89... we all fall down

[atouchofstrife]

[ video connected ]

[The picture's fuzzy and there's a very large black cat peering at the camera, followed by a paw that taps lightly on the screen. A low moan is heard and the cat disappears from view, letting people see the dark room, the messy disorder of papers and service notices. There's a groan and spikey blond hair appears, followed by dazed Mako blue eyes set in a too pale face. The blond scratches at his head, frowning, looking away from the camera, and then his eyes widen and his hand grabs at his hair.]

Shit... no. Fuck... what was I...

[Eyes closed, he makes a sharp high pitched whine, like rusted gears trying to move.]

nonononononoNO!

[Again there is a cat in the way, and the phone gets knocked off the dresser - showing a half open steel chest with a few glowing spheres - and then it goes off.]

[ video disconnected ]


[ooc; Action for anyone in the house, voice for anyone else checking in on him. And yes, he is not going to be in a good mood.]

Comments

Voice

[elevatorwarrior]

Tomorrow.

[Action]

[plz-2-b-an-hero.livejournal.com]

[And when Zack finally steadies his hands enough to fit the key in the lock and get into the apartment, all he can think about is how he didn't make it back fast enough. Not bothering to take off his boots or even make sure the door closes behind him, he half-runs down the hall and pushes Cloud's door open with a slam, and just...]

[Stands there, realizing he doesn't even know what to say. Cloud looks absolutely terrible.]

[Action]

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

[Cloud doesn't cry, that is, he doesn't have tears or snotty nose, or even the weird faces from swallowing back tears. What he did have was trouble breathing, and collapsing upon himself, looking far more like his younger days than ever should be possible. He tugged on his hair. He made soft sounds that escape like they were tortured out of him.]

Voice

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

[mrrowing in the background, a soft 'fuck', and the clack as the phone hits the side of the bed]

...Reno? No.

Voice

[elevatorwarrior]

You owe me.

Voice

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

I... I can't.

Not tomorrow.

[Action]

[plz-2-b-an-hero.livejournal.com]

[Zack cringes at the noise, stomping down on all of those thoughts that say "my fault" and "I did this to him". He doesn't step any closer.]

Cloud.

Voice

[elevatorwarrior]

...fine. Soon.

[Action]

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

[He raises his head, eyes suken in bruised hollows of his face and his lower lip sticking out. Cloud stared at Zack for a long moment and then uncurled, knocking Minuit and phone back to the ground, and stopped from getting closer. His voice cracked when he spoke.]

...Zack?

Voice

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

...O-okay.

[Action]

[plz-2-b-an-hero.livejournal.com]

[Zack opened his mouth to say something but stopped, sighing, and gestured to himself. His lips quirked in a dry and rueful smile when he dropped his arms and shrugged a little.]

Good as new.

[Action]

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

[Cloud gupled and then reached over, grabbed the handset and threw it at his head.]

Don't start that!

[Action]

[plz-2-b-an-hero.livejournal.com]

[Zack catching said handset was one of the many times he'd appreciated his heightened reflexes. The quirk fell immediately, leaving a flat and worried expression.]

I don't mean to start anything, Cloud. I... just don't know what to say.

[Action]

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

[It was a good thing too. He could hear it hiss and crack as more people tried pinging him, and hey didn't he have it off?]

...Should there be anything to say?

[Action]

[plz-2-b-an-hero.livejournal.com]

[Zack could hear it just as easily. He frowned a little, flicking his thumb to quiet it, and put it back down on the dresser.]

You shouldn't have followed me.

[Action]

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

[His eyes harden, and his mouth was pressed in a thin line as he just stared at Zack, daring him without saying anything about how stupid Zack just sounded.]

[Action]

[plz-2-b-an-hero.livejournal.com]

[Zack looked to the floor, ignored the nagging empathy he was feeling towards Angeal right then, chewed his lip, sighed.]

[browning-baby.livejournal.com]

| voice |

[itachi-kunoichi.livejournal.com]

Cloud?

[urbandev.livejournal.com]

Cloud.

[Action]

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

[He couldn't keep the harden expression for long. Cloud looked away again, plucking at the covers on his bed. With the room silent, Minuit poked her head from out behind Cloud's strong box and mrrowed.]

| voice |

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

...Misao.

voice

[cloudsinstrife.livejournal.com]

...Reeve.

voice

[vampbratprince.livejournal.com]

Cloud...

[Action]

[plz-2-b-an-hero.livejournal.com]

[Desperate for a distraction, Zack crouched down and extended his hand in Minuit's direction. Cloud knew he'd come back, right? This wasn't a big deal. It... wasn't as if this was digging up ghosts of bad memories for either...]

...I guess a better thing to say would be I'm sorry. I should have told you the truth.