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Entry tags:
FF7 - SXB kids - zack & OC
This one is after Zack finds out about the clones but before he goes on the run with them and way before Seph catches up. It wasn't anyone's request, but Gabe's other father knocked at the door and said he wanted to say his piece anyway.
Damn but this story is going to need a tag of its own at this rate.
1 300 words.
Ulweiss and Galevik were both dead. He knew nothing about Ulweiss's family, the man cut down in Wutai when Zack was still just a just-promoted Second Class newbie, but he knew about Galevik, because he hadn't died in action. He'd died at home, in his bed, asphyxiated along with his lovely wife of two months by a faulty heater. Turned out even a SOLDIER couldn't magically shake off carbon monoxide poisoning.
(A few higher-ups had bitched about the waste of a First Class and how perhaps they should have denied his application to go and live off the premises, if this was what it came to. Unknown individuals had thoroughly vandalized their very expensive, very well-guarded cars. Everyone agreed to say it was the work of anti-Shinra extremists. No one mentioned the imprint of fists on the metal.)
Tanner was one of the most efficient fighters he knew, and not a bad soldier to have at your side in battle. Zack also knew that if he handed him the little boy who was half his, he'd go straight to the labs to hand the kid back, and probably tell them if they were going to experiment with his genes he wanted to renegotiate his contract, because he wasn't getting compensated enough.
Only one left to ask, then.
(only two, whispered a voice in the back of his mind, but it didn't sound very enthusiastic. He fucking hated having to do this alone, but he'd rather do it alone than be betrayed and not get to do it at all.)
"Hey, Kegarr." He smiled as he walked up to him.
(There was a time to take chances, and a time to cut his losses, and he had to balance the two.)
"Hey, Fair," Kegarr replied, and took another drag of his cigarette.
They'd had a discussion about smoking before, at that very same bar, about the pointlessness, and the wasted money, and the clinging smell, but even though he agreed placidly with every single argument Kegarr kept smoking anyway.
(Zack liked him.)
(He liked him less than Sephiroth. That was the reason he hadn't told Sephiroth. Less of a wrenching loss if he didn't get the answer he wanted.)
It was cold outside the bar. Zack ducked his head and pulled up his turtleneck collar up to his chin, and kept smiling. Kegarr chuckled, quiet and deep in his chest. He was an imposing man -- not huge, but strong, and he looked it. About Zack's size but with wider shoulders, thicker arms. His frizzy hair was growing out of his usual buzz-cut.
"Want a drag?"
Zack chuckled back; it was quickly becoming their own private joke. "I'm good, thanks," he said, and leaned against the wall beside him. He let silence fall as he looked out of the mouth of the alley into the street, watching the ebb and flow of passersby.
And then, because Kegarr wasn't stupid, "So what did you want to talk about?"
Zack considered how to best open the conversation. Oh well, in doubt go straight to the point.
"What if you had a kid you didn't know about?"
Kegarr twitched in surprise and stared at him. "Shit, Zack, what did you do."
He couldn't help laughing, though it wasn't the immediate assumption itself he found amusing. It was the sheer black irony of it.
He hadn't done anything, but he sure was going to.
"It's not for me! No, seriously." He prodded him with his elbow. "What would you do?"
Kegarr gave him an unconvinced look and took another drag. "I wouldn't have a kid I didn't know about, because I'd have used a condom."
"What if the condom broke?"
"The condom wouldn't break because I pay attention to that shit," Kegarr said, very patiently, but not as amused anymore.
"Are you familiar with the concept of 'what if' at all?" Zack retorted. "Did you have a deprived childhood or something?"
Kegarr's purple eyes narrowed and turned away from his.
Zack let out a long sigh. He was too stressed out, he was getting bitchy. Couldn't afford that. "Sorry," he said, nudging him with his elbow again.
"I'd pay for the abortion," Kegarr said, abrupt and to the point.
