
“This is unbelievable!”
“Gods… It’ll take forever to rebuild. And the costs…”
Reeve silently cursed his fellow board members as they babbled on about costs and repair schedules. Their first care was always for the money, not the reactor workers or the civilians unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast. “Matheson and I will see about implementing more of our alternative energy sources until the Lifestream settles enough to begin rebuilding,” he broke in. With any luck, the replacements would be efficient enough that they wouldn’t need to rebuild at all.
“Do that,” Rufus ordered crisply. The young president looked around the table. “I will not tolerate this. Sephiroth, Tseng, I want this stopped immediately. Capture the perpetrators if you can; kill them if you can’t. Make this your top priority.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud walked into the gym feeling better than he had in days. Zack had been right — going to talk to Tifa had been a good idea. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, even if the conversation hadn’t gone exactly how he expected. Frankly, considering where she had been working, he’d though she’d have gotten a better education than that. Maybe it was just as well that things hadn’t gotten anywhere. SOLDIERs might have a hard time having children, but when they did get a woman pregnant, there were all sorts of complications that could arise.
“Heya, Cloud!” came a voice from the other side of the gym, as Jack Rogers waved him over. “Good to see you lookin’ a bit cheerier.” A grin. “Finally make up with your girlfriend?”
One of the problems with SOLDIER being small in comparison to the rest of the army was that everyone knew the gossip about everybody else — and so everyone was constantly teasing Cloud about his virgin status. “We came to an understanding,” he said evasively.
“You sound just like Sephiroth, talking like that.” The First Class laughed.
Cloud flushed. “It’s true!” Thinking about it, Cloud had to admit to himself that he hadn’t really loved Tifa the same way Zack had Aeris. That breakup had led to Zack moping for weeks; Cloud, on the other hand, had mostly been… well, face it, you were mostly angry at not having things go the way you wanted them to. He bit back a sigh. Tifa was a good friend, and really attractive. So what if he hadn’t been head over heels for her? She would have been a great partner to try some things with, even if it hadn’t been a permanent relationship.
“Wanna spar?” Rogers broke into his thoughts, gesturing with his practice blade. “I’ve been working on my own some, but I’d love to have a partner.”
“Sure,” Cloud replied. He chose a practice blade from the rack against the side of the room, stretching a little as he headed back over to the other SOLDIER. “All righty, ready when you are.”
He had fought Rogers before, so he wasn’t surprised when the other SOLDIER lunged at him, plowing into him like a tank. Cloud executed a complicated counter, parrying the blade while slipping to the side and bringing his free hand up to shove Rogers forward. The other man ducked out of the way in an attempt to dodge, and Cloud, not wanting to give him a chance to recover, lunging to attack him before he could rise to his feet. The First Class blocked it, but not without difficulty.
Suddenly, the lights went out.
Rogers hesitated for just a fraction of a second at this unexpected turn of events. Cloud, trained long ago by Vincent to take advantage of anything he could, executed a textbook-perfect disarming move that sent the SOLDIER First’s practice blade flying out of his hands.
The lights came back on.
Rogers shook his head, retrieving his sword. “Geez. You don’t let anything stop you, huh?”
Cloud shrugged. “Gotta take every advantage you can.”
“They teach you that in officer school?” the other man asked, teasing.
Cloud blinked. “…Officer school?”
“Thought you might have started the classes for it by now.” Rogers shrugged. “Most of us figure the reason you aren’t a First yet is because they want you to do officer training, first. Unless medical flagged you?”
Cloud shook his head. “Everything was fine last time. And I haven’t heard anything about this officer school stuff, either.”
“Well, I bet you’ll probably end up getting a brief command mission sometime soon, and if things go reasonably well, they’ll put you in the next class — starts next month, I think. Survive that, and you’ll be off to medical for pre-promotion screening.” Rogers smiled. “Considering how closely you’re attached to Zack, we all expected it, truth be told. Frankly, SOLDIER is big enough we could use two Zacks.”
“Why would you need two of me?”
“Zack!” Cloud turned, frowning as he noticed Zack fully geared up. “What’s wrong?”
“Seph’s got a mission for us. But it can wait a second,” the dark-haired man replied with a grin. “Seriously, why would you want two of me? C’mon, I’m sure it’s something juicy…”
Cloud rolled his eyes, but Rogers just laughed. “You know Sephiroth could use two competent aides, what with how SOLDIER’s gettin’ bigger, and Cloud seems to be turning into another you some days.”
Zack’s grin widened. “Nahh. He’s way too serious to be another me.” He clapped Cloud on the shoulder. “Come on, kiddo. We’ve got some regulars to round up. I’ll brief you on the way.” Bidding farewell to Rogers, the pair left the gym. “You haven’t been around any large quantities of Mako lately, right?” the older man asked quietly.
Cloud shook his head. “Only if materia and other SOLDIERs count. Why?”
“Because AVALANCHE—”
“The ecoterrorist group.” Cloud nodded. “Vincent’s mentioned them.”
“Well…” Zack lowered his voice even further. “They managed to blow up the No. 1 Reactor.”
“…What?” Cloud managed to keep his voice down only by sheer willpower.
“Yeah. The Prez isn’t happy, so we’re the lucky bastards who get to deal with it.” Zack swung around towards the elevators. “Go grab your gear and meet me in the lobby ASAP. I should have a team ready in ten minutes.” He smiled grimly. “We’re going to see what those bastards left behind at the reactor site and use it to nail them to the wall.”
