#implied zack fair

[ff7-has-taken-me-over]

I reckon Cloud gets so lost looking at the stars sometimes. He spent endless nights as a kid up on the water tower, staring up at the sky and just admiring. No thoughts, no words. Just staring at the endless expanse of dots and waves of colour until his mother would finally call him in.

He’d taken it for granted. Went years without seeing any stars while living in Midgar and then years more without seeing anything. He’d missed it something fierce but never realised until that first night out in Kalm.

He’d looked up after his talk with Tifa and suddenly became stuck. It wasn’t the same stars and constellations on this continent, but there were just as many this far out from the city and all its pollution. There were no waves of colour and moving blinks of light but there were vague sort of hints at them.

Something in him ached at the sight of it all regardless. Fuzzed memories that didn’t hurt like usual echoing in the back of his mind, a cheery voice relaying the constellations they could see. Warmth enveloping him from behind and breath ghosting over his ear. He can’t remember who it was though. Can’t even remember seeing the sky then either.

But he feels like it might’ve looked like this and that makes his heart feel achingly full and dreadfully empty all at once. Like he’s missing something to plug the hole that’s draining him out.

He ends up staying on that roof most the night. Staring at the stars and the vague waves of colours. Going so long between blinks that the image of them becomes burned into the backs of his eyelids, so he’s carrying entire galaxies and nebulae right there with him when he finally trudges his way back to bed.

[disgorgedfoetus]

FF7 MEMES 4 U.

FRM ME! ilu

[rocketbirdie]

this is fine, it'll be fine

[sebritz]

i have been saying "woke dog" to myself for days

[preposterousgreen]

Sephiroth: *looking bewildered*

Zack: What's up, buddy?

Sephiroth: Your girlfriend told me, "I'm gonna use you as a pillow!"

Zack: Oh yeah?

Sephiroth: ...And then she did it.

Zack: *nods sympathetically*

[f8lfool]

Cloud is so fed up with this

[strayheartless]

friendship bracelets:

Zack makes them, obviously, because he’s a sentimental dork, and in Gongaga it’s considered a sign of great affection to give someone something like jewellery. I like to think there’s a Gongagan tradition/ holiday a bit like Valentine’s Day but it’s for showing appreciation to everyone. And on this day people swap hand made jewellery to signify their respect and love for a person.

Mostly Gongagan kids swap them, and it’s a big thing in school, but Adults do also observe the day with those closest to them -or someone who has done them a great service through the year!

Zack hasn’t really observed the holiday since he left home, but when he finally becomes FIRST he gets kind of sentimental and homesick for some reason. So he buys a bracelet making kit from a craft store and makes a bunch of bracelets for his fellow firsts and Cloud and Kunsel, he makes one for Aerith too!

Giving them to Kunsel is pretty easy. They’ve been friends for years and have talked a lot about Gongagan holidays before. Kunsel is pretty touched actually, and hugs Zack. It’s a nice little moment between them. Quality brotherly affection. Hense the reason the word “brother” is stamped on the bracelet.

Giving Cloud his is funny only because Cloud goes bright red in the face and stutters through accepting it. Zacks pretty smug throughout the entire encounter about making Cloud blush like that. But he’s also incredibly emotional when Cloud turns up at 12:00 PM the same night and pushes a bracelet into Zack’s hand. Zack hadn’t known what to stamp on Clouds “best friend” seemed too weak and and anything more then that felt presumptuous to the point of impertinence, considering he was still battling with how he felt about Cloud. In the end he’d gone with “legacy” which felt like a cop out but Cloud seemed to like it.

It’s only as he looks down at the word printed on his bracelet that he realises he needs to seriously get his act together with Cloud… the word that both brakes his heart and makes it soar “everything”.

Aerith is pretty happy with her bracelet, and as she does with most things, gives him a bunch of flowers for his efforts! He deliberated on what to put on hers too. “Girlfriend” made him feel guilty. He loves her, he does… but he knows, and she knows that they’re playing a game until Zack tells her about Cloud. Instead he stamps “soul” on hers because she will always know his soul better than anyone.

Giving Angeal his is nerve wracking because it makes Zack feel stupid. He knows Angeal wouldn’t make fun of his homes tradition, but still… in the end the worrying is for nothing. Zack gives Angeal the bracelet stamped “mentor” and Angeal is very touched and even a little emotional over it actually. He gives Zack a side hug and puts the bracelet on immediately.

