Begun Broken 2/?
April 7th, 2009 03:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skerenTitle: Begun Broken
Fandom: FFVII
Characters: Cloud, Zack
Word Count: 818
Rating: Work Safe
Summary: Zack met Cloud in the worst of circumstances, and sometimes, there's just nothing you can do.
Zack closed his eyes and leaned against the doorway by the hospital room, out of the line of sight of the blond inside.
As long as the kid didn’t look at him, he wouldn’t realize he was there. Some people wouldn’t think that was unusual, but it meant more than those some people apparently thought. It meant the kid’s awareness of his surroundings had gone to pot.
Tapes he’d gotten from security had shown him how the kid used to move, the cautious ready way he’d walk, or the way he’d avoid attention if anyone else was around. He’d been a cautious kid, not the most graceful, but very aware. None of that was apparent these days.
The last few weeks had been hard. Hard in ways he hadn’t expected actually. What’s a guy supposed to do when he has to answer the same question day after day after day? At the moment, he really didn’t want to go in and start the cycle over again with the blond.
He needed to.
He needed to do something because Shinra execs were getting curious and others were offering solutions that he really didn’t like the sounds of. It wasn’t the kid’s fault he’d been one of their best cadet shooters. It wasn’t the kid’s fault he’d been hurt. But apparently, people were damn determined to think that it was the kid’s fault that he wasn’t getting better.
A month and a half wasn’t long enough for someone to get over an injury like that, but he’d already heard verdict that the kid wasn’t getting sent home. He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse, but the signs that the kid wasn’t getting to go on active duty pointed to worse. There wasn’t a whole lot left to do in Shinra after a certain point that people could class good. He’d asked Seph, maybe hoped his assumptions were wrong... but the way the man’s face had closed up had told him plenty.
It hadn’t had a bad side effect though, that conversation, because he knew the man had started, in the last week or so, to show interest in the blond’s well being. Anything that could get Seph to not focus so hard inside anymore was a good thing.
Closing his eyes a moment, he took a deep breath before pushing away from the wall and starting towards the blond sitting on the bed, bright blue eyes focused on a reflective puzzle ball that someone had given him.
”Hey kid, how you doing this morning?”
It was a moment before he got an answer, but when he did it was accompanied by a bright smile. “Look what someone gave me.”
“It’s really cool looking. Remember who did?” He almost immediately felt guilty as the smile faded.
“No... I’m sorry.” The blond looked away, back to the ball as he twisted another piece around the edge of it.
Quiet lingered for a few long minutes.
”Hey, Cloud.” Blue eyes flit back up, blinking with something like surprise. He hadn’t forgotten he was there again, had he?“They’re saying that it’s time to release you from in here. Buuut, it seems like your stuff’s been moved out of the barracks so we can’t send you back there.”
There was a slightly confused look, then Cloud’s brow wrinkled up in thought under the edge of the bandaging. “So where am I going?”
“I talked to the doctor earlier today, and they’ve grudgingly given me the right to have you stay with me for a while. I really don’t think they know what to do with you.”
”I’m not going back on active duty...?”
And that there was the crux of why he hadn’t wanted to do this conversation today. “No, you’re not. They’ve said they won’t until your memory gets better.”
“But it’s not.” He pressed his lips together and looked back down at the ball. “Will they send me back to Nibelheim?”
“No, they’re not sure that’s a good idea either.”
“Oh.”
Silence fell again, and Zack moved to start gathering up the collection of things the teen had somehow acquired. After a little while, he felt eyes on him.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting together your stuff.”
“Why?”
He paused, then put one of the last things in his bag. “Because we’re moving you to my rooms on the base.”
“I’m not going back to the barracks?”
He shook his head, looking sideways at the blond. “No, you’re not. Here, get dressed, okay?”
”Kay.” There was a beat as the blond wiggled into his pants. “I forgot your name again.”
Looking away at the tone of frustration, Zack just sighed, straightening up. “Zack. My name is Zack. You’ll remember it eventually.”
The blond’s tone was just a little bitter as he shrugged into his shirt. “Maybe.”
