Here we are {Part Five}

~Zack Fair X Reader~
Part five: Don't go...


Slap.
Slap, slap.
Slap.

...Stop that... You are hurting her...


Slap, slap.

Something soft.

Your (e/c) eyes slowly flutter open as you blinked owlishly. Smudgy picture slowly starts to clear out and then you see it:
A beautiful pair of azure mako-infused orbs looking down at you, along with that dazzling flashing grin. A soft smile creeped over your slightly pale lips, a light tint of crimson running over your upper lip, which caused a slight burning which came in periods.

"Phew! Welcome back to the living, _______! Almost got me there for a sec!" The ravenette sat back on his feet and slightly tilted his head to the side "Are you alright? Your lip is bleeding a bit..." You only blinked at him owlishly, almost like a robot trying to process what the heck happened before you woke up. You sat up straight slowly, looking around and that's when your (e/c) widenned;

The helicopter was a wreck, about seven metres away from you. And few lovely amber embers were flowing from the inside of the flying machine, along with a few sparks here and there. Kunsel and Cloud were sitting by the dumbapple tree, Cloud's arm painted with a deep gash that was bleeding badly. Kunsel only seemed to have few bruises here and there, not minding them though because he was cleaning Cloud's wound. Genesis paced around, looking if anyone was left behind or needs some help, but luckily everyone was fine.

Well, more or less.

Commander had a thin slit along his cheek bone and he held his left upper arm as if it was broken, which probably was. He finally settled in front of Reno, who was now getting sobber and burried his face in his knees while murmuring some apologies. Genesis only shook his head and put his hand on the redhead's shoulder, with a small "Calm down..."

Your gaze returned back to the ravenette, who was looking in the direction of the blonde and ginger. Your eyes scanned him for any bruises, which you didn't happen to find. That is, untill he took off his military jacket and wrapped it around your shoulders; His arms were completely bruised and beaten, like he was protecting someone.

No!

He looked like that evening you saved him.

His Mako-infused eyes glanced back at you and he smiled, then poked your nose and you stuck his tongue out childlishly at him. Of course that that made him laugh. Single rain drop fell on your nose as you looked up and frowned slightly

"As if it wasn't bad enough already..." You huffed and Zack only looked at you while giving you a half hug
"-But at least you still have us~" You couldn't help but chuckle at his remark as you shook your head.

And that's when it hit you like a sack of bricks:

Where were you?

"Um... Zack?" He stopped walking and looked down at you
"Yes?
-Where are we exactly? I mean, this-" You motioned to the surroundings, which was a forest more or less with a few houses far in the horizon "-Is not our exact destination, correct?" You asked and Zack shook his head, rubbing his neck while being somewhat confused, his azure eyes averted to now already damp grass
"Well... We kinda crashed and...-" He shrugged and your eyes widenned, which made a sharp pain shoot through your head and made you cringe "-We are somewhat happy we are alive, really..." He continued, but then noticed that you are holding your head. Zack put his gloved hand on your pale cheek and lifted your face slightly to his

"Hey, are you okay? You don't seem so well, ________" The worry was obviously present on his face, like he forgot about everything else around himself. You just shook your head in response, but nearly passed out as your legs gave you away. Luckily, Zack caught you and carried you bridal style over to the rest of the team, sitting you up straight by the tree nearby ginger and blonde.

Your (e/c) eyes slightly fluttered, as if you were losing your conciousnes.

But you weren't.

It's just that the sudden fog gathering and slight rain beginning to pour made you sleepy and lightheaded. As the ravenette walked away to Kunsel and Cloud, you scanned your surroundings once more; It was indeed deep and lush forest, and it seemed that nothing was around it for at least couple of kilometres. Your already heavy eyes narrowed more in attempt to see through the thick fog, but to no avail. You gave a tired and overly exaggarated sigh, then leaned back on 'your' tree and tried to get some rest.

Twitch.

Twitch, twitch.

