What Lies Within

Chapter Twenty

The 1st Class SOLDIER ran his fingers through Zack’s silky black hair, eyes shining with concern at the intensity of the teen’s shaking and his continued silence. He gathered up the lithe body into his arms and held the youth to him.

“Zack, it’s alright now.” Angeal murmured, fingers splaying over the quivering shoulders and rubbing. Tears soaked the heavy uniform sweater as the 2nd Class sobbed and clung to the larger man, the first sound he had uttered since the rape.

“M…Master…m’sorry…” The spiky haired slave sobbed, trembling against Angeal. The older man’s brow furrowed and his hold on the smaller boy tightened slightly.

“You did nothing wrong, pup. I should have been with you; it’s my job to protect you.” The SOLDIER murmured, his frown deepening when the spikes brushed against his chin as the younger shook his head.

“M’sorry…” The youth whispered again and Angeal began to rub the boy’s lower back to comfort the distraught 2nd Class.

“What are you sorry for, Zack?” The long haired man questioned patiently.

“Broke rules…” The smaller boy murmured and Angeal smiled, pulling back from his puppy to look down at the tear-filled eyes. He cupped the curve of his slave’s face, stroking the jaw line.

“I don’t care about the rules you broke, pup. Like I said, it wasn’t your fault, so you weren’t in the wrong. What I do care about is helping you feel safe and content again. Tell me your troubles, puppy, and you can take all the time in the world to hurt. I’ll be here.” Those pale blue eyes blinked, forcing more tears to fall and Zack buried his face in Angeal’s chest and clung, quiet sobs wracking his lithe body.

“He…he cut the collar off…and then hurt me, but…but then he didn’t let me feel at all… It’s like it happened but then again, I didn’t feel it. Like a dream… I…I don’t think I’m okay…” Zack shuddered into the embrace the larger man had on him, burying his face into the firm chest, trying to hide from the world. The older SOLDIER hummed lightly with a frown and placed a finger underneath the boy’s chin, lifting those drowning blue eyes to meet them with his own midnight orbs.

“Puppy… You were raped; I cannot tell you that it didn’t happen. And I will not tell you everything is okay now, because it isn’t. But know that you couldn’t control it and you will heal. You are strong, Zack. I believe you can do this.” Angeal murmured softly in his deep voice, not breaking eye contact with the shattered youth. Those beautiful eyes closed for a few moments, as if the teen were trying to gather himself together, and then opened again to look at the taller man with a raw emotion.

“You think I can do this?” The teen questioned softly, his tenor voice wavering. Angeal smiled gently and nodded firmly.

“I know you will get through this. But still take time to hurt for yourself. A wound needs to bleed before it can heal.” The older man told his slave. Those leaking eyes closed again and the teen pressed close, sobbing quietly, his hands fisting in the uniform top tightly. It could have been minutes, or hours that the youth cried, Angeal didn’t keep the time, but knew that his own chest was tightening from the other’s pain. It hurt physically to see something other than a smile on the smaller SOLDIER’s face. It also was apparent that the phantom echoes of pain within him might have something to do with what he witnessed on the footage from their latest mission. So the older man merely held his broken slave close and let him cry until there were no more tears to escape from those beautiful eyes, until the sobbing ebbed off, and the teen grew quiet. Only then did Angeal move a muscle, cocking his head to look down at the distressed teen. Zack was looking up at him tiredly, but wasn’t crying anymore.

“Master…I…” The teen stopped when the other man smiled softly.

“You don’t have to rush it, Zack. Take it slowly…” The other man advised, knowing that the teen had to have a lot of questions and didn’t want too much information overwhelming his slave. The spiky haired 2nd Class paused, looking away for a moment before meeting his master’s eyes again.

“When I was falling…and when…Genesis took me…I saw…” Zack stopped here and looked at the older man pleadingly, not wanting to sound crazy and not wanting this to be overheard if the two Turks in the adjacent room didn’t know. Angeal stared down at the smaller teen for a moment before nodding.

“What you saw was real, Zack. Genesis and I are experiments under Doctor Hollander. The wing is a mutation of sorts, from our DNA being altered. We are not human.” The words were laced with regret and self hatred, but Zack found himself shaking his head. Not in denial of the information being shared, but the emotions behind those words. Angeal was more human than most people, and was very important to Zack. It hurt to hear that the older man didn’t think much of himself. Those midnight mako eyes were slightly confused now, probably at Zack’s reaction.

“You are human, Master. You’ve just had bad things done to you. If this rape wasn’t my fault, then experimentation on you isn’t either.” The teenager insisted with a stubborn air. The older SOLDIER couldn’t hold back a smile, his dark blue eyes gentling. Zack was comforting him now, even when he himself was hurting. An ungloved thumb reached up and ran gently underneath the boy’s wet eye, wiping the latent moisture away that still clung there.

“Call me Angeal, puppy.” Those wet eyes widened, making Angeal smile, “you’ve more than earned the right.” Zack tilted his head, considering the other for a moment.

“How have I earned it, Angeal?” Zack murmured, frowning a bit when his older master shook his head negatively.