Zack nodded, thoughtful.
"What if she didn't want to abort?"
"That's her choice," he replied, in a way that meant the result of that was also her problem. "I've got a career and it comes first, always has, always will. Also I don't like kids. And don't tell me 'it's different when it's your own', I've heard that from all my family, and the neighbors on top. It's a stupid argument. I'm not gonna make a kid just on the off-chance that I really might feel different once it's born, when I don't even want one in the first place. It's not a requirement, goddamnit!"
"... So... Lemme guess, recurring family argument, huh?"
"Shit yeah," Kegarr replied, letting out a rueful laugh. "It's not as if I hate kids or anything, and if there's one in a burning house I'll go and get 'em before they're crisped, but. I just don't have any interest, and I've got other stuff to do with my time, that I actually want to do. So I don't think I'm the right guy for you to ask that kind of question to."
"No, no," Zack replied, disappointed but... no, he got where Kegarr was coming from. It wouldn't be fair to the guy. "I'm kind of like that, too -- love my job, love my life, don't wanna drop things to settle down, it's such a huge responsibility -- only I guess I'm alright with the idea of settling down eventually. Like... in thirty years, maybe."
Kegarr snorted and smirked at him. "Good plan. By then you should have reached adulthood... Well, hopefully."
"Oh, fuck you," Zack replied, though he'd handed him the opening fully knowing what he'd do with it.
Kegarr finished his cigarette and lit up a second one. Zack stared at the other wall of the darkened alley. There were less and less passersby in the street, though from time to time a trooper would stumble out to be sick in the gutter.
"What if the kid is in danger?" he asked softly. "Like, I dunno, the mother's a druggie who plans to sell it to pedophiles to pay for her habit." A pause, as he considered loopholes for Kegarr to slip through. "And she's got no other family."
The man let out a long sigh, though the look he turned on Zack was worried once again, not buying the rhetorical angle anymore. ".... It's a pain in the ass but I guess in that case I'd sue for guardianship, and then ask one of my cousins to raise it with their own, if they can. Though they've got a lot of children already and money gets kind of tight..." A second sigh. "I'd look for someone I could trust with the kid. Someone who'd care. 'cause, you know, I can't, but that's no reason to stuff them with the first money-grubbing neglectful asshole who comes along. That'd be my responsibility. Find 'em someone who'd care, and then I guess everyone's happy."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," he replied, scratching his neck, embarrassed.
"Thank you," Zack whispered.
He was ready to catch Kegarr when he pitched forward, caught entirely unprepared by the heavy blow Zack had just landed on the back of his head.
Alone it was, then.
He'd seen just about everyone in his platoon at the bar tonight. Said his goodbyes, though none of them had realized. It gutted him that he couldn't spare the time to make a detour by Sector Six, couldn't risk the negative attention a letter would bring to Aeris, or even that little trooper he'd been sort of mentoring in secret, who was going to come back from the field to find him long gone. They didn't need that shit.
He arranged Kegarr's long limbs comfortably, made sure he'd be visible in the morning, and then he strolled out of the alley, hands in his pockets. First stop, the labs' security room. Lots of expensive equipment to break and underpaid guards to dispatch.
Damn but this story is going to need a tag of its own at this rate.
1 300 words.
Ulweiss and Galevik were both dead. He knew nothing about Ulweiss's family, the man cut down in Wutai when Zack was still just a just-promoted Second Class newbie, but he knew about Galevik, because he hadn't died in action. He'd died at home, in his bed, asphyxiated along with his lovely wife of two months by a faulty heater. Turned out even a SOLDIER couldn't magically shake off carbon monoxide poisoning.
(A few higher-ups had bitched about the waste of a First Class and how perhaps they should have denied his application to go and live off the premises, if this was what it came to. Unknown individuals had thoroughly vandalized their very expensive, very well-guarded cars. Everyone agreed to say it was the work of anti-Shinra extremists. No one mentioned the imprint of fists on the metal.)