Twitch

Your nose scrunched in a slight frown

"W-what the..." You slowly openned one eye, then smiled and openned your (e/c) fully and smiled at your childhood friend. Genesis stood up from his crouch and gave you a tired smile.
"Is this spot available?" Genesis asked, motioning to right next to you. You chuckled and gave him a comical look while shaking your head ever so slightly. He smiled once again and sat next to you on the now wet grass. His right arm was over his knee and the other one simply rested limply on the floor, since it was broken. Your dreamy gaze remained on something in the distance.

Genesis rumaged through the inside of his left side of the coat, your curious gaze turned towards him. After few moments of searching, the auburn haired man pulled out a crimson hip flask and two dumbapples. How he fit them in there, you will never know. Genesis kindly handed you one of the dumbapples, setting the flask on the floor inbetween the two of you

"Here, take this. It might help you return your natural skin colour. And don't you dare refuse, _______!" Genesis threatened, then smiled in a reassuring manner as you smiled back and took the offered fruit. The moment your teeth pierced through the core of the juicy fruit, you hummed in satisfaction as the piece melted on your tongue. You looked at your friend after swallowing, pointing out the dumbapple and the flask

"Where did you get these, Gen? And what in the world is in that flask?" Genesis chuckled and looked at you, glancing at the approaching male (who you didn't see because you were too busy munching)

"This-" He points to the dumbapple "I've had with me. And this-" He lifts the hip flask "Was saved by Reno and given to me to keep it 'safe'." Genesis ended and took a sip of the mysterious liquid as his eyes widenned and he snapped his fingers "Umh! And this is Mako-vodka, by the way." Your eyebrows rised in surprise, for you have never heard of Mako-vodka.

Suddenly, darkness - Someone's hands were over your eyes and you smiled as you tried to guess.
Since those were gloved hands, those couldn't have been Reno's, so you made a wild guess

"Um... Kunsel? Or Cloud?" You guessed and heard a humorous 'Tch'. The hands were removed from your eyes and wrapped around your shoulders as someone's head rested on top of yours

"You are indeed terrible as guessin', ________..." The simple sound of his voice made your lips stretch into a wide grin, light blush to cover your cheeks and nose and make your eyes gleam.

'Zack...'

You snuggled into his arms and welcomed the warmth he was radiating. Then it clicked in your pretty little head that your auburn friend is still there and your face exploded into a major blush, but when your gaze flashed where he was, he was no longer there, but talking to Reno and sharing that Mako-vodka and dumbapples. You let out a sigh of relief and you felt Zack's strong muscled chest vibrate with his chuckle

"Are you any better, _______?" By his voice, you could tell he was smiling. You nodded softly, smiling back

Splash

"Huh? What the-"

Splash

Your (e/c) shot up and you leaned a bit forward as Zack pulled back and copied your motion, only standing over you.

Rain.

It was rain. Like it wasn't bad enough! Now it simply had to rain!

Suddenly, a hand was outstretched in front of your face and you looked up at Zack cerulean eyes. He frowned. Chills went down your spine - Did you do something wrong? Are you maybe too pushy? Was it this accident and you are making it worse with your behavious? A million and one question passed through your head in those two seconds of staring at his beautiful shining, azure orbs. And then happened something you didn't see coming;

He smiled.

His smile was full of concern and sincerity.

He twitched his outstretched hand in an inviting motion

"Come on, you're going to catch a cold, sitting on a cold grass!" His smile soon turned into a grin as you took his hand and he pulled you up. But, since you were sitting for a quite a bit and lost some blood, you lost your balance and tripped. Your (e/c) eyes shut themselves tightly, bracing for the impact with the floor, which of course never came. You openned your eye, then another and saw that your rescuer held you tightly once again, his arms wrapped around you and your own hands resting on his strong arms. This could've been the most precious moment since forever in your life, those few fragile moments that seemed like years of the two of you simply looking at each other; His piercing Mako-infused orbs gently gazing at your glowing (e/c) ones. Suddenly, you realised how close your faces are and that's when your face exploded into hundred and one shade of red as you looked away and closed your eyes shut in an embarassment.

