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〈 prompt◞ ❛ @wingsought . 〉 well , zack's gonna kiss him , since nobody else is . :)
& he’s just gonna be in awe , because wow , this is his fiance ... how did he ever get so lucky ? what deities did he somehow manage to please to be blessed with the ability to kiss those lips every day of his life ? cloud’s not sure , but he’s definitely not going to take it for granted . he’s chasing those lips and kissing him back .
@wingsought sent some poetry :
‘ you are in my bones , wherever i go , know — i take you with me ’
the flowers of her little slum church have taken a liking to him , ever since she first took him there - almost as if they try to curl around his ankles when he approaches where she sits , taking care of the blooming petals with a practiced ease .
he speaks as if this is the end - a gut - wrenching thing that clutches her heart , threatening to never let go - but for a few long moments , she says nothing . continues to tend to her beloved flowers , the sunlight casting her shadow dark & looming ahead of her .
she knows he means it with determination , to give her strength ---- but it strikes a chord of sadness , mayhaps not all her own .
“ wherever you go , huh .... ”
she speaks , barely a murmur , with a contemplative hum - & her flowers seem to tilt their heads , as if posing question , curiosity , all their own .
wherever he went , she would go , too - it was a nice sentiment , at least , with which she eventually finds the courage to turn to meet his gaze .
“ where will you go ? ”
@wingsought said: he understands the need for going as a small group; he gets it - but he doesn't love the idea. he watches cloud & struggles between his worry / his desire to protect & his faith / his belief that cloud's strong. lips purse & arms cross with his discontent, "if you're sure about this... you know the reactors as well as i do. shouldn't be too hard, huh? ... you'll be careful, right?"
they’d been inseparable this past year, never far from each other until that which would succeed this moment. it was no quiet revelation ; it was an incessant buzz at the back of his mind, palpable tension in the air that cloud felt crashing down upon him long before the time came for him to be seen off by, first, tifa, who’d returned to the bar, and, now, zack. even as he said otherwise, the younger man could practically hear the thoughts running rampant in his companion’s mind as if they’d been spoken aloud. once solved, the puzzle of zack’s features laid it out quite nicely.
( i’m worried / i believe in you / i can’t protect you there )
brilliant blue eyes glanced upon zack with the patience of a saint --- or so such thinly veiled avidity was deemed when even a modicum of sloth was instilled within the one known as cloud strife. cloud’s stance mirrored his, and, though his piercing gaze had momentarily skittered away, the “ zack look ” returned full force. feather - light exhale notwithstanding.
“ zack, ” cloud began, that lack of even temperament showing itself through his stoicism, and he had to pause to ensure nothing more surfaced lest it was taken as unbridled, festering annoyance rather than a desire to get the mission done with to return to that familiar smile and those welcoming arms --- because of their security. it had to be that and nothing more, right ?
“ ‘course i’ll be safe. i’ve kept up with you this far. ” the slight curl to his lips threatened a more biting remark that cloud allowed to be washed away for the sake of pleasantry. it ain’t right to tease him when he gets like this ... be kind, cloud. “ if i wasn’t sure, you’d be the first one to know. ” though the way he said it made it seem more like a challenge than an assurance. the urge to roll his eyes at his own inadequacy was so strong he’d had no choice but to close them for half a second. he feared zack would ( or had ) seen through it and would assume the worst.
“ now, stop scrunchin’ up your face like that. you’re startin’ to look like me, you nag. ”
so much for being kind ...
blink. blink. blink. " . . . 𝚈𝙾𝚄'𝚁𝙴 𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙸𝚃 𝚆𝚁𝙾𝙽𝙶. " she'd been silent , observing and all attempts to keep her opinion quiet was null and void when laughter erupted pass pink hued lips. " 𝚆𝙷𝙾 𝚃𝙰𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙷𝙾𝚆 𝚃𝙾 𝙴𝙰𝚃 ? " aerith teases , a shake of her head before giving a playful slap to the back of his hand. " 𝚃𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝚂𝙻𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁 𝙱𝙸𝚃𝙴𝚂. 𝚂𝙰𝚅𝙾𝚁 𝙸𝚃. " they're her first words of advice , smile bright as fork stabs various different flavors to shish kebab them onto the prongs. " 𝙾𝙺𝙰𝚈 , 𝙽𝙾𝚆 𝙾𝙿𝙴𝙽. " aerith gives a stern look , her own mouth opening as if he'd needed to be shown the simple task. " 𝚂𝙴𝙴 . . . 𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙷𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝙴𝙰𝚃 𝙸𝚃 𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝚃𝙾𝙶𝙴𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚁 . . . 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙱𝙴 𝙷𝙾𝙽𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝙸𝙵 𝙸𝚃'𝚂 𝙱𝙰𝙳. " it's a meal she hasn't attempted yet , made the choice to use him as the new guinea pig before making the batch for those at leaf house.
𝚃𝙾 𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚂𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃. 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙲𝙰𝙻𝙻.