Genesis is -if possible- even more nerve wracking, because Zacknis absolutely sure he’ll be made fun of. He positively shakes out of his skin giving the bracelet stamped “hero” to Genesis and for a second Gen does do his whole “shoot it down in flames” thing until he realises two things: 1. Zack had gone to extend a art lengths to match the colour red to Gens coat, and 2. he turns it over in his hand and runs his fingers over the letters stamped into soft leather.

Zack absolutely panics when Genesis starts to cry. Gens emotional sure, but Zacks never seen the man cry. Gen asks him “why would you spend time on this for me?” And Zack tells him the truth, “cause you are a hero Genesis, and I wanted you to know that people see you that way.”

Genesis is never taking the bracelet off. Ever.

Then the only person left to give a bracelet to is Sephiroth. It is exceptionally hard to pin the man down that day, and in the end Zack has to wait a week for him to come back from mission. And then it’s terrifying to hand it over.

What’s even more terrifying is that Sephiroth kind of stops breathing for a second when Zack gives it to him. He sits on the edge of his desk heavily and stares at the inscribed bracelet in his hand. Zack says his name at least three times before Seph responds to him. When he does it’s with a shaking “why?” And Zack can only hug him and whisper back “because you are,”

The stamp simply reads “best friend” but it’s enough to bring the great general sephiroth to his knees.

***

Alternative title for this little headcanon is:

Zack Fair stops crisis core with the power of friendship.

[pen-and-umbra]

FFVII Rebirth introduces something never extensively explored in the original game or in the compilation of Final Fantasy VII: Sephiroth's anger towards Professor Gast’s experiment and the contempt he came to harbor towards ShinRA as an organization.

(Herein lurk spoilers.)

While the latter is something the fans have glimpsed on and off throughout previous installments, the second part of the Remake amplifies it ever so more. What began as admitting that the company had fabricated his legend and expressing a desire to live a normal life in Ever Crisis gradually transforms into a lack of clarity regarding his reasons for fighting in Before Crisis (as prompted by Elfe), followed by an open disgust towards Hojo's and Hollander's experiments when confronted with Mako pod entities during the hunt for Genesis. Sephiroth and Zack's ordeal during Crisis Core events appears to undercut his willingness to stay, as he famously considers leaving the corporation right before embarking on the ill-fated Nibelheim expedition.

FFVIIRb picks off where we left off, painting a more complete picture of Sephiroth's dissatisfaction with ShinRA overall. Interestingly, one of the discarded sequences from the original game featured Sephiroth hinting at his lack of affection for his employer as early as the truck ride.

Narratively, the sequence spans the gap between OG and Crisis Core's departure cutscene, implying that Sephiroth used the time on the road to reflect on his current and future connection with ShinRA. His companion, however, does not appear to understand why he is bringing the topic up. What distinguishes Rebirth is the suggestion that Sephiroth came to view the entire ShinRA system as a problem, rather than just a few rotten apples. He no longer singles out Hojo, but rather the entire ShinRA branch, indicating that something's wrong with the system. When "Cloud" casually inquires about the problem with the Nibelheim reactor, Sephiroth responds that it is "people who run it," adding that this particular site is controlled by the Research and Development department. In addition, in response to "Cloud's" fair comment regrading the lack of transparency in company's operation, he rather sarcastically suggests to bring the issue with the President, thus implicitly conveying the futility of the endeavor.

When the party encounters Mako pod residents, one can detect genuine rage in his voice. While Sephiroth had previously shown bitterness for the test subjects during CC, it was tinged with disgust/pity rather than wrath. And once again, I’m grateful to Tyler Hoechlin for broadening his range in this particular segment.

"Cloud's" reaction to the contents of the pods, however, came off a little weird. The confusion appears out of place, because Zack had seen it all before — he had been there to watch the aftermath of Hollander's work; is it really odd that ShinRA's chief R&D scientist spearheaded the entire thing? Perhaps, unlike Sephiroth, Zack treated it as a rotten-apple issue, rather than a systemic issue. Or maybe this is an example of Cloud being an unreliable narrator, having conflated his own experience with that of Zack, which also explains Zack being sort of too green for the First Class throughout the Nibelheim portion of the game.

The shift in Sephiroth's perspective, from singling out Hojo's misdeeds to viewing ShinRA's itself as a systemic problem, is further highlighted during the mansion segment. This is no longer a strictly Hollander or Hojo issue. Human experimentation formed the fundamental core of what ShinRA is now, and those were approved from the very top. As Sephiroth puts it with barely concealed disgust, as soon as the company realized what had fallen into their hands, they became ambitious.