Tanner was one of the most efficient fighters he knew, and not a bad soldier to have at your side in battle. Zack also knew that if he handed him the little boy who was half his, he'd go straight to the labs to hand the kid back, and probably tell them if they were going to experiment with his genes he wanted to renegotiate his contract, because he wasn't getting compensated enough.
Only one left to ask, then.
(only two, whispered a voice in the back of his mind, but it didn't sound very enthusiastic. He fucking hated having to do this alone, but he'd rather do it alone than be betrayed and not get to do it at all.)
"Hey, Kegarr." He smiled as he walked up to him.
(There was a time to take chances, and a time to cut his losses, and he had to balance the two.)
"Hey, Fair," Kegarr replied, and took another drag of his cigarette.
They'd had a discussion about smoking before, at that very same bar, about the pointlessness, and the wasted money, and the clinging smell, but even though he agreed placidly with every single argument Kegarr kept smoking anyway.
(Zack liked him.)
(He liked him less than Sephiroth. That was the reason he hadn't told Sephiroth. Less of a wrenching loss if he didn't get the answer he wanted.)
It was cold outside the bar. Zack ducked his head and pulled up his turtleneck collar up to his chin, and kept smiling. Kegarr chuckled, quiet and deep in his chest. He was an imposing man -- not huge, but strong, and he looked it. About Zack's size but with wider shoulders, thicker arms. His frizzy hair was growing out of his usual buzz-cut.
"Want a drag?"
Zack chuckled back; it was quickly becoming their own private joke. "I'm good, thanks," he said, and leaned against the wall beside him. He let silence fall as he looked out of the mouth of the alley into the street, watching the ebb and flow of passersby.
And then, because Kegarr wasn't stupid, "So what did you want to talk about?"
Zack considered how to best open the conversation. Oh well, in doubt go straight to the point.
"What if you had a kid you didn't know about?"
Kegarr twitched in surprise and stared at him. "Shit, Zack, what did you do."
He couldn't help laughing, though it wasn't the immediate assumption itself he found amusing. It was the sheer black irony of it.
He hadn't done anything, but he sure was going to.
"It's not for me! No, seriously." He prodded him with his elbow. "What would you do?"
Kegarr gave him an unconvinced look and took another drag. "I wouldn't have a kid I didn't know about, because I'd have used a condom."
"What if the condom broke?"
"The condom wouldn't break because I pay attention to that shit," Kegarr said, very patiently, but not as amused anymore.
"Are you familiar with the concept of 'what if' at all?" Zack retorted. "Did you have a deprived childhood or something?"
Kegarr's purple eyes narrowed and turned away from his.
Zack let out a long sigh. He was too stressed out, he was getting bitchy. Couldn't afford that. "Sorry," he said, nudging him with his elbow again.
"I'd pay for the abortion," Kegarr said, abrupt and to the point.
Zack nodded, thoughtful.
"What if she didn't want to abort?"
"That's her choice," he replied, in a way that meant the result of that was also her problem. "I've got a career and it comes first, always has, always will. Also I don't like kids. And don't tell me 'it's different when it's your own', I've heard that from all my family, and the neighbors on top. It's a stupid argument. I'm not gonna make a kid just on the off-chance that I really might feel different once it's born, when I don't even want one in the first place. It's not a requirement, goddamnit!"
"... So... Lemme guess, recurring family argument, huh?"
"Shit yeah," Kegarr replied, letting out a rueful laugh. "It's not as if I hate kids or anything, and if there's one in a burning house I'll go and get 'em before they're crisped, but. I just don't have any interest, and I've got other stuff to do with my time, that I actually want to do. So I don't think I'm the right guy for you to ask that kind of question to."
"No, no," Zack replied, disappointed but... no, he got where Kegarr was coming from. It wouldn't be fair to the guy. "I'm kind of like that, too -- love my job, love my life, don't wanna drop things to settle down, it's such a huge responsibility -- only I guess I'm alright with the idea of settling down eventually. Like... in thirty years, maybe."