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Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: ZackxSeph, Assorted Past
Rating (Overall): PG-13
Summary: Well, face it, you were mostly angry at not having things go the way you wanted them to.
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
“If you’re not up to anything tonight, wanna get out of the compound for a while?”
Zack froze, doing a dramatic double take. “Do my ears deceive me, or did Cloud Strife just ask if I wanted to go out for a night on the town? I may just pass out in shock.”
“Knock it off, Zack.” Cloud rolled his eyes at his friend.
“Would our destination be the Flying Dragon, by any chance?” the other SOLDIER asked, a knowing twinkle in his eyes.
“Yeah,” Cloud muttered, ears pink.
“Going to visit your girlfriend?” The dark-haired man’s grin was teasing. “Maybe I shouldn’t come along after all. Give you a bit of alone time…”
“She’s going to be working,” Cloud reminded him. “And besides… I’m not sure ‘girlfriend’ is the right word for it.”
“Really?” Zack asked. “Even after you’ve been on, what, three dates now? Sounds like ‘girlfriend’ to me.” He nudged the other SOLDIER’s arm, wearing a sly smile. “Well, then… if she’s working tonight, when’s your next hot date?”
Cloud sighed. Little did Zack know how frustratingly skittish Tifa was being about this whole thing. Three dates and they still hadn’t even kissed — unless the quick, awkward peck on the cheek they’d tried last time before Tifa disappeared into Aeris’s house counted. He wasn’t about to give up, though. “I dunno. The only night I’m free next week is Tuesday—”
“Tuesday?” Zack echoed, frowning. “I thought we were trying to set up a session with Seph for that night, since last week didn’t work out.”
“Oh man,” Cloud groaned, hand hitting his forehead, “how could I have forgotten?” What had begun as impromptu training sessions about once a month, during which each of them pit themselves against each other to keep their skills and speed up, had evolved into intense three-way sparring matches. Though he was always a little sore after these workouts, Cloud loved them, loved being able to fight on an equal footing with Sephiroth and Zack — at least, as “equal” as things could be for a SOLDIER Second Class going up against two of the outfit’s finest Firsts — and he wouldn’t miss them for anything. “Count me in, of course.”
The other man grinned. “Awesome. But what about Tifa, then?”
“Oh, I’ll just ask her about the week after,” Cloud told him. “Got a more flexible schedule then, anyway.” Ignoring that little nagging voice that added, somehow I don’t think she’ll mind the change in plans too much, he continued, “But anyway, you coming tonight or what?”
Zack shrugged. “Why not? Just let me get changed, all right? I’ll meet you at the gate.” He paused. “Want a bike of your own?”
It was a tempting thought, but Cloud brushed it aside. “Nah, might as well share. Less paperwork that way.”
“And Odin knows we see enough of it already.” Zack nodded. “See you at the main entrance in fifteen.”
Forty-five minutes later the pair entered the Flying Dragon, both in civilian clothes. Tifa smiled at them from her place behind the bar, passing a drink to a familiar redhead. Her boss had started teaching her a little bartending when things were slow, and she’d confided to Cloud she did enjoy it, though she got a little restless staying behind the bar too long.
“Well well, if it isn’t SOLDIER’s own dynamic duo.” Looking over his shoulder, the Turk at the bar waved them over. “What brings you boys to this neck of the woods?”
Cloud rolled his eyes, but Zack just gave an easy smile, sauntering over to the bar without hesitation. He’d had his share of disagreements with Reno, sure, but the Turk was still a halfway decent guy, and did know how to have a good time. As long as they avoided certain topics of conversation, they got along just fine. “What, you think I’m honestly gonna let you drink up all the good stuff?” he drawled as Cloud reluctantly followed.
“Who, me? I’d worry more about you doing that.” The redhead grinned. “But c’mon, have a seat.”
Zack did, much to Cloud’s disgruntlement. The blond would rather not be any nearer the Turk than necessary, especially off-duty, but with Tifa behind the bar he might as well sit next to Zack.
“So,” Tifa broke in, smiling slightly at her newest customers, “what can I get you two?”
Cloud shrugged, looking at Zack. The other SOLDIER, knowing full well his companion had almost no opinion when it came to drinks, placed an order. Handing over their glasses, Tifa moved to take care of another customer. At his gesture she gave him a new glass, collecting the old and carrying it to the sink.
Cloud’s sharp SOLDIER eyes noted the small scrap of paper beneath the glass as she slid it off the bar, and he was rather surprised when she placed it under Reno’s newest glass when the Turk conveniently finished his drink shortly thereafter. The SOLDIER knew the Turks used the Dragon as an information source, but he hadn’t realized Bill had gotten Tifa to help out that way. He gave Reno a sharp look, and received only a sardonic smile in return. “So, Cloud, have you met Tifa yet?”
As if you didn’t already know, Cloud thought, still glaring. If Tifa was being integrated into their system of informants, the Turks probably already had a file an inch thick on her.
“Oh, I’ve known Cloud a long time,” Tifa replied. “We came from the same hometown.”
“Ah.” Reno looked between the pair with a look that could only be classified as a leer. “Didn’t realize you were so well acquainted.”
Cloud’s eyes narrowed. “Reno—”
“I don’t suppose,” the redhead continued, eyes bright with mischief, “you’d be willing to share your girlfriend here, hmmm?”
Cloud spluttered, and Tifa went beet red. Zack tried to look sympathetic, but it wasn’t really working; he was clearly struggling to hide his amusement at their reactions. Cloud silently repeated his promise to Tseng not to rearrange Reno’s face, lest he forget himself and put the man through a wall. He opened his mouth to snarl a retort—
“Oh, no,” Tifa interjected hurriedly, “Cloud’s like a brother to me.”