The cold and moist drops of the now pouring rain seemed to evaporate the moment they hit the surface of your face of how hot it was by now. Once again, you felt the tall ravenette's chest vibrate with chuckle, since you were still hugging each other. His cold gloved hand cupped your cheek and made you look back at him, on which you complied reluctantly. The moment you openned your eyes, you couldn't help but smile; His slightly blood stained face was now washed by the glassy rain and enlighted by few fragile rays of the dying sun that struggled to shine in it's full glory as it set through the thick, now copper tinted silver clouds.

His warm and glowing smile made you melt in his arms. You were so entranced that you didn't even notice your faces subconsciously getting closer and closer, untill...

Your warm lips were pressed into his incredibly soft ones perfectly. The time finally stopped. There was nobody and nothing else around the two of you. This moment was created only for you to share and cherish it. If your faces got any hotter, they might have as well exploded. This was a moment of perfection for the both of you, but for you especially - It was your very first kiss, stolen by a person you love the most. And yes, now there was no doubt;

You love him...~

The sudden explosion and a loud 'BAM!!' made you both jump and pull away, but it also made Zack hug you even tighter in an overprotective manner as you both looked around. Aaand there it was: The already wrecked helicopter exploded due to the rain and the remnants of the engine overheat. It was clear that all the attention was now on the sobbing Reno, who was kneeling at a good distance of now completely dying flames of the engine, Cloud and Kunsel trying to calm him down a bit.

Your love and you laughed softly, then you leaned your forehead on his
"So... I must tell you, ______..." Your smile widenned as eyes began to glimmer
"Yes, Zack?" He chuckled
"I... I've never loved anyone as much as I love you right now" This was enough for you to squee and squeeze the living daylight out of him by your soul-crushing hug
"I love you so much, Zack... And always will~" You felt his hands wrap around your waist and his head rest on your shoulder
"That's all I wanted to hear...~" He whispered in your earn and sent the shivers down your spine.

The two of you walked where Cloud, Kunsel, Reno and Genesis were. Genesis was making a plan for where are you guys going to sleep and how are you going to get back to the ShinRa, since the 'copter was now ex, there was no signals on your cell-phones and walkie-talkie in Reno's helicopter... Well, let's just say that Reno is going to light it a candle later. As usual, you blended in as you were there the entire time. You stood on your tippie toes and leaned in between Cloud's and Kunsel's shoulders, which they didn't mind at all. After a while of the auburn's narration and hand-waving, it was decided that all of you are going to make some kind of common shelter where you are going to spend the night at and then in the morning, you are going to find some sort of orientier and try to get back to the Midgar on foot. Or at least to get to the closest village on foot.

It was decided that the ginger head and the blonde are going to find a dry place where the shelter is going to be set and the rest of you were going to find some dry branches and see if there were any fabrics that could be used as covers left.

It didn't take long for Cloud and Kunsel to return, so you all followed them to the place they've found. It was surprisingly nice - In between of the three huge trees was a completely dry and seemingly comfrotable spot, perfect for a lodging for the night.
Genesis and the guys got onto the shelter making by connecting the extra clothings, such as coats and jackets to make the improvised roof. Since it wasn't all that cold after that hanging rain, you could do without them. Zack and you on the other hand were sent to fetch some firewood.

The two of you roamed around for a while, but soon enough you spotted the perfect pine tree, which had bunch of fallen branches that would burn perfectly. You smirked evily and Zack immediately realised what you were up to - Competition!
The two of you nodded to each other and then went onto collecting the pine tree branches as much and as fast you could.
You didn't have the gloves on you, so some of the pine needles got stuck in your palms, but you payed it no mind. For you were too busy defeating the ravenette. Soon enough, your arms were stacked with branches and a wide satisfied grin was plastered over your face. That is, untill you noticed one more branch and the beautiful pair of cerulean eyes scanning it as well, his arms equally full as yours.