Kegarr snorted and smirked at him. "Good plan. By then you should have reached adulthood... Well, hopefully."
"Oh, fuck you," Zack replied, though he'd handed him the opening fully knowing what he'd do with it.
Kegarr finished his cigarette and lit up a second one. Zack stared at the other wall of the darkened alley. There were less and less passersby in the street, though from time to time a trooper would stumble out to be sick in the gutter.
"What if the kid is in danger?" he asked softly. "Like, I dunno, the mother's a druggie who plans to sell it to pedophiles to pay for her habit." A pause, as he considered loopholes for Kegarr to slip through. "And she's got no other family."
The man let out a long sigh, though the look he turned on Zack was worried once again, not buying the rhetorical angle anymore. ".... It's a pain in the ass but I guess in that case I'd sue for guardianship, and then ask one of my cousins to raise it with their own, if they can. Though they've got a lot of children already and money gets kind of tight..." A second sigh. "I'd look for someone I could trust with the kid. Someone who'd care. 'cause, you know, I can't, but that's no reason to stuff them with the first money-grubbing neglectful asshole who comes along. That'd be my responsibility. Find 'em someone who'd care, and then I guess everyone's happy."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," he replied, scratching his neck, embarrassed.
"Thank you," Zack whispered.
He was ready to catch Kegarr when he pitched forward, caught entirely unprepared by the heavy blow Zack had just landed on the back of his head.
Alone it was, then.
He'd seen just about everyone in his platoon at the bar tonight. Said his goodbyes, though none of them had realized. It gutted him that he couldn't spare the time to make a detour by Sector Six, couldn't risk the negative attention a letter would bring to Aeris, or even that little trooper he'd been sort of mentoring in secret, who was going to come back from the field to find him long gone. They didn't need that shit.
He arranged Kegarr's long limbs comfortably, made sure he'd be visible in the morning, and then he strolled out of the alley, hands in his pockets. First stop, the labs' security room. Lots of expensive equipment to break and underpaid guards to dispatch.
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This was heartbreaking. I feel so bad for him and so proud of him all at once. How do you do these things to me? I love this little verse. I love it so much. It's just so....ZACK and so very real and fits so well in the universe.
I just feel so BAD for him, because he's made this decision, and it's tearing him up, even if it's the right choice to make.
Kudos? Major massive kudos for being amazing? And Cookies? Because you nailed the emotional so well.
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Woohoo cookies! ♥
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~You will make this a full series~
~You will---Please? *sad puppy eyes of DOOM!*
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(actually, no, zack did that a while ago, the bastard. *sigh* I guess i've got to figure out a name for this series to tag with...)
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Zack and the Midgets?
A Bachelor and Five Babies?
Something of that nature?
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The fact that he really really doesn't want to do this thing alone and can't find a viable alternative? That kinda breaks my heart. Guys like Zack aren't meant to be alone. I like that he tries to get help rather than just going for it without a second thought to the other fathers. It's an awful situation to be in, particularly since he can't be sure about Sephiroth, but he's trying to do it right as best he can and it hurts good.
I like Kegarr. He's interesting. I hope he never has to come across Zack and the kids, particularly Gabe, in a fight. (Unless you want to write that, in which I case I hope he does, because you're somehow magic like that *is baffled*)
I don't think I'm getting tired of this any time ever. I vote tag it, you know it's not going to stop talking to you. *hopes*
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Yay! Love for Kegarr. He's a cool guy, really. u.u I'm getting really tempted to use him again, so him meeting Gabe might yet happen. Then again he already gave Zack his blessing, so... XD
Alas it won't shut up. Mergh, what should I name it then? I can't figure that out. ;__;
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(Anonymous) 2010-09-13 03:31 am (UTC)(link)Oooh, neat! I'll be glad to see Kegarr again if it works out for him to show up again. Hm, also, how is Zack affording five children who presumably have advanced metabolism and grow like weeds? Because I was just thinking in regards to Kegarr, heh, child support would be awesome.