Not again! Cloud bit back a groan. Hopefully Tifa was just trying to put Reno off and wasn’t actually serious. This was getting old.
“I see. So, you available, then?” Reno leaned over, giving Tifa the once-over, eyes lingering on her hips and breasts.
Cloud was slowly turning purple with suppressed anger, and Tifa herself was still red in the face as she shook her head firmly. This was hardly the first time she had been propositioned at her job, but no matter how many times it happened it still made her really uncomfortable. “Not interested,” she said shortly.
“And if you try to press the issue, you’re likely to regret it,” Cloud muttered, giving Reno a dark look as he sipped his drink. The Turk, who undoubtedly knew full well Cloud had started showing Tifa some of the same martial arts techniques Vincent had taught him, just raised his glass in silent acknowledgement.
Trying to lighten the atmosphere, Zack started up a conversation with Reno about some of the newest company gossip, acting as a much-appreciated buffer. For his part, Cloud kept one eye on Tifa throughout the dialogue, managing to snag her attention when the other two got into a heated discussion on the newest batch of SOLDIER candidates. “Did you mean it, what you said to Reno?” he asked quietly.
“Cloud…” Tifa sighed and picked up a glass, wiping it dry with the towel in her hand. She studied the transparent material as she replied. “I just… I’m not ready for what you want. I’m sorry. You’re my friend, practically like an older brother to me some days… a protective older brother, I might add,” she teased as she looked up at him, reminding the SOLDIER of how he’d bristled.
“Well, I guess that’s better than being like a younger brother,” Cloud muttered, downing the rest of his drink in a single gulp. Dammit, getting shot down was depressing. He was really getting tired of his attempts at relationships going absolutely nowhere.
“Who said that?” Tifa looked sympathetic.
“Aeris.”
The brunette winced. “Oh.” She hadn’t known there’d been anything going on there… though it did explain why Aeris seemed so determined to pair them up.
There was an awkward silence between the two of them for a while. Cloud stifled a sigh as he stared glumly at his glass. Why didn’t these things ever work out the way he wanted them to? He liked to think he was a decent person, polite and even-tempered; he had a steady job with good prospects, and he wasn’t exactly ugly, either…
If I were a girl I’d be half in love with you already.
He shook his head firmly —Zack had been joking, and had nothing to do with any of this. But honestly, he did have a lot of positive qualities, dammit, so why…?
“…It’s not your fault, really,” Tifa eventually said, focusing on drying glasses. “It’s just that… well, it’s only been about six months since I left home, and I’m not ready to settle into anything long-term yet, you know? I want a chance to see more of what’s out there so I can do what I really want to do with my life. I don’t know what that is, yet,” she added when Cloud opened his mouth to speak, “but…” She trailed off. “Can’t we just be friends for now?”
The blond looked pensively at his drink, moving the glass so the alcohol swirled around. “Does ‘for now’ mean ‘I’d be willing to give you a chance in the future once I figure myself out,’ or what?”
Tifa smiled unevenly. “Maybe,” she allowed.
Cloud frowned, not liking that answer. “‘Maybe’?” he pressed.
The brunette sighed. “Cloud,” she began, “you’re a really great guy and everything, but, well, I’m not really very comfortable with… some stuff.”
Not comfortable with some stuff? Oh, was that why she was barely letting him touch her? “What, not even kissing?” His voice was skeptical. She couldn’t possibly be serious, right?
“Well… yeah,” Tifa said defensively. “That, and sometimes touching, and—” she went pink “—other stuff.”
“Sex, you mean.”
Her face turned even redder. “Yeah, sex,” she confirmed, a defiant edge to her voice. “‘Scuse me for not being all ‘anything goes, yippee, let’s do it already’ about it like all these crazy cityfolk.”
Cloud felt a stab of guilt at that, remembering how off-putting that sort of thing had been to him when he’d first come to Midgar. And as far as the people of Nibelheim went, his mom had been pretty open-minded on the topic of sex; he could only imagine what Tifa had — or hadn’t — been told about it. Not quite willing to just let the issue go, though, he muttered, “You could’ve said something, you know.”
“Well, I’m saying something now, loud and clear.” Tifa stood up a little straighter, expression resolute. “I’m not ready for a relationship with you. I like you, but not in the way you seem to want me to. And I don’t know when or if that’s going to change.”
Cloud bit back a sigh of frustration. “Fine,” he said shortly, his grip on his drink tightening until Tifa yelped and jumped back, and he discovered himself with a handful of ice and glass shards, dripping alcohol onto the counter.
Reno raised an eyebrow at them. “SOLDIERs’ romantic squabbles always this lively?”
Cloud ignored the question, and it seemed like Tifa hadn’t even heard it, watching the blond somewhat uneasily even as she pulled out another rag to clean up with.
“Cloud, you okay?” Zack turned in his seat, reaching for his friend’s arm. “Let me see that…”
“It’s fine,” the other SOLDIER said flatly, tugging his hand away as he plucked a couple of pieces of glass out of his palm. “Nothing major.”
“Are you su—”
“It’s fine.” Rising, Cloud fished a 20-gil note out of his pocket, laying it on the counter. “Sorry ‘bout the mess.” And with that, he turned and briskly strode out of the bar.
