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dogmatixMan oh man how long has it been since I posted fanfic? O_o Not that stuff hasn't been running in my head, but just taking the time to get it down in text and all. XD;; Anyway, here, have a FFVII plunnie :D (and if anyone has any recs for other/longer(or even short!) fic along these lines, I would love it if you could link me. ♥ )
Title: Inside Outside Inbetween
Fandom: FFVII - Cloud and Zack
Rating: uhhh? G-ish? PG-13?
Warnings: mild swearing
Summary: Bring out thezombies clones!
Inside Outside Inbetween
Inside
He's burning up, mako thick in his lungs, dragging on his skin. He thinks, if it weren't for Cloud, Cloud needing him, he'd have lost it a long time ago. Thoughts blur, whispers breaking up words like ripples over a pond.
He clings to that core of self that defines Zack Fair, stubborn to the last. Holds on to himself, even while's he's slipping away, fingers going slender and pale, as if they'd never been kissed by Gongaga's scorching sun. Previously jet black hair drifts around him like a ghost, moon-pale.
Can't bear to look over to the tank beside him. So he doesn't. Just closes his eyes. Sooner or later, their captors will slip up. Sooner or later, they'll be free. So he waits. And hopes that it won't be too late.
Outside
"Easy there, easy Spike," the words ripple and stretch. Someone's behind him, holding his arms to his sides, pinning him as he thrashes jerkily, world swimming with green and black. Harsh breathing echoes in his ears, and he realizes it's himself.
"Just ride it through, you'll be okay, easy, easy." The words are right, familiar, but wrong at the same time, and he can't figure out why. Tries to talk, but his tongue is thick and awkward, his lips numb. Just like almost everything else. Weakly he rolls his head until a fall of silver hair, faitly tinged green like everything else, comes into view.
His breathing picks up as he forces his head to rise. "Cloud, Cloud it's okay, I know what this looks like, but-" He stares into dragon-slit eyes and panics without knowing why, white noise blanketing everything as he twists and bucks, struggling to get away.
Tears well in his eyes when he collapses back against the strong, warm chest. Failed again. Slowly he becomes aware that his captor is speaking. "-robably don't understand right now, but it's okay, it's okay. Cloud, I know this is strange, but it's me, it's Zack, you remember me? Country bumpkin from Gongaga, you took me to meet your mom? I know I don't look-"
"Zack?" Cloud gasps, and hates how weak his voice sounds. It can't be, this isn't Zack, Zack is... Zack is...... "Zack?" He looks up into that terrifying face, and as the last of the green fades slowly, sees that the eyes are a glowing, gorgeous purple.
"Zack."
In-Between
They had been going to Midgar. Not anymore. Really, Cloud isn't sure where they're going right now. Mostly just avoiding Shinra. Zack had cut his long, silver hair. Then he'd had to let it grow out a bit and put it in a pony-tail, because otherwise it just went absolutely everywhere, like a giant dandelion.
Apparently Cloud has SOLDIER eyes too, from... well. Their eyes get hidden behind sunglasses, hiding the telltale SOLDIER glow, and they'd stolen more clothing in the past month than Cloud had owned in his entire life. Civilian clothing just wasn't meant for SOLDIER antics. Or bullet-holes.
Zack's the one that does most of the talking when they're in a town. Cloud stands back and keeps his head down, mostly carries stuff. They're walking past a second-hand store when Cloud catches sight of himself in an old mirror. At first he thinks it's a trick of the light, just an illusion, a nightmare quickly forgotten.
But it's not. His hair is silver. Shaking hands reach up to drag his glasses down the bridge of his nose, and shocked, slit-pupiled eyes meet his. Are his. Shock squeezes around him, hot and cold and his pupils are little more than vertical slashes of black in a wash of glowing sea-green.
Zack's arm is around his shoulders, all but dragging him away. "What.... what..." The words won't come, can't get past the whirl of shock.