The wording also strikes a contrast to how he used to refer to the company in the past; as such, when Angeal deserts, Sephiroth states that Angeal has betrayed “US”, which points at both his personal connection to the person and the fact that Sephiroth likely saw himself as part of ShinRA circle. In the library, however, he distances himself by referring to the company as THEM, thus no longer perceiving himself as a part of it.

More important still is the rage he expresses when quoting excerpts from Gast's notes. The anger is new, never before seen touch. Sephiroth has been portrayed in the moment differently throughout earlier installments — dejected, perhaps overwhelmed, but never angry enough to snarl and nearly flip the table.

And it's wonderful. It's authentic, and it makes sense. It makes you question how much of that rage has been bottled up, compartmentalized, and never fully processed throughout the years. That rage should have existed, but was suppressed by ShinRA, before becoming internalized and sealed.

The scene is extremely on point on another level as well. As the flash of rage passes, and Sephiroth looks away, hiding eyes behind bangs — a gesture previously briefly appearing in Crisis Core.

One could interpret the body language as being ashamed and unwilling to show his composure cracking. Even in this state he KNOWS he wasn't supposed to let anyone see hurt or anger, wasn't supposed to lose cool. The "wonder child" and the "poster boy" is not to be seen as something other than “efficacious” and “collected”. The habit of suppressing displays of emotion or physical/psychological ailment had apparently become a part of himself. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to deduce why the habit persists. The internalized compulsion to live up to the expectations placed on him by ShinRA and the myth it imposed on his character, as well as the internalized imperative not to reveal to someone like Hojo — anyone— the extent to which their acts or words affect him. There's also another layer to this shame — one of being an artificial creation, but that's for another write up.

The anger towards Gast differs greatly from the way Sephiroth went “Why didn't you tell me?” in previous iterations of the Nibelheim incident. In retrospect, Gast's supervision of the project, involvement in Sephiroth's life, and unexpected departure seem like a betrayal. Gast had not only abandoned Sephiroth, who had likely come to see him as a salient figure in his youth, but had also been lying to him all along, until finally discarding him, as Sephiroth might believe. Gast therefore falls from grace, becoming yet another person who misled, attempted to exploit, and eventually abandoned him to deal with the consequences on his own.

[kingkatsuki]

— when you have a blind date

Masterlist.

Your friends think its time you tried to settle down and they set you up on a blind date.

Warnings: implied angst, idiots in love.

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x f!reader.

Word Count: 1.8k.

You’d slowly come to terms that you’d probably be the last one of your friends to find a partner. Everyone else seemed to be following the right paths in love, and you were still pining dreadfully for a man that didn’t like you back.

“Not settled down yet?”

The dreaded question always directed towards you, and you never had a clue how to answer. No matter what occasion— weddings, birthdays, baby showers, anniversaries. It was always directed at you without fail, eyes looking to the side of you like maybe this would be the event where you’d show up with someone. If you had a hundred yen for every time someone asked you the same dreaded question, you were certain you’d never need to work again. 

You’d become robotic in answering it too, recycling the same excuses about working overtime and trying to further your career, or dates not working out (when really you’d been at home with a pint of ice cream and another Zack Efron rom-com), but there was only so many times you’d be able to dodge that question before your friends would take it further. 

There were rarely questions about other aspects of your life, as though your worth was connected to whether you were seeing someone or not. The pity on your friends' faces whenever you’d pick out an excuse was enough to make you want to crawl into a hole and disappear. 

“Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone soon.”

But that wasn’t the worst part about being single. 

Being the single friend meant it always seemed to be you that had to endure being accosted by hopeful men trying their luck. Weddings where you’d already dodged the dreaded “When is it your turn then?” questions and sympathetic gazes when you’d explained your single— the classic “I’m sure you’ll find the right person soon” oozing with faux sincerity, followed by having to avoid half the groom's party offering to dance with you or buy you a drink from the bar. Even worse the best men that thought it was right of passage to sleep with the maid of honour. 

Bars where men would come up to the table and offer to buy you drinks, your friends immediately making it clear that they were taken but you were single— like a prized pig at the country fair. The awkward tension whenever a man wouldn’t take no for an answer when they offered to buy you a drink, even after you’d politely declined and then would proceed to think you owed them something for taking it. 

Not to mention the photographs plastered all over your social media of your friends getting married, moving in together and starting perfect little families. A constant reminder of how alone you really were, and you’d admit it would be nice to come home to someone each night. 

So here you were awake an hour earlier than you needed to be for work, preparing yourself for a date you didn’t even want to go on. A blind date. Your friends had found you the perfect match, in their words. A cute guy— a lawyer, they’d emphasised, as though the career gave credence to his propriety.