He was about halfway to the station when a hand fell on his shoulder, startling him. “Hey, easy,” said Zack as the blond turned to face him, cutting off his instinctive strike. “I’m not a mugger, promise.”
“Zack?” he asked, surprise at seeing him overshadowing his annoyance at being followed. “What are you—?”
“Going home with a friend,” the other man said matter-of-factly. “What else?”
Cloud felt a twinge of guilt. “You didn’t have to cut your night out short because of me—”
“Shush,” Zack interrupted, shaking his head, giving him one of his warm, easy, almost-contagious smiles. “SOLDIERs stick together, remember?”
As usual — when they weren’t arguing, that is — the dark-haired man’s presence soothed Cloud’s stung feelings, somehow making the hurt seem a little less than it first was. “Yeah,” he said softly.
“That’s the spirit,” Zack declared, clapping him on the back. “Wanna spar for a bit when we get back, get your mind off it?” His smile turned into a grin. “Best of three, loser buys the winner lunch for the next week?”
Cloud almost smiled in spite of himself. “You and your ulterior motives.” But even as Zack, completely unapologetic, shrugged, he nodded. “You’re on.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“So,” Zack began, reaching for his sandwich again, “how about heading down to the Dragon for a drink later?”
“No thanks,” replied Cloud shortly. Usually he rather enjoyed lunches with Sephiroth and Zack like this, something they’d taken to doing every so often whenever all three of them were on base, but Zack had turned the conversation in a direction he really would’ve preferred it hadn’t gone. “I’m not really in the mood.”
“Oh, come on,” Zack said, exasperated. “It’s been three weeks and you’ve hardly left the compound. Don’t tell me you’re still sulking about that silly little spat.”
Sephiroth raised an eyebrow at that, but wisely said nothing. Today they were eating in the General’s office instead of the mess hall; that had been Zack’s idea, coupled with vehement insistence that even if Cloud stayed a little later than just for lunch he wouldn’t be a distraction, as Sephiroth had suggested. Cloud still wasn’t quite sure he believed the dark-haired man’s assertions (and he was pretty sure Sephiroth didn’t either), but he’d gone along with it anyway… though now he found himself wishing he hadn’t, since the more private environment gave Zack far more freedom in terms of conversational topics.
“Honestly, Cloud,” he was saying, gesturing with his drink, “you’re really making way too huge a deal out of it. I know it sucks, but this kinda thing happens sometimes; all you can do is suck it up and get over it.”
“I know, I know,” the SOLDIER Second grumbled, stabbing a tomato on his plate with a little more force than necessary. “It’s just so frustrating.” In more ways than one.
From the look Zack was giving him, Cloud might as well have said that addendum out loud. “You know,” he ventured after a brief silence, “if you’re really that—”
“No,” the blond said with a heavy sigh. “I’m not going to pay someone just so I can get laid.” How many times was he going to have to say this — and even to Zack, of all people? “Besides, even without worrying about the possibility of disease, it’s still dangerous. You never know who might be an assassin or a spy or—”
Zack stared. “You’re joking, right?”
“It is a possibility,” Sephiroth pointed out reasonably. “It’s especially common in political circles—”
“Not you too, Seph,” the dark-haired man said with a groan, shaking his head. “I mean, I’d expect Turk-level paranoia like this from Cloud, but come on. Sometimes — more often than not, if you can believe it — a call girl really is just a call girl.” He paused, then added, “Or a call boy, as the case may be. But really, Cloud, I’m sure a guy like you could find someone without having to pay for it…”
The younger SOLDIER merely shook his head. Zack did have a point — it wasn’t like he hadn’t been approached by people, both men and women, from in the SOLDIER program and outside it. Hell, his current roommate had made it clear more than once that he’d be quite willing to fool around a little. But…
He bit back a sigh. There were two types of intimate physical relationships between company personnel: the quick and casual liaisons SOLDIERs often indulged in to take the edge off, which generally happened only a couple times before the people involved went their separate ways, and the far rarer couplings that lasted longer and were much more exclusive, like what Zack and Sephiroth seemed to have. Most of the offers Cloud had gotten had been of the no-strings-attached sort, and… well, to be perfectly honest, he would’ve preferred something more solid.
But beggars can’t really be choosers, can they? Maybe the SOLDIERs who teased him about still being a virgin were right — being picky wouldn’t get him anything except more frustrated. “I guess,” Cloud eventually said aloud, hoping Zack would change the subject. Thinking about it so much didn’t make it any easier, that was for sure.
The other man was giving him that look again, the one that said he totally knew there was more going on than Cloud was letting on, but for a wonder he didn’t press the issue. “In any case,” he said after a long moment, “I think you should apologize to Tifa.”
Cloud blinked. “Huh?” This was… definitely not the change in subject he’d been expecting.
“She tried to let you down lightly, but you’re being kind of a dick about it, with the whole just up and walking out and not saying a single thing to her since thing,” Zack pointed out, draining the last of his drink. “I know you guys’re pretty good friends, and I’d hate to see you blow that friendship on something like this.”
The younger SOLDIER almost snorted at that — considering his situation with Aeris, Zack hardly had room to talk there. He was tempted to say something along those lines, in fact, but Sephiroth caught his eye and shook his head a little, so he didn’t. Perhaps— okay, no, it was selfish of the General to be so insistent on avoiding all mention of Zack’s former girlfriend, but… well, Zack tended to get a bit touchy whenever anyone mentioned her anyway, and Cloud had to admit he generally tried stayed away from the topic because of that. Granted, with the whole Sephiroth issue that situation wasn’t anywhere near as cut-and-dry as his was, but… Zack really should at least say something to Aeris at some point. I’m not gonna bring that up when Sephiroth’s around, though — that’d just be really awkward.
