Elegance

A “Random Final Fantasy 7 Yaoi Pairing Generator” crackfic. Zack x Rufus, revenge. It’s in present tense, which might not be the best choice, but it works. It's part of a story arc. The 'table of contents' is at my livejournal (http://chucknaked.livejournal.com) and the rest of the fics are at my Fanfiction.net account, under the penname LikeableTariser.

Elegance


Cloud is sitting on the couch in Zack’s dorm room. Zack has wrapped his freind in a green and gray blanket that his grandma knitted for him, “to take the chill out of the Midgar winters and remind you of us folks in Gongaga from time to time.” It was made with love, which is exactly what Cloud needs right now. Zack isn’t exactly sure why Cloud was semiconsciously trying to cook himself in the showers at 8am, since the blonde isn’t saying anything, but Zack has a pretty good idea of what happened. He doesn’t know what he can do other that give Cloud a safe place to sleep and someone to confide in when he’s ready, so he’s doing what he can.

He’s in the kitchenette, making a cup of hot chocolate because it always made him feel better when he was a kid, even though Cloud hasn’t asked for it and this is a lot worse than a fall on the playground. The phone rings and he ignores it. Whoever is calling can leave a message, he has more important things to do.

He’s sitting next to Cloud, handing him the mug, when his machine picks up.

“Hi, it’s Zack! Leave a number and I’ll call you back,” the tinny recording of his voice announces.

“It’s Rufus. I’ve found something you should go over. I know it’s Saturday but this is important.”

Zack can hear the click of Rufus’s cell snapping shut very clearly in the quiet space where Cloud’s breathing should be. His friend is ghostly pale, knuckles white against the cheery cornflower blue of the mug, and there are fine tremors in the surface of the drink.

Zack picks up the phone and dials Rufus’s number, surprised that he isn’t trying to crush the smooth plastic in his grip. He feels extraordinarily calm, actually.

“Zack?” Rufus’s voice asks.

“I’ll be there in a few,” he says quietly, and hangs up.

His next call he’s less sure of, but someone has to watch Cloud while he does this. The peculiarly numb, floating feeling in his head sustains him.

“Sir, I have a favor to ask,” he says when Sephiroth finally picks up.

“...if this isn’t life or death, I’m going to demote you,” Sephiroth grunts, his voice rough with sleep.

“A little more death than life,” he hears himself say, feeling like he is miles away from the man who can be so flippant when his best friend has just been raped. “Can you come over? I’ll explain things when you get here.”

A heavy sigh crackles over the line.

“Give me ten minutes,” he hears, and then Sephiroth hangs up.

Zack isn’t sure what he does for the twelve minutes before Sephiroth knocks on his door, but Cloud doesn’t seem to be noticing much either so Zack thinks he might get away with this.

As he lets Sephiroth in, he’s still waiting for the wave of blinding rage to crash in to him.

“Take care of him,” he says, nodding in Cloud’s direction. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Something must be showing on his face, because even without the explanation he promised, Sephiroth seems to understand what’s going on. Sephiroth tosses him a mastered FullCure.

“Don’t leave any evidence, whether this person lives or dies,” Sephiroth says.

Zack shuts the door behind him with a soft click. Cold certainty is humming in his veins, telling him one thing– Rufus ShinRa is going to die today.