A/N: Hello. It is I, Ed, the man who hasn't updated this fic in like, two years

*waves*

FFVII Remake has me wanting to update, though, and I won't give any spoilers but OH MY GOD

Also, I've gotten over that phase in my life where I didn't want to write gay ships so I'm making this fic gay ;p

Zack and Cloud are definitely going to end up together.

I'm divided on Aerith and Tifa. Either Cloud Zack and Aerith will all date and Tifa ends up with Barret because I like that ship and the idea of them raising Marlene just sounds way too cute, or Tifa will end up with Aerith because any love triangle with a guy in the middle makes me want the girls to just date each other instead.

Published: 4/24/2020

Warnings: Er. None that I can think of for this one

Chapter 6

Flower Whisperer

"The Mako," Tifa repeated. "It's the lifeblood of the planet. That's why plants wither and die wherever a reactor is built. It literally sucks the life force out of the area."

Zack stared at her incredulously before shaking his head. "No, no… That's impossible. That's insane! What kind of idiot corporation would use that sort of resource for profit?"

Tifa merely raised a single eyebrow, hands firmly planted on her hips.

Beside Zack, Cloud discreetly coughed. Zack shot his companion a narrow eyed look while Cloud responded with an innocent look.

On the bright side, Cloud was definitely getting better. On the negative, Cloud's snarky side was back and Zack knew full heartedly he had no way of really countering it.

"Zack," Cloud spoke. "Would you really put anything past Shinra?"

Zack opened his mouth then closed it. Once, twice, then a third time. Then…

"Shit, you're right. But that- that's still insane! They'll destroy themselves!"

"They're a greedy corporation," Tifa pointed out. "They don't care if they destroy the world, as long as they get to live comfortably while the rest of us wither and die out."

Zack fought against the urge to defend them. Even now, after all this time… Zack didn't want to think about it, didn't want to consider it. All his life, he'd wanted one thing, and one thing only: to become a hero.

And Shinra?

Shinra had seemed to be the way to go.

A lie, ingrained in Zack's mind. A lie ingrained in the minds of countless children, spanning generations. If Shinra was good at anything, it was definitely propaganda.

After escaping Nibelheim, a part of Zack had desperately convinced himself that Shinra wasn't what was rotten- Hojo and the science division were. It was, after all, Hojo and Hollander that had been the route of Zack's problems, with their mad science and actions.

The entire army showing up had proved that was an incorrect assumption. Even Hojo wouldn't have been able to set such a force on Zack without the President's approval. This went all the way to the top.

A corrupt Shinra that was capable of producing monsters like the ones he'd seen in the Reactor, well… They'd be capable of anything.

Including siphoning off the life force of the planet itself to power their homes while passing it off as eco friendly. Zack, like many others, hands just assumed it was magic. Materia could do all sorts of things, most of them mythical.

Oh god. Did that mean Zack was using ghosts any time he used a Material to cast a spell? Wait a second...

Zack blinked.

"You're telling me we've been using Casper the friendly ghost to light our light bulbs?"

Tifa raised the other eyebrow.

"That's one way of putting it, but yes."

Zack considered this for a moment. If Tifa was telling the truth... and, really, Zack had no reason to doubt her, then… Zack shot a look at Cloud, a grin already forming on his face.

Cloud eyed him suspiciously, taking a step back.

"What is it?"

"Simple," Zack said. "If that's the case, I know a special someone who might- no, who should, be able to help you out somewhat with your whole memory problem, and maybe getting rid of these voices too."

Cloud Strife did not know many things, and those he did were mostly instinctual, or answers granted to him by the whispers in the back of his mind.

He knew how to fight. He knew how to use a sword. He really wanted a big sword like Zack's, and he felt naked without one strapped to his back and he was definitely going to nag Zack for one the second they stopped to really breathe.

He knew Zack Fair. He knew that he loved the other man with every ounce of his being.

Zack was his light, his sanctuary. Cloud Strife knew, without a doubt, that he'd be lost without the other man. Zack was Cloud's rock, someone he knew he could always, always trust in.

Cloud… Kind of knew Tifa? He tried not to think about her too hard, and instead let himself feel. Memories of her were beyond him, but looking at her at all gave him the urge to protect her, to keep her safe.

He trusted her, Cloud realized. Not as much as he trusted Zack, but he did. There was also pain mixed in there, a memory that eluded him. Pain and fear and the flash of a broken bridge searing into his mind before Cloud suppressed it.

Genesis invoked strange feelings. Hurt and longing and betrayal rang in the back of Cloud's mind when he thought of the Red General and, if Zack himself hadn't been so adamant on rescuing the man, Cloud would prefer to leave him to rot.

There was another Cloud remember, but he dared not mention him.

Long silver hair, a katana as long as Cloud was tall, pallid skin, and glowing green eyes… Surrounded by fire and screaming and death.

That memory, Cloud tried to block out the most. He knew he shouldn't be trying to block out any of his memories, but he couldn't help it. If thinking of Genesis hurt and left him dizzy with anger, thinking of the silver haired one… The utter raw hatred and terror he felt erased everything else.