Zack cleared his throat, looking at him expectantly, and so Cloud shook himself out of his thoughts. “All right, all right,” he finally conceded. “I’ll go.”
The other man smiled, pleased. “Good.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Flying Dragon was always hopping on the weekends, and Tifa had told her friends that they weren’t likely to see much of her then, that they should come other nights. So it was that she was rather surprised to see Cloud show up about halfway through the after-theater rush — alone, no less, which was even more unusual; as far as she knew, he never went out drinking without Zack along (or perhaps, considering his distaste for alcohol, it was the other way around).
She had planned to head over to the little two-person table he took, at least say hello, maybe try to see if three weeks had cooled his temper at all… but Annelie, the pretty little redhead server whose hair she envied like nothing else, beat her to it, stopping beside his table and smiling warmly as she struck up a conversation.
Tifa scowled. Annelie and the other servers were all nice people, but it really bothered her how some of them would stop by a customer’s table and waste time there for ten, fifteen minutes at a time (like Marten over there, charming a pair of tipsy businesswomen), sometimes disappearing altogether for far too long — and come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Lora at all in the past hour. And the worst of it was that Bill didn’t seem to mind at all, when he even noticed. She sighed. It was awfully frustrating sometimes.
“Ooh, is that Cloud?” came a voice just behind her, and she turned to see Lora leaning against the bar. “And here alone on a Friday night, no less… how unusual.”
“Where have you been?” Tifa demanded, unable to keep a hint of irritation out of her voice.
“Just had a bit of work to take care of in the back, dear,” the other woman said easily, tucking a bit of blond hair behind her ear. She patted Tifa’s cheek. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it.” Straightening, she glanced at the order Tifa had been getting together, took the tray of drinks, and waded right back among the crowded tables like she’d never been gone.
Tifa shook her head. Lora wasn’t more than a couple years older than her, and yet she still had this weirdly affectionate way about her, like a big sister or someone’s mother or something.
…“Or something,” indeed, she thought with a sigh as the blonde, having delivered her order, stopped at another table, smiling winsomely at the gentlemen there.
It took another fifteen minutes for things to calm down enough that Tifa could get over to see Cloud, at least without neglecting her duties. Not that she was technically a server, anyway — she’d been hired as a bouncer, though on busy nights like this she helped out wherever she could. But with Bill behind the counter and the large group of rowdy university students finally leaving, she had a few minutes to relax.
Tifa felt rather apprehensive as she approached Cloud’s table. She had no idea how he’d react after their almost-argument three weeks ago. Yeah, she had missed him in the weeks he’d been gone, but it had been a lot like she’d felt when he’d gone on long missions before they’d started dating — a ready acceptance that he needed to be away for a time, which only confirmed in her mind that what she felt for Cloud wasn’t the love he’d wanted from her. Except… she felt almost guilty about the whole thing, as dumb as that was.
Honestly, though, what had bothered Tifa most about it was knowing that he was in Midgar but making himself scarce. Cloud had been trying to arrange at least one morning practice session a week to work with both Aeris and Tifa on the staff and martial arts, respectively, and he hadn’t shown since they’d broken up. For her part, Aeris hadn’t said anything more than ‘boys can be such jerks’ and given Tifa a hug when she'd heard what had happened.
In any case, Tifa definitely didn’t want to lose her friendship with Cloud; he was one of the few familiar things she had in this crazy city. So, despite the awkwardness she felt, she forced herself to walk over to his table a few minutes after Annelie had left.
“Hey,” Cloud echoed, looking up at her from his glass, eyes bright even in the dim lighting of the bar, almost emphasizing his… differences from much of their clientele. Still, something had changed in them since the last time she had looked in them — they were still warm and kind, but less appraisingly appreciative, much to Tifa’s relief. Whether or not he’d let his feelings for her go in the past three weeks, they weren’t so uncomfortably obvious and making her second-guess her decision to break it off.
“I came down here to apologize,” Cloud finally said, breaking Tifa out of her thoughts. “What happened wasn’t… exactly your fault.”
Tifa shook her head. “I should’ve said something about how I felt sooner,” she admitted. “I dunno. I just kept waiting for that something to happen, but…”
Cloud stayed quiet for a long moment after she trailed off. “Well,” he began, “if you wanted something to happen, I could have arranged it…”
The martial artist felt her face go hot — Cloud’s tone made it perfectly clear what he was referencing. “That’s not what I meant!” she hissed.
“I know, I know.” Tifa relaxed as she saw Cloud grin, his eyes mischievous. “Honestly, though, you’ve got to lighten up on that issue. No need to flail so much every time someone mentions it.”
She snorted. “Don’t get all patronizing on me, Cloud. Just ‘cause I’m not comfortable with the idea doesn’t mean I’m completely ignorant.”
Cloud gave her a skeptical look.
Tifa glanced around for a customer to rescue her from this, but the other were being far too efficient. “Look,” she finally said in a low voice, “I know the basic gist of it, okay? I’ll figure out whatever else I need to when the time comes.” Not that that’ll be anytime soon.
Instead of backing off, however, the blond frowned at that. “Do you know how to protect yourself?”
Tifa scowled at that. “I’m no pushover, Cloud! You of all people should know that—”
“From disease and pregnancy, I mean.” Cloud looked at her, face serious. “Even I knew that much before coming to Midgar. So, do you?” Tifa could do nothing else than reluctantly shake her head. “Then you better learn. Just in case something happens.”