You tried to pick an outfit casual enough that you would be able to wear it at work and to the date after without having to get changed, picking a pretty dress paired with some simple low heels. It felt peculiar putting so much effort into your appearance when your heart wasn’t in it, but as your friends said– what have you got to lose?

You’d managed to make it into the office slightly earlier than usual thanks to your early alarm, dropping Bakugou’s coffee down in his office along with his morning paperwork before taking a seat behind your desk and opening your inbox.

“Mornin’” Bakugou grunted as he passed you fifteen minutes later, half-lidded vermillion eyes lingering on you a little longer than usual before stepping inside his office. 

Bakugou never was much of a morning person, especially before coffee. Even though he was always one of the first inside the building each day. One poor reporter found out the hard way when his old secretary organised an interview before his shift was due to start, he’d ended up taking the following three weeks off for stress. 

It was barely twenty minutes later when Bakugou emerged from his office, looking slightly more alert as he placed some forms down on your desk.

“I need these sent to Deku’s agency by this evening.”

“Oh, are these the figures he asked for?” You opened the file to check the first page to see whether it was the paperwork that Midoriya had been expecting from Bakugou. He was always kind and patient on the phone, especially with you, but even you could tell he was getting annoyed at how long it was taking Bakugou to send them to him. You were certain it was Bakugou’s petty way of trying to wind him up, like they were still playful kids in the playground because Bakugou was never late with his paperwork.

“Yeah, he’s been buggin’ me for a week now,” Bakugou scoffed, “Told him he’d get ‘em.”

“I’ll send them right now.” You smiled, standing up from your desk as you collected them in your hands.

“You look nice.” Bakugou murmured, eyes flickering over your form.

“Thanks,” You replied shyly, the corner of your lip curling into a small smile. 

“Not that you don’t always look nice, I just meant you— that dress— fuck.” He cleared his throat, cheeks tinged bright pink, “Sorry. You just look real pretty.”

You felt your cheeks heat up at the compliment as you tried to calm your fluttering heart tickling your ribcage, making your way to the copy room to scan the files across to Deku’s agency but you were unable to hide the wide smile on your face.

The rest of your shift was uneventful, right until you were due to finish. You’d managed to get stuck on the telephone with the head of hero relations at the commission, trying to gather information on Dynamight’s last mission. Information that was usually sent across in a huge report when he made it back to the office, but of course men in suits did not have time to look through a report when they could get someone else to do it for them. Which led to you answering each question by using information on the same report you’d submitted to them, which then led to you finishing your shift late. 

Slamming the phone down as you moved to set your out of office for the weekend, trying to get out of the agency as fast as you could. It wasn’t that you were worried about looking bad to your blind date for being late, but you didn’t want your friends to think you hadn’t made the effort when you had. Slinging your bag over your shoulder, you knocked on the door to Dynamight’s office. Popping your head around the corner to let him know that you were leaving, as you noticed him sat behind his desk with his glasses on as he looked up from his laptop.

“Hey, I wanted to ask you something,” Bakugou called out as you moved to shut the door, “Wait— are you in a rush?” 

“Not really,” You lied, “What do you need?” 

“Are you going out tonight?” Bakugou was a perceptive man, he could tell from the slight difference to your appearance that something was happening. He wondered if maybe it was a friends birthday. 

“Yeah, it’s stupid really,” You didn’t even like admitting it to your boss, and it totally wasn’t because you were head over heels for him, “My friends set me up on this blind date, and I was supposed to meet him twenty minutes ago.”

“Oh, you’re late.” Bakugou muttered. 

“Yeah, but I’m not even sure I want to go.” You shrugged. 

“No, you should go.” He shoved his hands in his pockets so you couldn’t see his fingers curl into fists, his blunt nails digging against calloused skin. 

“I can always come up with something, it’s not a big deal—“ You’d assumed your boss was going to ask you to stay late with him again, like he usually did when someone at the agency had made a mistake that he needed to fix. 

“Seriously, go.” He came towards you, his arm reaching out to open his office door as he ushered you out. 

The intoxicating scent of his quirk mixed with his cologne invaded your senses as he walked you towards the elevator on his floor, leaning forward to push the button for you. 

Part of you felt disappointed that he’d pushed you to go, hoping deep down that he’d be happy you weren’t going on a date with another guy. That maybe, just maybe, he’d ask you on a date himself. 

But of course that was just a fantasy, the perfect little fairytale you liked to conjure up in your mind to try and cope with how desperately your heart yearned for him. 

“Really, I don’t mind staying if that’s what you were going to ask—”

“It ain’t. But it don’t matter, it wasn’t important.” 