Well, I've gotten used to Asuka + FFVII title = Materia. Yes? No? Boring yet? I still think it easy, convenient and pretty cute. Steal maybe, or Exit?
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... STEAL. YES. THIS IS PERFECT. I was looking for stuff like... I dunno, multiply or something with numbers and it all sucked. XD
*goes a-taggin'*
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(I've been covering between 3 and 12 people's jobs at work for several months now. It doesn't look like it's going to ease up any time soon. So if I pop up and vanish at random, that'd be what's going on... ^^;;;)
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... guhh. D: D: D: but when do you reeeest argh. being overworked = bad! I'm really sorry things aren't quieter on your side. are you okay despite that, it's not getting to you too much? *frets*
(funny story, i was going through your IJ this morning (or was it some other non-dreamwidth journaling site, maybe GJ?) and wondering at the posting date on your latest post, surely you'd just forgotten to update it along with your lj, but no, it really has been that long since you posted anywhere. it was surprising. @__@ then again you've always been around more in comments than in posts.)
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ahahahaha erm! you know that old saying about "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?" If I got started bitching about how my life has gone this past year, I suspect I would not stop for several hours. So I've been hesitating over making any kind of life-update post because if someone went "how've you been" and I actually started answering? ...yeah, not so fun. Right now I'm pretty much in lalalala denial mode.
...the good news is my mom's cancer therapy worked and the first annual checkup turned out clean, though! And they haven't done any actual surgery on me since last winter. That's ...pretty much all the good news. ^^;;;;;;
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DDDDDDDDDDDD:
I think people are still worried/wondering and it definitely wouldn't look like a pity party to make one post, especially if you kept it a quick summary? Kind of "where has your chibirisu been". you could even take off the comments field if you don't want a ton of "omg poor you" comments. But then again that assumes you even want to mention it online. perhaps talking about it wouldn't be venting but just an unwelcome reminder, I don't know how things work for you. .__.
The cancer therapy working is AWESOME YAY news, though. ^____________^
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Zack would go and do something stupid like this and it kills me.
Hell he'd probably one of those fathers who'd give them whatever they wanted when they got old enough to begin to ask for shit. And he'd be awesome enough to let them get away with it~
Is it bad I get Bonnie and Clyde images in my head when Zack and Seph do their meetin' up thing? ohsocute.
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Haha, I don't know how he'll be when they hit their teens. possibly he'll have learned to put SOME boundaries down by then, what with needing to stay disciplined if they don't want to get caught... XD;
heeee. bonnie and clyde. pfft. ♥
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Kegarr and Zack convo was great, as was Zack having said his goodbyes to everyone he could - though cos of the Aerith and Cloud mention, I'm pondering what their reactions to seeing Zack overrun by toddlers would be (probably to laugh then Aerith encourages them and Cloud steps a safe distance away before he piques their curiosity/Zack's love of manhug-noogies)
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Have gotten Aerith and Cloud prompts, so hopefully you should see that soon. Just as soon as I figure out how it's gonna work out. XD;
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can't wait XD
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(Anonymous) 2010-09-13 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)Can't help but wonder how this is gonna affect Cloud.
-- Guile
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Cloud ficlet is in the planning stages right now, but will definitely happen. I really want to figure it out too.
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Also, the recurring family argument about not having kids? God, I so hear that all the time. From my parents and my in-laws. Me and the husband are both only children too, so I feel a *little* bad, but that's not a good reason to have kids, so..yeah. Anyway, I love that you included that little detail; it made Kegarr very real for me. :)
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And god, me too, though at least I've got siblings and I'm not married. XD You could say it was a little bit of authoriness that slipped in for verisimilitude.