@strifesoldier | Cloud Strife sent;;
' You and me. Your body near mine, close. I'm not right when you're not with me. I get the shakes ' oop zack made him codependent...
Vulnerability, no matter how small or largely given, was always a difficult thing to express; Years of forcing himself into the mold of what Zack thought was the ideal hero only further forcing him to push the overwhelming desire to rely upon someone else to the back of his mind. Being relied upon was the closest he'd ever come to sharing a vulnerable moment with anyone and it was something he cherished far more than even his own life. That much so had never been in the question though, only further proven with each moment where he took a beating to protect those he cared for most, often coming as victorious in each battle he'd carelessly chosen for himself.
Perhaps it was the hubris of a man who has lost damn near everything already or maybe it was just the delusion of someone who had grown lonely over the years, someone who felt as though nobody bothered to know who he was outside of his uniform and rank; At least not until after he'd managed to establish a connection with another person for the first time since... ( Nevermind. ) Zack has come to rely upon being needed, feeling helpful and he's long since found that purpose at the side of his blonde companion. While he'd known that Cloud was capable of taking care of himself well enough, he also couldn't scratch the desperate itch to feel helpful, to do more than just stand beside the other man silently like some brooding shadow.
Though that's what he's become, hasn't he? Bitter and violent should he feel it necessary to be so, a trained killer unafraid of ripping and rending through flesh that managed to be snagged within the maws of an enraged beast, many saw the once proud warrior as nothing more than a monster as of late; A creature that thrived on combat and the destruction of the very people that made him into who he was today, but not Cloud, never Cloud apparently. Lips curl into a gentle grin at the idea, he was helpful to someone at the very least, even if he'd grown all too protective throughout their time beside one another and perhaps he cared far more than the average friend should have, but then again; Average friends don't go through the same horrors as the duo had to endure together. That's how Zack justified it, anyways.
A rabid guard dog trapped in an endless loop of biting despite never wanting to bring harm to those unfortunate to cross into Zack's poor graces, a feature of which was far easier done than said given how low his tolerance for anyone daring to cause problems for either Cloud or himself truly had become. That dependency, as it seems to be, is reciprocated. Though that hardly came as much of a surprise, being without the blonde felt off, something so viscerally incorrect that his very being often trembled with wrath when the two were separated for too long and the verbal confirmation he wasn't the only one to experience that... ( Validating, freeing even. )
“ And here I was, stewing about whether I'm being overbearing towards you. ” He huffs out, amusement glimmering within mako stained eyes; An odd calmness kept Zack completely and uncharacteristically still. At times such as this, he'd often be pacing or doing squats, clears his mind and allows the former SOLDIER to focus on his surroundings but instead he simply sat, jaw twitching while his tongue feels at the sharp canines meant for rending through his foes and that familiar emptiness he'd been so prone to slowly seeps in. “ I'm always here though, always nearby until you tell me to go away and mean it, I promise. ”