“Not tonight, pup. It’s getting very late and you should relax and rest.” The long haired SOLDIER told the boy still sitting in his lap. Zack hesitated a few moments before nodding slightly and laying his head against the broad chest of the older 1st Class, listening to the reassuring thump of the other man’s heart. The other man’s hand went to his newly dried spikes, carding through the soft strands repeatedly, causing the youth’s eyes to shut. This went on for minutes of silence until there was a sound from the next room. Zack opened his eyes and looked over to see Reno and Rude enter the room, knowing that the sound he had heard earlier had been a courtesy to him. Turks rarely made noise when moving. The fiery haired Turk smiled at him and Zack returned it when a small one of his own.

“Hey, Zack. Are you comfortable?” Reno questioned, sitting down on the loveseat with his bald headed Dominant. The shorter youth nodded, watching the two closely. Reno was leaning back into the sofa and Rude was texting on his cell, probably intentionally deterring his attention from Zack in order not to intimidate him.

“Are you hungry? We have some takeout.” The slim Turk offered with an encouraging smile. The teen nodded in response, a little startled when Angeal leant forward and opened one of the boxes. The taller SOLDIER gathered some noodles between chopsticks and offered it to Zack’s lips. He would have thought he was being babied if only for the fact that his master had fed him before now. Angeal had never done it in front of other people, but it was familiar ground that made the teen feel a little more secure. He was also comforted from the fact that his master knew that he wasn’t weak. The youth leant forward and closed his lips around the chopsticks, gathering the slightly cold seasoned noodles into his mouth and chewing.

“We’d have gotten something else, but it is rather late at night for delivery.” Rude explained; sunglass-shielded eyes still on his phone. Zack shook his head after chewing another mouthful.

“Thank you. It’s fine.” Both Turks relaxed at the sound of his voice. Reno’s emerald eyes softened slightly and then the teen yawned widely and stretched.

“It’s time for bed, Rude.” He informed with a grin, knowing that the other man was in too subdued of a mood now to question his submissive’s gall to issue orders. Merely a nod and a ‘hmm’ sound was his answer, along with the cell phone closing.

“Zack, you and Angeal will be taking the guest room. It’s the door across from the bathroom. You can stay up as long as you prefer. Goodnight.” Rude stood and was followed by his smaller red haired lover, who flashed a smile over his shoulder as they left. Angeal continued to feed him until he shook his head, a little satisfied from the full feeling in his stomach. If Zack remembered, the last time he ate was three days ago. His master set the takeout aside and wrapped his arms around the smaller teen.

“How are you feeling, pup?” The deep voice queried over the sound of the heartbeat Zack was listening to. The 2nd Class SOLDIER locked eyes with Angeal and smiled shakily.

“I feel safe again, and I think I might be fine later. But…” His voice trailed off, as well as his blue eyes. Angeal waited patiently for his slave to continue.

“What’s going to happen to…Genesis?” Zack asked finally.

“You don’t have to worry about that, puppy.” Angeal answered with a frown.

“But, I would like to know…” The spiky haired teen replied, looking up at his master’s face pleadingly. Angeal sighed, realizing he was becoming weak to those azure hues, especially when they were sad.

“Sephiroth and Tseng are tracking him. Genesis will most likely be put to death for raping and killing many innocent SOLDIERs. He can’t continue to live.” The larger man answered. Zack hesitated.

“Put to death…by you?” The pale eyed 2nd questioned, looking at Angeal with a solemn expression.

“Yes, pup. By me.” The SOLDIER answered with a nod. The soft chime of Angeal’s cell made Zack jump and tense, only relaxing at the soothing words from the older man’s mouth before his master quieted and answered the phone, one arm still securely around Zack’s lithe frame.

“Hewley.” Angeal intoned, wondering what this was about. A deep chuckle answered and Angeal knew at once that the caller was Sephiroth.

“You don’t need to be on edge, Angeal. Genesis fled headquarters and is no where near where you two are. Cissnei and Tseng are on his trail.” The silver haired General informed.

“That’s reassuring.” Angeal replied with a soft sigh. Sephiroth made a soft noise of acknowledgement.

“How is Zack?” He asked. Angeal’s eyes met his slave’s curious ones with a soft smile.

“He’s recovering, and needs rest.” The larger man answered.

“Both of you can rest easy tonight. Genesis will be found and he can’t get to either of you. Take care.” The connection was severed and Angeal closed his phone, pocketing it. Zack yelped lightly when his world shifted suddenly, finding him securely in Angeal’s arms and on their way to the bedroom. The softness of the sheets was pleasant to feel after so much brutality, and the fact that Angeal immediately drew him into his embrace made the feeling grow tenfold.

“Angeal…?” Zack questioned softly, glowing blue eyes looking at his master, who smiled in response.

“Tomorrow, puppy. Just rest and know that you are safe.” Angeal murmured, running a hand soothingly through the soft black spikes. Zack hummed and leaned into the touch, knowing that the other SOLDIER would chase away his nightmares if they came for him in the night.

To be continued...

Alright folks, this is the last of my massive and quick updates. The rest of the chapters will come as I write them! ^-^ Reviews will make me write faster, so please leave one with your thoughts. Thank you for reading WLW so far and I hope you are enjoying it! <3