“I’m not going to have sex anytime soon, Cloud!” Tifa hissed. “I don’t plan on just sleeping around!” Face red, she looked away from the SOLDIER. She couldn’t believe she was having this conversation.
“You may not be planning on it, but… well, accidents happen, and I wouldn’t want to see you end up in a bad situation. I know you could probably fight off anyone who’d give you a hard time, but sometimes people just get carried away, especially with this stuff involved.” Cloud tapped his half-finished glass of liquor. “Hell, they even make the SOLDIERs sit through a talk on alcohol because we can have some of the same problems after a treatment as people do when they’re drunk.” He straightened in his seat. “Why don’t you talk to Lora about it? You seem to get along okay.”
Tifa was grateful Cloud wasn’t going to insist on giving her details about this — Gaea, wouldn’t that be embarrassing, for both of them? — but… why Lora, of all people? “I don’t know,” she said, her voice neutral. “Maybe I’ll just ask Elmyra.”
Cloud somehow managed to raise just one eyebrow at her, a trick she desperately wished she could learn. “Those armbands aren’t just for decoration, you know.”
Tifa blinked. “…I don’t follow.” Sure, she had noticed the colored armbands some of her coworkers wore nightly, but she had never understood what they were for.
“Well…” He hesitated for a moment, then said bluntly, “They’re markers for members of the sex workers’ union.”
“What?” Tifa flushed at her outburst, biting her lip as every eye in the room turned towards her.
But Cloud came to her rescue, rising from his table and leaving enough gil to cover his bill. “Let’s go outside. I think you need to take a break.”
Tifa shook her head firmly. “It’ll be crowded out there this time of night. There’s a break room in the back.” The pair ducked behind the bar, Tifa trying to ignore the stares at their backs. When they had settled into two of the worn chairs in the break room, Tifa tried to explain. “It’s just — Bill said no whoring—”
“He probably only deals with folks certified by the union,” Cloud mused aloud. “Safer that way, I guess. They have to have regular checkups and stuff, or so I hear.”
“Is everything all right?” Lora asked as she entered. “You two were causing a bit of a scene out there…”
“Fine,” Tifa said shortly, the other woman’s presence making her clearly wary.
Lora looked between the pair. “Not like you to bring anyone back here, Tifa… Did you want me to leave so you can spend a bit of time with your boyfriend?”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Tifa asserted.
“She dumped me,” Cloud said at the same time.
“Oh, really?” Lora’s eyes lit up, and she slinked over towards him. “I don’t suppose you came seeking some company, then?”
“Actually,” Cloud admitted, “I just dropped by to apologize. We had a bit of a fight.”
Lora tsked sadly. “Pity. But you know, I’d give such a handsome SOLDIER a discount…” she murmured to Cloud, but not soft enough Tifa didn’t hear her. The woman leaned even closer, giving the blond a good view of her bosom. “What d’you say?”
Cloud shifted back in his chair. “Uh, thanks, but I’m not really interested,” he said gruffly. As Lora pursed her lips in pouty disappointment, he continued, “Actually, though, there is something we’d like to ask you about. There are, uh, some things Tifa needs to—”
“Cloud!” Tifa refused to admit it came out almost as a squeak as Lora turned to give her an appraising look.
“For safety’s sake!” Cloud hastened to add, and was that just a hint of a blush? “Contraception and that sort of stuff.”
“Damn, girl, you don’t even know that much?” Lora shook her head disbelievingly. “If I’d known, I would’ve told you months ago. You really need to be careful in Midgar, here in the slums especially.” She turned back to Cloud. “No problem at all. I can pull some things together and make sure she knows where to get anything she’ll need.”
“I don’t need—” Tifa began.
“Better safe than sorry,” Lora interrupted, voice firm. “You really should have some hands-on experience, but anything’s better than nothing. I’ll do it free of charge, even.” She leaned in close to Tifa, eyes bright, and the brunette suppressed the nervous little shiver she felt at that. “But you know,” the other woman murmured, her voice low and rich, “if you want to repay me somehow, I’ll never say no to kisses from a girl like you.”
Tifa simply stared at her with wide eyes, sure she must’ve heard Lora wrong. The other woman chuckled, leaning forward to speak softly into her ear. “And if you ever want to change jobs, just let me know. I can get you introduced to the right people. You’ve got a great figure for it, and you’re strong enough you’d make a killing with the SOLIDERs.” Lora kissed her lingeringly on the cheek, finally pulling away.
Tifa sputtered. “What— why did you—”
“Why not?” She smiled, leaning on Cloud’s chair. “You’re drop-dead gorgeous.”
“What, giving us up for the SOLDIERs, Lora?” came a voice as a woman wearing a Turk uniform entered. “I’m disappointed.”
Lora immediately straightened, fishing a key out of her pocket. “You know I always have time for you,” she purred at the red-haired newcomer. She walked over to the door on the other side of the room, which had been locked for as long as Tifa had been here, and opened it, gesturing for the Turk precede her inside. Tifa caught just a glimpse of a bed inside the room before Lora shut the door behind her.
“…Feel like going on a walk?” Cloud suggested after a moment of awkward silence.
“Good idea,” Tifa agreed quickly, all but running for the door to avoid hearing anything worse than the quiet murmurs emanating from the other room. The pair quickly left out the back, walking along the dark alleyway to the main street, busy at the current hour with friends and lovers enjoying a night out on the town. Tifa stayed quiet for a few minutes, grateful Cloud was leaving her alone with her thoughts.