One moment: Your gazes are locked and you are glaring at each other
Second moment: Your gazes are fixed on the branch
Third moment: The two of you are charging at the poor fragile branch as if it was the elixir of life.

The moment you grabbed the branch, your grin returned and as you were about to rub it on his face that you are better than him, you felt a tug on the other side of the branch - He was holding the other side! Your eyes shot from the branch to him and he did the same as the two of you played tug o' war for few seconds in a childish manner, still holding your own stacks of previously gathered branches

"Let go, I saw it first!" You yelled, almost being serious about this. He stuck his tongue childishly at you
"No, I grabbed it first!" He insisted and you shook your head, continuing with the silly game for about a minute more, untill the idea clicked in his head and he smirked devilishly, almost making you let go of the branch
"Then, if you don't want to let go, I'm going to have to force you!" You both stopped pulling and you looked at him, eyes wide and with a hint of fear in them
"H-ho-" You we cut off by something incredibly soft and gentle on your lips, causing your legs to almost give you away and to let go of the branch, an opportunity Zack used and snatched the branch away from you. He pulled away slightly and whispered to you with your eyes still closed and mind foggy
"Thank you, my cutie~" He cooed and before you could process what happened, he was already sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him back to the shelter spot.

The moment you regained your thoughts and your mind cleared, your eyes filled with fury and the steam was practically coming from your ears. You gripped your branches and took off after him in such a speed that would put a Bahamut to shame.


In the meantime, which consistet of about two minutes, Zack came running like a madman back to your small group, dropped the firewood somewhere close and struggled his best to find a hidding place, which was of course behind Cloud. Cloud simply rose and eyebrow as Kunsel stared at somewhat crouching Zack, begging heavens to become invisible.

"Um... Zack? What the heck are you doing?" Cloud questioned as he stepped away, making Zack stand straight
"If _______ asks, I'm not here nor you have seen me!" He insists with a hearthy laughter, which of course nobody understood untill you came running, dropping your firewood near Zack's and the moment he saw you, his eyes widenned and turned around to start running, but you were faster and tackled him with all your might and sat on him triumphaly.

"I bet 5 bucks that it's his fault, whatever the thing is..." Reno made a bet, eyes on the two of you and a smirk on his lips
"Fine. 10 that they are going to make up in next five minutes." Genesis agreed, looking over the covers of the Loveless actually enjoying the scene of you nearly killing Zack. Kunsel and Cloud simply stood aside, their mouths agape and eyes wide
"You still think it's funny to steal from me, dear?~" You cooed, making him somewhat weakly wave his hands in response, since you were sitting on his back, and tried to get away with a sweet chuckle
"__-______, would you please get off me so we can talk this off?" He desperately tried and his eyes widenned so much that they nearly popped when he heard your response
"Nyeh... It passed, I'm no longer upset~" You chimed and got up, Reno tried to pick his jaw from the floor as Genesis laughed so hard
"So, Reno... After all, you do owe me 10 gil, I believe?" The auburn haired male putt the Loveless away and nudged the redhead, who became slightly red and furious. Zack got up as well and you stood on your tip toes, kissing his cheek ever so softly. He kissed you back and Cloud and Kunsel whistled and cheered, giving the two of you knowing smirks.

The silvery clouds now completely dissapeared and the sky became clear, in the rich indigo colour, silver fireflies that people commonly call 'stars' were strewn all over the beautiful sky. The grass became damp, no longer wet, so it'd be bearable to sleep on. Reno and Genesis both sat on the either side of the gigantic tree, leaning on it and sitting under the cover you all managed to make. Cloud sat next to Reno, Kunsel next to him and you inbetween Kunsel and Zack, on Zack's left side was Genesis. Your little group was squeezed together like a family and the best friends, which you of course were. Kunsel took off his helmet and put it aside to be more comfortable while sleeping. You leaned on Zack and put your head on his shoulder, which Kunsel followed, only on your other side. All in all, you guys altogether looked like baby owlets staying warm together. You snuggled a little and sunk a wee bit deeper between the boys, so your head was in the height of their shoulders.