Unfortunately, maybe was all he could count on.
Fandom: FFVII
Characters: Cloud, Zack
Word Count: 818
Rating: Work Safe
Summary: Zack met Cloud in the worst of circumstances, and sometimes, there's just nothing you can do.
Zack closed his eyes and leaned against the doorway by the hospital room, out of the line of sight of the blond inside.
As long as the kid didn’t look at him, he wouldn’t realize he was there. Some people wouldn’t think that was unusual, but it meant more than those some people apparently thought. It meant the kid’s awareness of his surroundings had gone to pot.
Tapes he’d gotten from security had shown him how the kid used to move, the cautious ready way he’d walk, or the way he’d avoid attention if anyone else was around. He’d been a cautious kid, not the most graceful, but very aware. None of that was apparent these days.
The last few weeks had been hard. Hard in ways he hadn’t expected actually. What’s a guy supposed to do when he has to answer the same question day after day after day? At the moment, he really didn’t want to go in and start the cycle over again with the blond.
He needed to.
He needed to do something because Shinra execs were getting curious and others were offering solutions that he really didn’t like the sounds of. It wasn’t the kid’s fault he’d been one of their best cadet shooters. It wasn’t the kid’s fault he’d been hurt. But apparently, people were damn determined to think that it was the kid’s fault that he wasn’t getting better.
A month and a half wasn’t long enough for someone to get over an injury like that, but he’d already heard verdict that the kid wasn’t getting sent home. He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse, but the signs that the kid wasn’t getting to go on active duty pointed to worse. There wasn’t a whole lot left to do in Shinra after a certain point that people could class good. He’d asked Seph, maybe hoped his assumptions were wrong... but the way the man’s face had closed up had told him plenty.
It hadn’t had a bad side effect though, that conversation, because he knew the man had started, in the last week or so, to show interest in the blond’s well being. Anything that could get Seph to not focus so hard inside anymore was a good thing.
Closing his eyes a moment, he took a deep breath before pushing away from the wall and starting towards the blond sitting on the bed, bright blue eyes focused on a reflective puzzle ball that someone had given him.
”Hey kid, how you doing this morning?”
It was a moment before he got an answer, but when he did it was accompanied by a bright smile. “Look what someone gave me.”
“It’s really cool looking. Remember who did?” He almost immediately felt guilty as the smile faded.
“No... I’m sorry.” The blond looked away, back to the ball as he twisted another piece around the edge of it.
Quiet lingered for a few long minutes.
”Hey, Cloud.” Blue eyes flit back up, blinking with something like surprise. He hadn’t forgotten he was there again, had he?“They’re saying that it’s time to release you from in here. Buuut, it seems like your stuff’s been moved out of the barracks so we can’t send you back there.”
There was a slightly confused look, then Cloud’s brow wrinkled up in thought under the edge of the bandaging. “So where am I going?”
“I talked to the doctor earlier today, and they’ve grudgingly given me the right to have you stay with me for a while. I really don’t think they know what to do with you.”
”I’m not going back on active duty...?”
And that there was the crux of why he hadn’t wanted to do this conversation today. “No, you’re not. They’ve said they won’t until your memory gets better.”
“But it’s not.” He pressed his lips together and looked back down at the ball. “Will they send me back to Nibelheim?”
“No, they’re not sure that’s a good idea either.”
“Oh.”
Silence fell again, and Zack moved to start gathering up the collection of things the teen had somehow acquired. After a little while, he felt eyes on him.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting together your stuff.”
“Why?”
He paused, then put one of the last things in his bag. “Because we’re moving you to my rooms on the base.”
“I’m not going back to the barracks?”
He shook his head, looking sideways at the blond. “No, you’re not. Here, get dressed, okay?”
”Kay.” There was a beat as the blond wiggled into his pants. “I forgot your name again.”
Looking away at the tone of frustration, Zack just sighed, straightening up. “Zack. My name is Zack. You’ll remember it eventually.”
The blond’s tone was just a little bitter as he shrugged into his shirt. “Maybe.”
Unfortunately, maybe was all he could count on.