“Oh, okay.” You nodded slightly. 

“Oh, and don’t worry, sweetheart.” He smiled, watching as the elevator doors dinged open, “You look beautiful. That fucker is lucky to have you.” 

You stepped into the elevator as you turned to face him, a soft smile on your face as your heart sped up from his words. 

“Thanks, Dynamight.”

The doors slammed shut before he had a chance to correct you, running his palm down his tired face as he felt that familiar ache begin to throb in his chest. 

The question Bakugou had been planning to ask you all week now sat at the forefront of his mind, taunting him vindictively as he fought the urge to throw his phone across the room when he looked down at Kirishima's messages.

The annual Hero Gala was fast approaching, and in all his years from sidekick to owning his own agency, Bakugou had never once been bothered about going. The theatrics of it completely lost on him, distracting from his focus of becoming number one. And knowing that any awards would be packaged and hand delivered to his agency the next morning with or without his attendance solidified the fact he did not need to attend (despite numerous pleas from his PR team). All of his appearances at the Gala's had been forced, until now.

This year felt different, he wanted to go— and he wanted to go with you. Picturing the pretty dress you'd wear, and being able to spend the entire evening with you away from this building— just like a real date.

But he'd fucked up. He waited too long to tell you that he liked you, and now he'd lost you forever. This guy would probably be your perfect match and now he'd have to watch you hopelessly in love with a man who isn't him.

Opening the new notification from Kirishima on his phone as he text back. 

Kirishima[5.58PM]: Hey man, so did you ask her? What did she say?

Kirishima[5.59PM]: She said yes right?

Kirishima[5.59PM]: C’mon man, please tell me that you asked her? 

Kirishima[6.01PM]: You said you’d ask today, man.

Bakugou[6.43PM]: She’s going on a date tonight. 

Kirishima[6.44PM]: Wait, what?!

Kirishima[6.44PM]: With you? 

Bakugou[6.45PM]: No.

[rottenpumpkin13]

Vincent: If Sephiroth is my son, and you have his cells, wouldn't that also make you my son?

Cloud:....

Cloud: You're implying that the deceased Zack Fair and Angeal Hewley are also your sons.

Vincent: Hm.

Cloud: Not to mention Genesis.

Vincent: Oh god

[ff7-has-taken-me-over]

What if Cloud was the trooper that was swept away by the river at the bottom of Mt. Nibel?

Like the fucking panic that Zack would feel. Desperately begging with Sephiroth to let him go after him. Let him find Cloud and try and bring him back at the very least.

But Sephiroth is adamant in his refusal. Refuses to potentially risk and probably delay the mission over a mere trooper. Even if it is someone Zack so obviously cares about. He refuses to take the chance, even when Zack offers to take the fall for it.

And Zack’s livid. Near raging if not for Cloud’s friend and the fact that he was a newly promoted first class who was still on the job, he couldn’t be losing his head like that. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t abandon the mission the second he gets the chance to though.

[rocketbirdie]

This is very Zack and Cloud coded to me djskdkdk

ksjdhsggdkdfd

[jazzraft]

Hello may I request #98 with Zack/Cloud please?

The last of my very far back-logged prompts to fill. I'm so sorry for the long wait on this! I believe that the prompt was "hold me back" from whatever the last list I reblogged was. Thank you so much for requesting my first Zack/Cloud fic! Enjoy!

---

“Hold me back,” Cloud said to no one, whenever Zack Fair entered a room.

“Hold me back,” Cloud silently begged of anyone, whenever Zack turned that beaming smile his way.

It had been an order to himself that was simple enough to follow, but as time went on, grew increasingly difficult to abide. He had an issue with authority figures, so how could he be expected to follow one of his own making? Yet, the consequences were too devastating to consider such insubordination.

Every single time Zack entered a room, Cloud wanted to run for him. He wanted to abandon his post and plunge straight into the infectious heat of his orbit. It burned under his skin like a fever, incoherent delirium making him utterly powerless to the exuberant contagion that was Zack Fair.

(Hit the read more to continue reading on tumblr, or, click here to read on ao3! Consider leaving a comment if you enjoyed!)

“Hey! Cloud!” Zack would call, with a high-flying wave and a smile that put sunlight to shame.

And that was all it took to ignite Cloud from the inside-out. He was dry kindling to Zack’s fire-starter, warming every inch of space he occupied. Cloud never knew how to respond, eternally baffled that a SOLDIER as well-liked and accomplished as Zack even gave a runt like him the dignity of a simple greeting. Even more baffling was the fact that the greeting was consistently chased by an ardent desire for conversation…

Conversation with Cloud: the most conversationally inept individual this side of Midgar (any side of Midgar, really).