Everyone fell fast asleep fairly soon, keeping only you stargazing. Suddenly, you felt a warm breath tickling your neck and soon enough you realised it was Zack. He was sort of half asleep, making you giggle softly as he mumbled in his sleep, but there was something you could understand crystal clearly. Something that made you blush and kiss him;

"...I will forever be your soldier... Because I love you, ______..."




                                   black divider by ToxiceStea


Growwwl...

"Z-Zack? Is that you?"

Growl...

"Zack, stop that..."

Crunching of leaves and branches that used to be the camping fire

"Wha-" Your smudgy vision clears out slowly as you open your tired eyes, noticing simply that it's dark and that everyone around you is asleep. You try to raise yourself up slightly in a sitting position.

Growl...

The blood in your veins freezews and turns into the crystal as your beath became thick and stuck in your throat, eyes wide and you were gasping in terror:

A Humbaba.
Growling, huge and hungry Humbaba was piercing a hole through your head with it's bloodthirsty stare, waiting for your wrong move so it can tackle and rip you open.

"G-guys... Zack, Kunsel...!" You were panicking, but not wanting the tremendous monster in front of you to see you moving. Your hands were over boys' shoulders and you shook them bashfully, but still tensely because of the fear and horror.
"Huh... What's the matter, _______?" Zack asked, still sleepy and his vision blurry, but soon regained his senses as you motioned him to hush. The ugly animal licked it's teeth, saliva dripping from it's huge mouth.

After few moments of the quiet commotion, all of the boys were awake and getting up slowly, taking their weapons in their hands and preparing to attack. You quickly grabbed your shocker as Reno did the same. Kunsel didn't even bother putting on his helmet, for he forgot about it.

Genesis glared at the ugly monster, then glanced at every single one of you, giving you a reassuring smile and lifting his hand in the air. He was obviously the leader in this little group, but you could clearly tell that the hint of fear was evident in his sky blue eyes. He counted down...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

"Now!!" The auburn haired 1st class SOLDIER shouted and lunged at the Humbaba, Kunsel, Zack and Cloud following and Reno and you on their tail. The gigantic animal jumped and landed with a huge crack in the ground, almost like a crater and proceeded to charge at Kunsel and Cloud. Reno shouted over to you to get your shocker ready, on which you nodded and followed him running as you both surrounded the monster. Claw and teeth clashed with the solid metal of the soldiers' swords, blood spraying everywhere as the animal gained a deep cut from Cloud. It let out an ear-splitting roar as it stood on it's back legs and clawed in fury. It was desperate to kill you all and feast on your corpses.

But not today...

The moment it stabilized itself, Reno nodded to you and you nodded to him as you ran up to it from behind and dug your shockers into it's flesh, paralyzing the creature for a short amount of time. The men ran to it with full speed with an intention to pierce it and chop it to pieces, to end this madness. The Humbaba seemed to be aware of it's near end, it decided to finish this by itself and casted the Meteor as it's last resort. The fireballs fell on the ground quickly and everywhere, which everyone dodged, but not without the consequences. The giant meteor hit the place near the monster and where the soldiers were standing, sending them all flying to the nearest trees! You and Reno were lying on the ground, hoping that the quake would stop before the fireballs crush you. Without thinking, Reno got up and ran to the creature and shocking it, on which it responded with a piercing roar!

You screamed as you covered your ears to protect them from the noise that distracted your combat. You ran after Reno and decided to do the same and buy some time for the guys, just enough untill they recover a bit.

But this time, the creature was ready!

The moment you ran up to it, the disgusting creature turned from Reno and with all it's might, it swished it's sharp, spiky tail at you and then...


Red

Your lungs set free all of the air they were containing, your veins releasing all of the crimson fluid that was flowing through your body and your (e/c) eyes finally losing the liquid gems they were keeping, your tears and blood coliding.

