[010][Final Fantasy VII] 1/50: Comfort
Title: Comfort
Canon: Final Fantasy VII
Notes: Written using prompts from 1sentence over at LJ. Spoilers for Final Fantasy VII.
#01 - Comfort; 635 words
There was a hand in his hair, then against his cheek, and he had to blink his eyes open - close them because /damn/ it was bright in there, his slow crawl to consciousness bringing with it sore muscles that protested even the slightest twitch. But the hand was gentle, surprisingly warm, pausing when he gave a little groan to signal his awakening.
"Zack?" The voice startled him at first - but really, the hesitant touch should've tipped him off right at the beginning. Slowly, slowly he cracked an eye open, meeting bright blue Mako eyes (and damn did Cloud look good with 'em, the brightest blue he'd seen yet) and smiled. It was weak one, he had barely any strength, but it was there, and it was genuine, and he could feel Cloud relax.
"Cloud." He murmured, couldn't help but close his eyes again as the hand in his hair moved, lightly, hesitantly brushing it back. "You okay?" He said after a beat, and the soft, familiar (tired, weak, but still familiar) huff he got in answer made him smile just a little wider.
"I should be asking you that." Was the tired response, weaker than his own voice sounded. Zack shook his head faintly, winced a little, and immediately smiled as he felt Cloud tense against him again.
"I feel great." He lied; well no, it wasn't a lie. It was a half-truth, since his body ached all over from whatever run of experiments they'd put him through this time, his body still adjusting to what they'd pumped him full of. But Cloud was warm, pressed against his side with Zack leaning against him (and that was a change, usually it was the other way around, Cloud leaning into Zack with a head against his shoulder) and still running that hand through his hair.
Cloud shifted a bit, uncertain, but when Zack merely tilted his head to rest against Cloud's with a tired sigh, Cloud relaxed again.
"I thought --" And he cut off.
Zack hummed a little, slowly, slowly slinking an arm around Cloud's waist and hugging him a bit closer. "Mm?"
"You . . . didn't look good." Cloud said quietly, and Zack went carefully still (he was supposed to be the anchor for them, the one who kept them both strong, kept them sane, kept them from giving into Hojo and his twisted games --) "So I thought . . . you do this to me. I thought it'd help . . . for you too." He punctuated it by running his fingers through Zack's hair again.
And Zack laughed - not at Cloud, never at him, but soft and friendly, a little embarrassed, and so very, very fond. He lifted his hand (ignored how muscles protested, didn't wince because he didn't want to worry Cloud any more than he already had) and let his own fingers slide into spiky, blond hair.
"It feels nice." He said, voice soft, the brightest of smiles in his tone even if he couldn't find the strength to smile that way for real. And the way Cloud just melted against him with relief made him feel warm all over. "Keep it up and you'll have me purring like a cat."
The sound Cloud made could've been a huff, or a laugh, or some mix of both, or hell, just his imagination, but whatever it was, it didn't stop the younger soldier from running his fingers through Zack's hair again, and tilting his head into Zack's touch.
And behind the double-sided mirror across the room, Hojo raised both eyebrows in interest, then turned to the notebook he kept at hand, pulling a pen from his jacket.
Sample A was performing similar behavior to Sample B, when their positions were reversed.
He smirked. Interesting.
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sake) wrote,
