herobydefault | [Voice]

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[Voice]

Tifa's gone home. Sorry to her friends here.

Filtered to KH!Cloud/50% Unhackable]

[A muffled attempt to start a sentence, and then he just forgets it and there's a dull sound as he switches to Private instead.]

[Private/50% Unhackable]

Can't even give us a minute to say goodbye, can you.

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[....Oh geez.] Spike, you know what I meant by that.

I know. [Cloud tips the bottle, pours some vodka into the tumbler and just takes a shot of that really quick.]

It's not that. Not you, I mean. What you said.

So what is it? [Zack takes the vodka from him, pouring himself another glass. Need something to do with his hands.]

[Cloud turns the glass as it sits on the counter. It makes a little damp ring of condensation on the wood.] ...I'm not sure she should wait around for me.

[Zack purses his lips, leaning an elbow on the counter and glancing sidelong at him.] Why not? You're friends, right? She doesn't have to wait for you the same way a girlfriend might. [Tricky business, that.] And it's not like she can't do anything else while she waits. But I don't think she'd be satisfied with being completely separated from you for long.

All I do is hurt her. [Cloud is sliding the glass back and forth now, making a path instead of a ring.] Over and over. It doesn't matter how much she loves me or how much I love her if I can't even have the decency to stick around for longer than a few weeks before getting cabin fever and leaving.

But you come back, don't you? And you were honest about your relationship not going any further with her. Didn't she still want to be your friend after all that?

I didn't remember Luceti when I was back home, Zack. And neither did she. [Slide. Slide. Slide.]

Then we'll figure out a way to keep our memories of this place when we go back. Just one more thing we'll have to do before we leave. There has to be some way to bring the memories back.

["We could all go take a dip in the Lifestream." Cloud snags the bottle and starts up a new mix. Mostly to avoid looking at him.] If you were in my position, who would you chose?

That's not a fair question. [Zack shakes his head, propping his chin up with his hand.] I never had any childhood crushes, no friends I grew up with and cared about the way you and Tifa did. She stuck with you the way I did after Nibelheim, so I can sort of understand her side of it, but... everybody's different. And I'd be biased, anyway. [He lifts a brow, shooting Cloud a quizzical look.] What would my answer do for you, Spike?

It'd make me feel better. [Vodka, juice, syrup. Shake.]

You already know my answer, then. I told you before.

Pretend I forgot.

[Oh, Cloud.] You can't fake it- it's not fair to either of you if you try. You should be with whoever you love.

[He pauses, not really wanting to say it, but... it's the truth, so.] And if you don't know for sure what you want, or who you love, then you shouldn't be with anyone until you know.

[A long, very long pause and then Cloud asks again in a whisper.] ...what if I ended up picking her...?

[A pause. And Zack looks away, shifting his position to lean against the counter again.] ...Then we'd be friends, like we are now. And I'd deal with it, as long as you're happy.

[Cloud finally pours the drink and...slides it over in front of Zack instead.]

[Zack glances over, noticing it, and wordlessly drains it. This is heavy stuff, but he's grateful he's able to keep a clear head for it.]

[Cloud reached over and ruffled Zack's hair again. Just...because.]

[And just like that, Zack's smiling again, as if nothing's wrong at all.] You're stuck with me no matter what- isn't it awesome?

[Cloud pauses at that, hand faltering, then gives Zack a look and lightly smacks his cheek -enough to make a sound, not hard enough to hurt even someone who isn't a SOLDIER- before moving away to make himself a drink.]

...Hey. What was that for?

Because. [Cloud doesn't bother with the list, going with just some rum and cream mix and hopping up onto the counter to sit, sipping it.]

Brat. [And he really is. But whatever- Zack shrugs it off and mixes another drink for himself, relaxing a little.] Soooo annoying.

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