"________!!" You heard that sweet voice, that sugarcoated voice of your only love, of Zack.
"_______! You're going to pay!!" The voice of your best friend, the one that always protected you as his little sister he never had. Your tired eyes didn't even bother to see him ripping the creature's stomach in half, dark crimson oozing his auburn hair and scarlet coat.

Your limp and nearly lifeless body flew through the air and on the hard, solid ground. Your lungs burned, begged for air, but to no avail. Those lungs that were once breathing the brisk air, now made you cough out the blood. You somehow managed to gather enough strenght to raise your head slightly, your once shining (h/c) hair now stuck on your now sweaty and blood stained face. You were ripped apart, just like that monster that did this to you. You lied back and tried your best to breathe in as much air and as slowly as you could, only to ease the unbearable pain that was now circuing through your very being.

"__-______..." Once again, you heard his voice, like a soothing lullaby to your tired mind and body
"Zack... I-I'm so tired..." Your eyes nearly fluttered shut when he shook your shoulders slightly, yet strongly
"No! ________, don't die on me! Please!" He begged, the precious crystals threathening to fall from his gorgeous Mako-infused eyes "I... If you... I could never continue to live without you, ________! I love you too much..." He clutched onto you, trying to keep you as close as possible to himself
"Zack..." You continued, managing to raise your hand to his hair and ruffle it slightly "Do you remember..." You swallowed hard, along with some blood that you nearly coughed out "When you first kissed me?" You asked, chuckling ever so softly while ignoring the burning pain in your lungs. You felt his voice vibrate through your fragile chest
"Y-yes?" He asked uncertainly
"That... That was my first~" You cooed, a quiet laugh escaping your dry and sore throat. You looked up at the still starry sky, the tears finally spilling from your glistenning eyes and promised to never stop. Now it was his turn to chuckle and more tears to spill, weting your now crimson Turks blazer
"No... I-it was your second, actually..."
"B-but I'm sure... -When we crashed, you were unconsciouss. You awoke because I... Well..." He pulled away as he talked, slight blush covering his face as you giggled, but soon enough your giggle was killed by a coughing fit.

Kunsel, Cloud, Genesis and Reno all came approaching, but stood aside, not wanting to lose one of their greatest friends.
Genesis clutched his fists, head hanging and auburn hair covering his lips that were bitten and tears that were reluctantly falling. Reno looked away, put his fist over his mouth and cried his soul out. Cloud and Kunsel just stood there limply, Kunsel put on his helmet to hide his watery and red eyes, but he couldn't hide the sorrow, hurt and trembling lips. Cloud covered his mouth with his hand, while the other was over his stomach and his eyes shut tightly, trying to keep the liquid crystals inside the barrier, but to no avail.

Who is going to make them laugh every day? Who is going to tell Reno that he looks like his hair is made like with the firecrackers? Who is Kunsel going to chase around when she steals his helmet? Who is Cloud going to experiment doing his spikes with? Who is Genesis going to read the Loveless with? Who is he going to have a love/hate friendship with?
And lastly, who is now Zack going to love with all his being?

The heavy metallic smell filled the air, along with your coughing and everyone's tears. You felt that your time has come. You looked at Zack once again and smiled the best you could, tears clouding your vision.

"Zack...?"
"Yes, _____?" He looked at you with defeated eyes
"I love you,... M-my soldier~" You breathed out and your eyes closed themselves, a single and the last tear drop rolled down your cheek. Zack's eyes widenned and he shook you, hugging you close to him and screaming out your name
"_-_______! Don't die! You can't go! I love you too much!!" He hugged you so tightly that your spine and ribs almost broke
"_________!!!" He screamed "Don't leave me..."
He felt a hand on his shoulder and his eyes traveled up the arm to reach Genesis' face that was tear-stained
"She's gone..." Genesis fell on his knees, rain washing over your lifeless body, mourning over your lost destiny  "My little sister..."




                                                  Gone...




~To be continued~