“Why would she do that anyway?” she finally mused aloud.
“Why would who do what?” asked Cloud.
“Lora. Why would she…?” Tifa waved her hand vaguely.
“Have sex for a living?”
“Yeah,” Tifa muttered, flushed with embarrassment.
Cloud shrugged. “I don’t know; you’d have to ask her. Maybe she just… really likes sex?”
“But… with other women?” She paused. “How does that even work, anyway?”
Even remembering when he’d been in Tifa’s position, the blond couldn’t help a smile at her shocked expression. “You’re askin’ the wrong person for that, but… well, yeah. Some men like other men, and some women like other women.”
Tifa momentarily froze at that, recalling how Lora had made her feel. Being around Cloud hadn’t ever done anything like that to her — but did that mean she…? She shook her head. “That’s so weird…”
“Confused the hell out of me when Zack first explained it to me,” Cloud admitted. “I don’t know if Lora genuinely likes women more or what, but she might.”
“….People can like both?” Tifa felt a little of her unease subside.
Cloud nodded. “Happens all the time in SOLDIER.”
Tifa thought about that, reflecting on the groups of SOLDIERs she’d seen at the Dragon while she’d been working. “…Scott and Paul?”
“Been together since before I even knew ‘em,” Cloud told her. “It was a little weird when I first found out about it, but… I dunno. They just… really fit well together, you know?”
Tifa pondered that statement as they continued to walk, eventually settling on one of the benches in a nearby garden, planted courtesy of the MMG Project. Cloud was right; Scott and Paul had an easy, comfortable warmth to their relationship, a genuine depth that few other couples or friends she knew had. On a sudden whim, she asked, “Kinda like you and Zack?”
“Huh?” Cloud blinked, clearly surprised by her words… and then shook his head firmly. “Nuh uh, no way! We’re just friends.”
Tifa nodded at that, though she had to admit she was surprised at the vehemence of his reply. Had something happened between them in the past? Cloud had said it was common in SOLDIER… but it was still so weird to think about… “Just how do you know so much about this stuff, anyway?” she said after a moment.
“I’ve had my share of talks.” Cloud looked a bit embarrassed. “On my last birthday a bunch of the guys, uh, arranged for some ‘education’ for me.” He squirmed a bit at the look Tifa gave him. “They dragged me down to the Honeybee Inn, purchased the services of one of the, ah, ladies for the evening, and informed me that if I left the place before dawn there was going to be one hell of a training session in store for me.”
Tifa felt distinctly uncomfortable. “You didn’t—”
“No!” Cloud looked upset at the very thought. “Of course not. I don’t sleep with girls for hire.”
“Why not?” she asked, genuinely curious. In her work she had encountered a lot of men, soldiers in particular, who would have taken advantage of that situation in a heartbeat. Especially if someone else had paid for it.
“Because I didn’t know if it was safe,” he explained. “I’m not gonna get involved with anyone I can’t trust implicitly — and even if I did trust her, I was pretty sure she wasn’t strong enough. We ended up spending most of the night talking; one way or another, I did get quite an education, even if it wasn’t quite what they intended.”
Tifa couldn’t help being relieved for some reason that Cloud hadn’t… done anything with that girl. But thinking about what he said reminded her of Lora’s words. “Why’s everyone keep going on about this ‘strong enough’ thing, anyway?”
“SOLDIERs, especially those higher than Third Class, have to be very careful with the unenhanced. It’s very easy when you’re, uh… distracted to hurt someone by accident, and pretty seriously, too.” He shook his head. “I never want that to happen.”
Tifa paled at that, remembering how effortlessly Cloud had shattered his glass at the bar three weeks ago. No wonder he always tried to be so careful. “Um, how can you tell?” she asked. “If someone’s strong enough, I mean.”
“Oh, well,” he said casually, though he was looking across the garden rather than at her, “if they don’t have to overwork themselves to keep up with me, or can hold their own against me in a sparring match, that’s usually a good sign.”
Tifa found herself flushing again at the reminder that Cloud had wanted more from their relationship than dates or even kisses, but… at the same time, she was touched that he’d trust her that much, and once again felt an irrational pang of guilt about their breakup. She shook her head, looking at her watch — and sighing. The late-night rush would be starting soon. “I better go…”
“Should probably head back topside myself,” Cloud said, nodding.
“See you Wednesday morning for practice?” Tifa asked as he turned away.
The blond gave her a bright grin, almost Zacklike in its intensity. “You bet.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
ShinRa’s executive board consisted of the most powerful people in the world. They controlled the life of all those on the Planet, even held the life of the Planet itself in their hands. They let nothing get in the way of their goals. They had absolute control. They were omnipotent.
They were sitting in the dark again.
“This is becoming quite irritating,” Matheson observed as the emergency generators finally kicked in, restoring light to the room. Alas, the projector did not restart, making it more difficult for him to continue his presentation on the progress being made with the MMG Project and in the Science Department.
“What is this, the third time this week?” Heidegger demanded, puffing up with rage. “We can’t stand for this!”
Reeve was frowning, looking pensive. The terrorists that had been plaguing Midgar for the last few months had done their share of damage, but normally the power grid could handle outages more easily, and there was less downtime, if any, between the outage and ShinRa Tower’s backup systems taking over. “They must have hit something major this time, not just one of the converters or a relay,” he mused aloud, and the room went quiet as each executive present reached for their PHS, asking their underlings for a report.