Presently, Zack parted through a sea of 3rd-rank SOLDIERs and trainee infantry to single out small, silent, sick-to-his-stomach Cloud. He wasn’t sure what made him feel more ill: the somersault response to Zack’s grin, or the many visor-shielded eyes followed in his direction. Sometimes, Cloud feared that Zack’s attention was some elaborate inside joke pantomimed to entertain the entire Shinra military force. But that wasn’t fair to Zack. That would imply he was fake. And there was no faking anything about him.

“Phew!” Zack huffed, hunching over with his hands on his thighs as if he’d run across the whole city just to reach Cloud. “Finally caught you! They keep you busy in the infantry, huh?”

Not really, Cloud thought to himself, unable to recall a single event of note while on security detail this past week. Instead, trying to sound braver than he felt, he said, “No busier than they keep you in SOLDIER.”

“So, not that busy then, huh?” Zack laughed.

Cloud colored, pulse thudding up against his skull. He didn’t want Zack to think he was avoiding him – Cloud would prefer he remain blissfully ignorant of the fact. The only way he could follow his own orders was if he never had to issue them. If he didn’t have to see Zack, he didn’t have to tell himself not to go for him – and he didn’t have to risk self-insubordination. Already Cloud’s muscles strained to reach out and touch him.

“So!” Zack chirped. “Since neither of us are all that busy by ourselves, how ‘bout we get busy together?”

About a million imaginary infantrymen tackled Cloud to the ground and piled high, to the ceiling of his soul, just to hold him down. He stared at Zack, waiting for the embarrassed duck of his head once his brain caught up with his mouth. But Zack continued to smile, expectant and oblivious.

Cloud swallowed around a clump of hot sandpaper, grating out, “What do you mean?”

A beat before Zack answered, his eyelids hooked downwards, and the curve of his smile took on a suggestive bent – like he knew exactly what he’d said. Then, he beamed in his casual, close-eyed way, “Dinner and drinks, of course! I’ve been promising to take you out forever!” And Cloud told himself he’d imagined it.

“Right,” Cloud laughed, hoping he didn’t sound as hysterical as he felt. “You have, haven’t you?”

Zack did not desire Cloud the way he did him. How could he? He was larger than life, beautiful and powerful and sociable – everything Cloud wished he could be. Zack was so far above him, too high to bend over him. Too perfect to be sullied by that depraved little fantasy.

“Let’s get out of here before they do find reasons to keep us busy,” said Zack.

Belay that, cadet, barked the faceless commander in Cloud’s head. It was too dangerous, above his rank. He didn’t have enough training, not enough discipline to take on such a responsibility. He wasn’t ready to lead men into battle, least of all the legions in his head that it took to keep him in line.

Cloud readied an excuse, armed himself with a polite decline. But his grip shook over the trigger, gazing into the white of Zack’s smile. He couldn’t bring himself to snuff it out, no matter the threat to himself.

“Sure,” he breathed, wheezing from him like a punctured lung. “Let’s go.”

You’re scrubbing the stockroom for that, cadet! Next is expulsion! You’ll never make it in SOLDIER that way!

He’d rather get a SOLDIER in him. Cloud exploded out from under the dogpile of imaginary infantrymen tasked with keeping him contained. It could only end in disaster if he was let loose, but they couldn’t hold him back. Zack was just his friend, and if Cloud didn’t yank back on the bit in his own mouth, he might not stay that way. Cloud bit down on the figurative iron bar between his lips, laved over the taste of metal. He’d bitten open the inside of his cheek, but if he kept his mouth shut, Zack wouldn’t have to know how much he bled to be with him.

“At long last!” Zack crowed once they were clear of the Shinra building. “Our first date.”

He needled an elbow into Cloud’s side, bouncing his eyebrows. Cloud cranked a smile over his face, pretending to find that as funny as Zack intended. Of course it was a joke. Everything Cloud felt for Zack was such a joke. He deluded and derided himself for daring even to imagine…

“So, um, not for nothing, but I don’t think I’m being all that subtle.”

Cloud blinked, clearing the detritus of the disaster zone in his mind. He looked over at Zack, the tall, imposing SOLDIER kicking stones down the street like a distractible child.

“You’re a tough nut to crack, Cloud,” he chuckled. “But I like that about you.”

“Thank… you?”

He struggled to keep up, unsure of what Zack was saying. A riot of disregarded orders howled through his head, making it hard to truly hear him.

