#;zack

First line prompts || Accepting

“Uh--oh. No, I guess not, huh? The name's Zack!”

Fuck, this sucks. This sucks big time. Aerith wasn't kidding when she said starting over was bad. He just didn't think it was going to happen to him. It makes him wonder if it's happened before and maybe he's just not remembering that it's happened before. Still, whatever has happened, it sucks because Cloud is looking at him like he's half crazy and he's really, really feeling the sting of it. Shit.

An awkward silence hangs between them. He coughs a little and holds out his hand, trying not to look as terrible as he feels. “Yanno, this is usually the part where you tell me your name, too.” Even though it feels like a punch to the gut. Even though he's remembering some of the times before this. Cloud has always been a constant, but that means there are several iterations of Cloud in several universes that have all felt that incredible loss that's bound to come in a few years time.

                                         EXTRA + ORDINARY

An assortment of dialogue || Accepting

“Aw, c'mon, Cloudy. Wipe the look off your face! Teamwork makes the dream work, right?" Zack grins, reaching over to playfully ruffle Cloud's hair. “Besides, you have my back, I have yours. It's pretty easy, y'know. You don't always have to try and be the hero, right?” He likes Cloud, too, and would hate to see anything bad happen to him just because he likes having him by his side on missions. Is that a little selfish? Well, maybe, but it's good for Cloud, anyways.

He has to save him this time. He has to.

Zack has lost count of how many times he's gone through this. More than enough, more than might drive someone mad. Isn't that the definition of insanity? To do something over and over again, expecting a different outcome, but there never is? He's delayed it before, but he's never entirely stopped it. That changes now. No matter what happens, no matter how much Sephiroth tries to push him out, no matter how Jenova tries to kill him, Zack is putting an end to this now. 

ShinRa Manor looms ominously as he approaches it, but he knows exactly what he's going to find. It'll be Sephiroth in the basement, pacing back and forth, surrounded by books. Books on the table, books strewn across the floor. He'll have dark, dark circles under his eyes, but underneath it all, he'll just seem…serene. That's always the unnerving part, how calm Sephiroth seems to be, but maybe he'll reach him before that disturbing calmness overtakes him. By then, it's already too late.

Zack shakes his head, taking a deep breath as he stares at the door that leads down into the basement. It's now or never, right? He hurries down the stairs, heart pounding in his chest. It's only been a day. It can't be too late. It can't be.

To say that Zack is surprised is a bit of an understatement, but maybe he shouldn't be. He always knew that firsts had fanclubs, but he never really thought of himself as, well...cool enough for that? So when he's approached out of the blue, he stutters and flushes and looks at Sephiroth apologetically.

Now, he knows he should be glad it's him instead of Sephiroth because he gets enough attention as it is. They knew it was running a risk to come out together, but for Zack to be the one getting all the attention? It's new, it's thrilling, but he still feels...bad. This is a date, or, well, as close to one as they can get, and here he is, having all his attention taken away by fans.

“Oh, shit! Are you okay?"

Zack seems to be way more concerned about her well-being than their date. He's grateful for any time that they get to spend together, no matter how short lived it might be. It's true, he really doesn't have much free time at all, but he thinks that any day he gets to see Aerith and her pretty smile is a good day. “Nah, you didn't ruin anything! Accidents happen, Aer! I'm more worried about you being able to walk later..”

Which is why he decides to simply hold her instead of letting her hobble around. It's not like she weighs anything to him anyways. “A slinky? C'mon, Aer. I'm not gonna do that!” he says, laughing. “I got it. Hold on.” He sets her back down and grabs her shoe, slipping it back onto her foot before--yoink! he picks her up again, grinning all the while.

Zack has to admit that Soleil is pretty impressive. His form is good, he fights well enough, he just tends to push himself too hard, be too hard on himself. Hell, Zack didn't think he was even good enough to have a mentee anyways, so he guesses he can't really talk. He remembers being in Soleil's position, trying to prove himself to Angeal.

Angeal...

Zack blinks, then grins, clapping Soleil on the back with a laugh. "Lunch it is! You're doing really well, you know. Don't be so hard on yourself. I'm impressed!"

He sits down next to him, pulling his own lunch out of his bag. He probably packed more than he needed, but honestly, his own appetite surprised even him sometimes. "You don't gotta share. I have plenty...but we can trade, if you want! Uhhh, I got some chips orrrr a chocolate cookie."