“ hey, zack --- doesn’t aerith live around here ? ” so trudged the duo through the streets of the sector 5 slums, looking for work. there were plenty of people needing help with shinra’s reign being just as detrimental to the lower class as it benefited the city as a whole.
“ don’t you think we should go see her ? it’s been five years. ”
@wingsought // au starter call !
⟨ prompt◞ ❛ @wingsought . ⟩ andrea or jessie.
❛ ... ❜ hold on , can we go back to the joke questions ? at least he could play those off . now he was just kind of ... awkward . ❛ uh ... ❜ ... ❛ ... jessie . ❜
@wingsought said: “ wake up, cutie. “ / after your tags i had to but WAIT I'LL SEND A SERIOUS ONE SDLKJF
rest like this was hard to come by, like the clear blue sky in the midst of a raging storm. a precious spot of fair weather where the sun’s warmth beat down upon him and his tumultuous mind would settle into a peaceful lull that sent him to another time. another plane. another life. along with eyes as welcoming a shade as the sky above, a smile that rivaled gaia’s nearest star, a voice that said everything was going to be all right.
“ how are things going to be okay if you’re not here ? ” words spoken, quickly forgotten, lost to the world of dreams. already he felt his focus slip from this present as if another sought to draw him back to reality.
“ wake up, cutie. ”
“ no, i don’t want to leave. i can’t leave you again. ” but that, too, faded as cloud was torn from his imposed unconsciousness ( please don’t take my sunshine away. ) and thrust out into the cold, hard waking world to look upon a not - so - unfamiliar face.
zack ?
“ you’re ... ” not that already forgotten name. someone else. “ the flower girl. ”
〈 unprompted◞ ❛ @wingsought . 〉 being a mercenary has been lucrative, not just for his wallet, but for so many more important reasons. one of those reasons (the majority of those reasons, really) stands before him; the ex-SOLDIER feels the frantic beat of his nerves against his chest as he settles on a knee to reveal a ring made of beauty & simplicity, "wanna get married?"
he could tell just by looking at him that zack was a little nervous ——— could see it in the way he’d carried himself . cloud was about to question him , to ask if he was alright & what was on his mind , but before he’d even had the chance zack was sinking to the floor in front of him .
his brain stopped . that was the only way he could describe it really ; everything just halted . the world , his mind , his lungs ——— everything was on standstill & despite not at all intending it cloud’s expression was infeasibly blank . gears of his mind had to chug in overdrive to process three simple words , words that were so inexplicably zack ... so casual , so mundane , despite their heavy intention , but cloud still couldn’t process he was really hearing them .
him ? he wanted to marry him ? they’d been dating for years now , he supposed it wasn’t too farfetched for any couple , but ...
sometimes he still struggled to fathom that zack really loved him as much as he proclaimed so willfully day in & day out . how on the planet was he ever supposed to come to terms with the prospect that he wanted to marry him ?
zack wanted him to be his husband .
cloud realizes , suddenly , that he’s just been standing there completely dumbfounded & emotionless for a bit too long , can see it in the shifts in zack’s expression ——— that quickly rising worry , or doubt , or both . everything resumed then with the simple need to to reassure the other ; air filled his lungs in a sudden inhale & sound reached his since muted ears once more , letting in the white noise of the world around him .
cloud went to speak despite not knowing what to say , simply trying to quell that fear before it had a chance to rise any higher , but the only thing that managed to slip free was a choked up noise . as if belatedly , cloud’s emotions resumed their time as well .
in mere seconds he was overwhelmed ; tears filling his eyes & throat constricting , breath was coming in shorter , smaller gasps , heaving out the air that built up there & before he knew it ... cloud was crying , sobbing , really & hands flew up in a frantic attempt to wipe away the undeniable evidence .
in a split second zack was flying up from the floor , pulling him close into a concerned embrace & apologizing , reassuring that cloud didn’t have to answer ——— or say yes & cloud couldn’t help a choked up & teary laugh .
since when did you start jumping to such frantic conclusions ? thought that was my job .
arms wrap tightly around the taller male & heart swells as zack instinctively directs cloud’s head with a gentle hand , positioning him under his chin protectively , comfortingly , like he’s done ever since cloud’s time comatose from mako poisoning . he loves this man ... with absolutely everything he had , he loved him . ❛ no ... ❜ cloud speaks wetly , hands soothingly running up & down the expanse of his partners back , choking out a resurgence of his blubbering whilst trying to force the overbearing emotions in his heart into a coherent semblance of words . ❛ i’m sorry , i was just ... of course , yes , i mean i ——— ❜
cloud takes a breath , grounding himself a little more & as his thoughts recollect another teary laugh slips free . ‘ wanna get married ? ’ now if that wasn’t the most zack fair way of doing things that he could ever think of . cloud wouldn’t have wanted him to ask him in any other way .
❛ i do . ❜