"Damnit. I meant to break it to you better." Zack's wry grin is pained, apologetic. He doesn't say anything else, and Cloud doesn't ask, only following where Zack leads.
They're holed up in an old house for now, a step up from a cave at least. Zack sits across from him, their knees almost touching.
"What happened to me?" Cloud asks. His memory might resemble Swiss cheese, and that's on a good day, but he knows with bone-deep certainty that he did not have silver hair. But then, Zack didn't either.... he thinks.
"You know Shinra had us in the labs for a long time, right?"
Cloud nods.
"They made us into clones." Zack says, mouth a tight line, silver hair brushing his neck. He looks down and to the side, lashes half-hiding the unearthly eyes.
"Clones...? Of.. of Sephiroth?" Cloud asks hesitantly, vague memories of a cool gaze and a deadly sword playing in his head.
"Yeah. Guess that bastard Hojo wanted something special for the guys who beat the Silver General."
Cloud stares. "We- We beat Sephiroth?!"
Zack starts in surprise, wide eyes finding Cloud. "You don't remember?"
Cloud only stares. No, no he doesn't remember. How much has he forgotten, really? How much of him is even still him?
"It's okay," Zack leans over, lays a warm, heavy hand on Cloud's shoulder. "We didn't have a choice. He.. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but he wasn't thinking rationally, maybe he was degrading like Angeal and Genesis, maybe Hojo fucked the poor guy up some more, I don't know. But the real Sephiroth wouldn't have wanted to go on like that."
Who were Angeal and Genesis? Cloud looks down, keeping his mouth shut. Zack seems to know anyway. There's an arm across his shoulders now, pulling him over to lean against Zack, and he goes willingly. It helps, being close like this.
"It's okay, Cloud" Zack says again, ruffling a long-fingered hand through Cloud's mop of unruly silver hair. "We survived, we're here, and whatever you don't remember, I can fill in for you. Even Shinra couldn't take us down. You'n me, we'll be just fine."
They stay that way for a while. And against all reason and all doubt, Cloud finds himself believing that Zack is right, that between the two of them, they really can do anything.
FIN
Title: Inside Outside Inbetween
Fandom: FFVII - Cloud and Zack
Rating: uhhh? G-ish? PG-13?
Warnings: mild swearing
Summary: Bring out the
Inside Outside Inbetween
Inside
He's burning up, mako thick in his lungs, dragging on his skin. He thinks, if it weren't for Cloud, Cloud needing him, he'd have lost it a long time ago. Thoughts blur, whispers breaking up words like ripples over a pond.
He clings to that core of self that defines Zack Fair, stubborn to the last. Holds on to himself, even while's he's slipping away, fingers going slender and pale, as if they'd never been kissed by Gongaga's scorching sun. Previously jet black hair drifts around him like a ghost, moon-pale.
Can't bear to look over to the tank beside him. So he doesn't. Just closes his eyes. Sooner or later, their captors will slip up. Sooner or later, they'll be free. So he waits. And hopes that it won't be too late.
Outside
"Easy there, easy Spike," the words ripple and stretch. Someone's behind him, holding his arms to his sides, pinning him as he thrashes jerkily, world swimming with green and black. Harsh breathing echoes in his ears, and he realizes it's himself.
"Just ride it through, you'll be okay, easy, easy." The words are right, familiar, but wrong at the same time, and he can't figure out why. Tries to talk, but his tongue is thick and awkward, his lips numb. Just like almost everything else. Weakly he rolls his head until a fall of silver hair, faitly tinged green like everything else, comes into view.
His breathing picks up as he forces his head to rise. "Cloud, Cloud it's okay, I know what this looks like, but-" He stares into dragon-slit eyes and panics without knowing why, white noise blanketing everything as he twists and bucks, struggling to get away.