“…They took out the No. 1 Reactor!”
“This is unbelievable!”
“Gods… It’ll take forever to rebuild. And the costs…”
Reeve silently cursed his fellow board members as they babbled on about costs and repair schedules. Their first care was always for the money, not the reactor workers or the civilians unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast. “Matheson and I will see about implementing more of our alternative energy sources until the Lifestream settles enough to begin rebuilding,” he broke in. With any luck, the replacements would be efficient enough that they wouldn’t need to rebuild at all.
“Do that,” Rufus ordered crisply. The young president looked around the table. “I will not tolerate this. Sephiroth, Tseng, I want this stopped immediately. Capture the perpetrators if you can; kill them if you can’t. Make this your top priority.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud walked into the gym feeling better than he had in days. Zack had been right — going to talk to Tifa had been a good idea. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, even if the conversation hadn’t gone exactly how he expected. Frankly, considering where she had been working, he’d though she’d have gotten a better education than that. Maybe it was just as well that things hadn’t gotten anywhere. SOLDIERs might have a hard time having children, but when they did get a woman pregnant, there were all sorts of complications that could arise.
“Heya, Cloud!” came a voice from the other side of the gym, as Jack Rogers waved him over. “Good to see you lookin’ a bit cheerier.” A grin. “Finally make up with your girlfriend?”
One of the problems with SOLDIER being small in comparison to the rest of the army was that everyone knew the gossip about everybody else — and so everyone was constantly teasing Cloud about his virgin status. “We came to an understanding,” he said evasively.
“You sound just like Sephiroth, talking like that.” The First Class laughed.
Cloud flushed. “It’s true!” Thinking about it, Cloud had to admit to himself that he hadn’t really loved Tifa the same way Zack had Aeris. That breakup had led to Zack moping for weeks; Cloud, on the other hand, had mostly been… well, face it, you were mostly angry at not having things go the way you wanted them to. He bit back a sigh. Tifa was a good friend, and really attractive. So what if he hadn’t been head over heels for her? She would have been a great partner to try some things with, even if it hadn’t been a permanent relationship.
“Wanna spar?” Rogers broke into his thoughts, gesturing with his practice blade. “I’ve been working on my own some, but I’d love to have a partner.”
“Sure,” Cloud replied. He chose a practice blade from the rack against the side of the room, stretching a little as he headed back over to the other SOLDIER. “All righty, ready when you are.”
He had fought Rogers before, so he wasn’t surprised when the other SOLDIER lunged at him, plowing into him like a tank. Cloud executed a complicated counter, parrying the blade while slipping to the side and bringing his free hand up to shove Rogers forward. The other man ducked out of the way in an attempt to dodge, and Cloud, not wanting to give him a chance to recover, lunging to attack him before he could rise to his feet. The First Class blocked it, but not without difficulty.
Suddenly, the lights went out.
Rogers hesitated for just a fraction of a second at this unexpected turn of events. Cloud, trained long ago by Vincent to take advantage of anything he could, executed a textbook-perfect disarming move that sent the SOLDIER First’s practice blade flying out of his hands.
The lights came back on.
Rogers shook his head, retrieving his sword. “Geez. You don’t let anything stop you, huh?”
Cloud shrugged. “Gotta take every advantage you can.”
“They teach you that in officer school?” the other man asked, teasing.
Cloud blinked. “…Officer school?”
“Thought you might have started the classes for it by now.” Rogers shrugged. “Most of us figure the reason you aren’t a First yet is because they want you to do officer training, first. Unless medical flagged you?”
Cloud shook his head. “Everything was fine last time. And I haven’t heard anything about this officer school stuff, either.”
“Well, I bet you’ll probably end up getting a brief command mission sometime soon, and if things go reasonably well, they’ll put you in the next class — starts next month, I think. Survive that, and you’ll be off to medical for pre-promotion screening.” Rogers smiled. “Considering how closely you’re attached to Zack, we all expected it, truth be told. Frankly, SOLDIER is big enough we could use two Zacks.”
“Why would you need two of me?”
“Zack!” Cloud turned, frowning as he noticed Zack fully geared up. “What’s wrong?”
“Seph’s got a mission for us. But it can wait a second,” the dark-haired man replied with a grin. “Seriously, why would you want two of me? C’mon, I’m sure it’s something juicy…”
Cloud rolled his eyes, but Rogers just laughed. “You know Sephiroth could use two competent aides, what with how SOLDIER’s gettin’ bigger, and Cloud seems to be turning into another you some days.”
Zack’s grin widened. “Nahh. He’s way too serious to be another me.” He clapped Cloud on the shoulder. “Come on, kiddo. We’ve got some regulars to round up. I’ll brief you on the way.” Bidding farewell to Rogers, the pair left the gym. “You haven’t been around any large quantities of Mako lately, right?” the older man asked quietly.
Cloud shook his head. “Only if materia and other SOLDIERs count. Why?”
“Because AVALANCHE—”
“The ecoterrorist group.” Cloud nodded. “Vincent’s mentioned them.”
“Well…” Zack lowered his voice even further. “They managed to blow up the No. 1 Reactor.”
“…What?” Cloud managed to keep his voice down only by sheer willpower.
“Yeah. The Prez isn’t happy, so we’re the lucky bastards who get to deal with it.” Zack swung around towards the elevators. “Go grab your gear and meet me in the lobby ASAP. I should have a team ready in ten minutes.” He smiled grimly. “We’re going to see what those bastards left behind at the reactor site and use it to nail them to the wall.”
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