#xcrisiscore

⟨   pretty sure shino’s trying to kill me◞    ❛  @xcrisiscore​  .   ⟩ "Live for yourself. Live for both of us."

he’s not all there ,   he hasn’t been for a long time now ,   but the sight in front of him   &   the words echoing in his ears weren’t making it any easier .          the blond looked distant   &   a little lost ,   staring down at body beneath him riddled with holes   &   spewing red ...   this was zack ,   he was looking at zack ,   but he couldn’t ...   couldn’t figure out why it felt so painful to keep looking .

&   why was he so red ?

cloud had been certain that this much red wasn’t supposed to be there .          zack had blacks   &   creams   &   neon blue’s ,   greys   &   browns   &    purples sometimes too ,   but not always ...   this red felt weird   &   unnatural   &   cloud couldn’t shake the feeling that he didn’t want it to be there .

❛   ... live ?   ❜

everything was too slow   ———   there’s not enough time left to afford a belated response time ,   &   yet he can’t help it .          the repetition of spoken word helped solidify things a little though ...   &   suddenly there was pain in newly mako   ―   stained irises .          light bloomed in the orbs of his eyes where there had only resided a dimmed haze for months ,   &   it was glassy ,     &   there were tears .

&   they fell .

cloud didn’t notice .

fingers bony   &   shaky tightened on something in his hands ,   the hilt of a sword ... ?          had he always owned a sword ?          despite the curiousness of it all that gaze couldn’t part from zack’s ,   didn’t want to either way ,   &   he longed for the feeling of the others hand at the back of his neck to return ,   to pull him down toward that red that had no business being there once more ,   because even if it shouldn’t be there feeling zack’s body being so real   &   so undeniable was better than this sinking feeling in his chest that he couldn’t quite place .

❛   ‘m ...   gonna ...   live .          for the both of ...   ❜

as suddenly as it came that newfound trembling light shot from his eyes like a tv shutting off   &   everything was empty   &   vacant once more .          too much ...   it was too much ,   his conscience that had only just recovered enough for him to move his arms   &   upper body couldn’t handle the unwavering ton weight of ...   of ...

zack was ...

he was really   ——— 

eyes blinked ,   &   how long had he been here ?          &   where was here ?          &   who exactly was he ?          roboticly head shifted   &   the sight of a person filled his view ...   smiling .          so sweetly .          but his eyes were ...   &   his chest wasn’t ...   &   his skin was ...

&

                           reality

     wasn’t

                                                                                                             making

å̷͚̱̟̹̭̭̯͉͇̫͔̪̠̀̿͜ṅ̶͛̈́̾͋̒͜͝y̷̢̧̨̛͉͎͓͚̤̤̲̏̿̉̀̌͒

“Thanks for the assist”   small pants left coral lips. There was only so much fighting she could do alone before growing weak.  

⟨   prompt◞    ❛  @thalxssas​​     ft  .   @xcrisiscore​​  .   ⟩ “ If I don’t know any better I’d say you’re blushing. “ [ she knows you like him cloud- ]

a cough into his fist as eyes skillfully avoid kairi’s ;          she’s much shorter than him ,   it was easy honestly .          he’s still looking as far away from her as he can though .           ❛   not blushing .   ❜          impossible .          cloud strife does not blush .          not for the past couple years at least ,   he was so sure he’d simply grown out of a childhood habit .

zack had been back in the realm of light for ,   oh ...   a week now ,   maybe a little more ,   and   ———    well ,   cloud was having trouble adjusting .          he’d forgotten what the sun looked like ,   had missed its radiating warmth so much he’d stared right at it when it’d finally awoken from years of endless night ,   only to be rudely reminded that gawking directly into the sun typically had its consequences .

cloud found himself floored more times that week than he could count ;          moments where all he could do was stare ,   dumbfounded ,   and make a fool of himself in front of the boy ...   no ,   man now ,   that stood ahead of him .          moments where he couldn’t even look at him ,   couldn’t find the words to say ,   so he’d let zack take the wheel and listen to the way his mind moved a mile a minute and it felt like returning home .

he was pretty sure denzel thought zack was some kind of ethereal force with just how un   ―   cloud cloud became in his presence .

and he was more than just sure that the rest of them    ———   kairi ,   sora ,   leon and the others   ———   found great amusement at finally seeing cloud’s walls break beyond belief ,   as if they’d been paper thin from the start .          there was triumph and smugness and teasing          (   and love too ,   always love ,   but cloud had full intention of making this as dramatic as he could and as far as his inner monologue was concerned there were definitely no redeeming qualities here that possessed cloud to let them get away with it all .   )

turns out having the light of your life ,   figuratively and literally ,   return back into your life was a bigger deal than cloud was prepared for ,   and he was just so ...   so ...

happy .

there’s a smile at his lips and the blond can’t help it ,   it’s small and it’s humble but it pulls at his muscles nonetheless ,   and suddenly all the fight is leaving his veins like an uninflating balloon .          quietly ,   cloud adds to his prior statement .

⟨   unprompted◞    ❛  @xcrisiscore​​  .   ⟩ "Hey, uhh... how much do you know about babies?"

roundhouse kick aimed at a boxing bag missed its mark entirely as zack chose just the best time imaginable to ask whatever the hell that was supposed to mean .          cloud stumbled a step or two ,   catching his balance as a confused   &   mildly distressed glare was shot the others way for his troubles .

what ...   what ?          just what !

❛   ... that they’re babies .   ❜          he answered drily ,   effectively jotting down his knowledge on the matter at a solid two percent or so whilst straightening up   &   turning to give zack his full attention now .          he had so ...   so many questions .

@xcrisiscore

They moved. Like he wasn’t there. Like the infected child was invisible to them all. He was. He was invisible. That was the way they wanted it, for it they had to admit that the sickness spreading among them was neither containable, nor was it treatable. While it claimed those who had no home to go to, to be left behind, they could. He could feel them, cold shoulders and the silence.

Maybe it was stupid, but he’d made her a card.

Drawn in crayon, childs handwriting, flowers drawn on the front. It felt like the right thing, he was unaware of the symbolism, or why Tifa always had some at home. An ode to his mother. It would have been her birthday today. Grief was hard to adults to deal with, the complex emotions even more so for a child, for one who felt so alone.

He had hatched a plan.

Getting back to Sector 7 was not easy, at all. He’d hitched a ride, in exchange for helping out with some errands here and there. Back to the outer wall of the Migar undercity and then through the still open gates. The evacuation had seen them flung open, the people of Midgar had fled in their droves, the damage from Meteor meant that there were too much debris for them to be closed again, there was no one behind to close them anyway.

Still, despite the danger, he pressed on…aware oddly of the presence beside him, his walking pace didn’t slow, hell, it was an attempt to ignore the SOLIDER. Denzel was on a mission of his own, and one that he was going to finish.

Wasn’t like there was anyone here that could actually stop him.

//AHHH You’re so sweet, please let us love you.