“Just for my own peace of mind, where do you think we’re going right now?” Zack asked.

“Dinner? Drinks? So, a bar, I assume?”

“And if I told you we were going on a dinner date… Would you still want to go with me?”

Zack turned those electric blue eyes on him, and of course it was like being struck by lightning. Not a day went by where Cloud didn’t meet those eyes and feel shockwaves. Probably why his brain was so fried as to not comprehend the words coming from his mouth. Once they did, Cloud could only summon a single word in response:

“Shit.”

Zack guffawed with laughter, cringing a little. “Yikes!” he said. “Okay! Just dinner it is then. No harm, no foul.”

What? No! Damnit. Cloud shook his head, tried shaking some coherency into his lack of social graces. He’d never cared before, never thought it would cost him one day. The army he invented to hold him back surged along the frontline, charging him down to prevent him from defecting. But it was far too late, and he’d been given too much power. He was a weapon of mass destruction, his mind a lawless wasteland where he was beholden to no one.

Cloud scrambled after Zack. When words failed him, without any order to follow, he could hone his intent into action. He grabbed Zack by the suspenders of his Shinra plate, hauled him around, and kissed him. It was hard and hot and painful, rattling his teeth with the sudden force of it. But it got the point across. He hoped.

He jerked away enough to see Zack’s face, stunned into silence. He stared at Cloud as if he’d just shot him, confused and a little terrified.

“We’re dating,” Cloud said, definitively.

Zack’s massive, supernova smile blasted across his face. “Really?” he asked, as fervently as a dog being thrown a bone. This is mine? Are you sure?

Cloud nodded, lest his words betray him again. He yelped as Zack hoisted him into a hug, lifting his feet off the ground.

“Put me down before I change my mind.”

“You won’t regret it, Cloud! One date is all it will take!”

It had only taken a smile. He’d had him for a while, had Cloud going AWOL from his own principles ages ago. He was a rebel now, free to make his own choices, follow his own rules. No matter how destructive, how opposed to the status quo, Cloud would do as he damn well pleased, “Commander.”

And he damn well wanted to kiss Zack Fair again. So he did.

Damn the court martial that said he couldn’t.

[preposterousgreen]

Angeal makes sure to closely supervise Zack whenever he practices cooking in Angeal's kitchen. It's not because he expects Zack to burn the place down or cut his fingers off; Zack has proven to be a fast learner as usual.

No, it's to make sure that Genesis doesn't sneak in and say anything potentially confusing about which is a garlic clove and which is a bulb. Angeal is pretty sure that Zack's trooper buddy is feeding him a steady stream of misinformation on garlic usage as well.

[accala]

Zack Fair in the Lifestream

Can I just mention how Zack managed to NOT dissipate into the lifestream??! If we base it of the lifestream black & white chapters from "On the Way to a Smile," it's a difficult feat to do.

Here's an excerpt from Aerith:

"The woman was an Ancient. Which explained how she was able to maintain her individuality even within the Lifestream. If she so wished she could become part of the planet at any time, but the woman thought it too early for that just yet."

With the way this was phrased, it's implied that Ancients can choose to stay intact and those who aren't an Ancient would find it difficult to maintain individuality (or maybe I'm pulling a leg here but hear me out). Ancients are able to maintain individuality because of their connection with the Planet & the Lifestream. Zack was shown to have individuality in Advent Children. Which brings the question of what happened to Zack’s spirit in the afterlife.

Even Sephiroth in the OG game had a hard time not dissipating into it considering his half disintegrated body in his cocoon form. Although this maybe pertains to his physical body only. I'm inferring he was dying when Cloud stabbed him in Crisis Core (was still semi-alive) and fully dead when the party defeated him. After OG FF7, he was grasping onto Cloud as his point of obsession just so he wouldn't erode into the Lifestream's current.

Mind you, despite being seen as an infection in the Lifestream and in hindsight should have been easy to be rid of, this is the man that became god and took control of a planet-killing alien to make clones of himself. His tenacity knows no bounds and not dissipating is a difficult goal he achieved momentarily regardless.

Excerpts from Sephiroth & Aerith respectively:

“The man knew that if one could hold onto some core of their spirit, then one could remain a separate entity, independent from the planet’s system."

“She rushed through the Lifestream in search of other souls to help her. Ancients, on the verge of diffusing. These fragments of consciousness accepted her undertaking. When she found fragments of consciousness of people she had once known– pitifully few in number– she infused them with her own memories and sought their assistance.”