Tears well in his eyes when he collapses back against the strong, warm chest. Failed again. Slowly he becomes aware that his captor is speaking. "-robably don't understand right now, but it's okay, it's okay. Cloud, I know this is strange, but it's me, it's Zack, you remember me? Country bumpkin from Gongaga, you took me to meet your mom? I know I don't look-"
"Zack?" Cloud gasps, and hates how weak his voice sounds. It can't be, this isn't Zack, Zack is... Zack is...... "Zack?" He looks up into that terrifying face, and as the last of the green fades slowly, sees that the eyes are a glowing, gorgeous purple.
"Zack."
In-Between
They had been going to Midgar. Not anymore. Really, Cloud isn't sure where they're going right now. Mostly just avoiding Shinra. Zack had cut his long, silver hair. Then he'd had to let it grow out a bit and put it in a pony-tail, because otherwise it just went absolutely everywhere, like a giant dandelion.
Apparently Cloud has SOLDIER eyes too, from... well. Their eyes get hidden behind sunglasses, hiding the telltale SOLDIER glow, and they'd stolen more clothing in the past month than Cloud had owned in his entire life. Civilian clothing just wasn't meant for SOLDIER antics. Or bullet-holes.
Zack's the one that does most of the talking when they're in a town. Cloud stands back and keeps his head down, mostly carries stuff. They're walking past a second-hand store when Cloud catches sight of himself in an old mirror. At first he thinks it's a trick of the light, just an illusion, a nightmare quickly forgotten.
But it's not. His hair is silver. Shaking hands reach up to drag his glasses down the bridge of his nose, and shocked, slit-pupiled eyes meet his. Are his. Shock squeezes around him, hot and cold and his pupils are little more than vertical slashes of black in a wash of glowing sea-green.
Zack's arm is around his shoulders, all but dragging him away. "What.... what..." The words won't come, can't get past the whirl of shock.
"Damnit. I meant to break it to you better." Zack's wry grin is pained, apologetic. He doesn't say anything else, and Cloud doesn't ask, only following where Zack leads.
They're holed up in an old house for now, a step up from a cave at least. Zack sits across from him, their knees almost touching.
"What happened to me?" Cloud asks. His memory might resemble Swiss cheese, and that's on a good day, but he knows with bone-deep certainty that he did not have silver hair. But then, Zack didn't either.... he thinks.
"You know Shinra had us in the labs for a long time, right?"
Cloud nods.
"They made us into clones." Zack says, mouth a tight line, silver hair brushing his neck. He looks down and to the side, lashes half-hiding the unearthly eyes.
"Clones...? Of.. of Sephiroth?" Cloud asks hesitantly, vague memories of a cool gaze and a deadly sword playing in his head.
"Yeah. Guess that bastard Hojo wanted something special for the guys who beat the Silver General."
Cloud stares. "We- We beat Sephiroth?!"
Zack starts in surprise, wide eyes finding Cloud. "You don't remember?"
Cloud only stares. No, no he doesn't remember. How much has he forgotten, really? How much of him is even still him?
"It's okay," Zack leans over, lays a warm, heavy hand on Cloud's shoulder. "We didn't have a choice. He.. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but he wasn't thinking rationally, maybe he was degrading like Angeal and Genesis, maybe Hojo fucked the poor guy up some more, I don't know. But the real Sephiroth wouldn't have wanted to go on like that."
Who were Angeal and Genesis? Cloud looks down, keeping his mouth shut. Zack seems to know anyway. There's an arm across his shoulders now, pulling him over to lean against Zack, and he goes willingly. It helps, being close like this.
"It's okay, Cloud" Zack says again, ruffling a long-fingered hand through Cloud's mop of unruly silver hair. "We survived, we're here, and whatever you don't remember, I can fill in for you. Even Shinra couldn't take us down. You'n me, we'll be just fine."
They stay that way for a while. And against all reason and all doubt, Cloud finds himself believing that Zack is right, that between the two of them, they really can do anything.
FIN