I think Zack was one of those fragments of consciousness that Aerith ended up finding and infusing with her own memories, which gave him individuality. But that doesn’t explain as to why or how fragments of a SOLDIER First-Class with JENOVA cells managed to stay intact for 2 YEARS (from OG FF7 to Advent Children) before Aerith found them. Lifestream White 2 mentions that spirits can refuse to be absorbed by the Lifestream due to hatred, and by Sephiroth’s case, his obsession with Cloud and his memories of him. But I don’t think that’s what Zack did based on his character. Instead of hatred or obsession, Zack had a strong will.

The fact that Aerith found fragments of Zack despite 2 years of his death implies that he chose to stay and to yet dissipate. I think he might have tried latching onto "some core of his spirit” to probably watch over Aerith & Cloud (the implications of him seeing Aerith's death is making me feral). I think the nature of his death played a part in this resolve. This part is mostly speculation: he died so close to Midgar, just a smidge of seeing Aerith again. And despite passing on his legacy to Cloud, Cloud was just newly reawakened from his coma. He might have wanted to watch over him and Aerith for a while and see how his legacy plays out. So a guardian angel if you will ;) (plays thematically with Crisis Core).

The image of Sephiroth trying so hard to not disappear while Zack is there because he’s just That Guy is funny to think about

[strayheartless]

Okay let’s torture Zack today: ADHD PARALYSIS STYLE!

Getoutlfbedgetoutofbedgetoutofbedgetoutofbedgetupgetupgetupgetuplazazylazazylazy-

This has been going on for too long now. Why can’t he just get up, huh? Why does this have to be a fight every fucking time? Just get the fuck up dude!

He doesn’t move. Instead his thumb shifts to scroll past another video. He knows Angeals about to bang on the door and demand to know why he’s not out of bed; he knows it’s going to spark a lecture, and he knows his brain is going to feel like it’s been lit up like a firework just hearing anything other than silence. He’s not doing it on purpose. He knows he needs to move.

There’s a knock at the door, and that gets him moving. It doesn’t sound like Angeals knock, it’s too hesitant. Also nobody has walked in which means they don’t have a key…

He opens the door to Cloud who’s standing there looking a little unsure. “You good?” He gives Zack a once over, closing off a little at whatever he finds, pulling his scarf over his mouth in nervous habit.

“Yeah I’m fine why?” Zack blinks. What did he forget?

“We er, we were going to meet for lunch.” Cloud looked away from him, and Zack feels like a grade A asshole. “It’s okay if you changed your mind, it’s just- a text- I mean… a text would have- it’s fine.”

“Cloud I’m so sorry!” He cried trying to stumble around looking for clean cloths from the pile of washing that’s mixed with the dirty laundry on the chair. “I completely lost track. I’m- I- I’m reall-“

He hadn’t realised he’d started crying until Cloud makes him stop with a hand on his arm, and he takes a huge stuttering breath. Why does he keep doing this!? Why does he keep forgetting these things and then upsetting his best friend!

“Zack breath,” Cloud says, kind of commands actually.Zack stops and focuses a little more on taking some breaths.

“Good, that’s good. Just… did you forget or did that thing happen again?” Cloud asks and Zack holds up two fingers to indicate option 2.

“Okay,” Cloud sighs and tries a little smile that he only ever seems to give to Zack. “Okay, that’s fine. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have put that pressure on you. Do you want to eat here, or do you think you need to get moving to kickstart something?”

Zack took another breath and struttered “m-moving.”

“Okay, I’ll leave you to get dressed then. 300 second okay?”

“Okay.”

Once Cloud closes his door again Zack moves around the room like lightning. He shoves on a shirt that smells clean, does his belt, grabs his phone and wallet and shoves his feet in his shoes.

Outside Clouds holding Zack’s coat out already and helps him into it.

“283 seconds. New record.” He bumps his elbow into Zack’s side lightly, making the other man laugh breathily.

“Cloud I really am so-“

“Don’t. I know you are and you don’t have to apologise. I get that it’s hard for you.” Cloud cuts him off.

Zack just looks at him. How can one person hold so much acceptance in one tiny body? How can somebody who’s known him for no more than a year accept and help him in ways not even his parents could.

Cloud never makes Zack feel bad for this. he never gets mad at him, when he has every right to. All Cloud has ever done is occasionally been insecure himself and even then he changes his approach when Zack explains.

“I really love you, you know that right?” He asks, wrapping his arms around Cloud. “Like, a lot,”

Cloud blushes “shut up,” he says, leaning into the side hug.

He doesn’t say it back, but he doesn’t have to. Zack knows Cloud loves him to and that makes all the difference in the world.