It was best not to think about it…

Instead, Cloud decided, it was better to focus on Zack.

Zack, who Cloud was absolutely sure he was in love with. Completely, and utterly.

Thinking of Zack washed away the pain. Thinking of Zack made Cloud feel safe and protected and cared for. Thinking of Zack was like thinking of a sunset, bright and warm, filling him from head to toe.

Thinking of Zack made Cloud feel light headed in the best of ways.

On the other hand, thinking of Zack also made Cloud scared shitless. Because, Cloud couldn't get that image out of his head. He couldn't get the image of Zack, bleeding and broken and dying, with Genesis standing above him, out of his mind.

Cloud knew now that Genesis had been trying to heal Zack. That hadn't stopped the fear from ripping into him, hadn't stopped the mental image of Genesis executing Zack from entering Cloud's mind again and again.

And, that?

That was the one thing Cloud wasn't sure he could deal with.

Zack was his anchor, Cloud realized. And that… Cloud wasn't sure how he felt about it. The idea of losing Zack was petrifying. The idea of being so dependent on another, however, was something Cloud did not like at all. And he was dependent on Zack, Cloud realized. The only thing that kept that fact from annoying him was that Zack seemed to be just as dependent on him.

Every once and awhile, Zack's heartbeat would pick up, and the former SOLDIER would look right at Cloud before the beat fell back to its regular rhythm, nevermind the fact that Zack should be able to detect Cloud through his heartbeat as easily as Cloud could detect Zack's.

Last night, Cloud had gotten up to use the bathroom and had been gone for no less than a minute (because Cloud didn't want to be away from Zack, but he sure as hell didn't want to wake him either), and Zack had been there, eyes wide and slightly frantic, because he'd woken up seconds after he'd realized there was no Cloud in his arms as he'd grown accustomed to.

Snippets of their missing year flashed through Cloud's head. Moments with Zack there, carrying him, talking to him. Blabbering on endlessly, just an endless storm of nonsense. Cloud knew more about Gongagan frogs now than he did about his own hometown.

Yet, now…

Now that Cloud was awake, Zack was quieter. More subdued. Likely, Cloud realized, thinking of what Tifa had told them about the Mako.

Cloud wasn't surprised. The voices in him screamed out their pain, their anguish. They weren't all human. Indeed, most of them were something else entirely.

Either he was crazy, or Mako was made of souls.

Then again, Cloud just might be crazy.

Labs-sterile-scientist-cost-PAIN-PAIN-Burns-MakeItStop-Green

Hands, familiar hands, latched onto Cloud's forearms. Had they been the hands of any other, Cloud would have freaked out, attacked, retaliated. As it was, they were Zack's hands, big and strong and all consuming.

Blinking, Cloud looked up. Cloud hadn't realized he'd looked down. He hadn't realized he'd been clutching helplessly at his own head, trembling as he attempted to- what, shake away the memories?

"Cloud," Zack's voice ripped through the haze, the same way it always did. Cloud latched onto it. Latched onto it desperately, like a lifeline, because it was.

Zack, Cloud realized, was his line back to sanity. As long as he focused on Zack, the pain, the agony, it didn't… It didn't go away, per say, but it became bearable. Knowing Zack was here with him gave Cloud strength.

Meeting the other's gaze, Cloud let out a sigh of relief. Then, uncaring of exactly how many eyes were on him, Cloud pulled Zack close, burying his face in the other's chest, taking in the familiar scent. Zack pulled Cloud right in, wrapping a familiar set of strong arms around him.

This feeling of being protected, Cloud decided, was worth the dependence he felt.

Reluctantly, Cloud pulled away. Lacing his hand with Zack's, Cloud held it close before looking up.

"Sorry. Thanks." Cloud, ever a man of few words, grunted out.

Zack, however, shook his head. Giving Cloud's hand a squeeze, Zack spoke. "Don't be. Come on, lets go meet Aerith. You're gonna love her, she's just as snarky as you!"

"I'm not snarky," Cloud denied.

Zack snorted as he began to pull Cloud along, ignoring the pointed glares they received for their hand holding. Cloud knew no one would do anything. Who would be stupid enough to attack two First Class SOLDIERs?

Aerith Gainsborough had long come to the assumption that Zack Fair had abandoned her. In all fairness, she hadn't seen him in years and she hadn't heard a word. She knew he wasn't dead, because she would have- should have- felt that if it was the case, but it wasn't.

Zack Fair was alive and had chosen of his own volition that he wanted nothing to do with her anymore. And that, Aerith knew, was his decision. Zack's, and no one else's.

Aerith tended to her flowers, humming to herself.

One thing she could admit was that Zack's idea to start a business with these was great. Especially since she grew a little extra recreational plants on the side. Let it never be said that Aerith was not a practical woman.

Sorting several flowers into a basket, Aerith stood and turned.

Only to drop the basket in shock as Zack, her Zack, came waltzing through the door as if it hadn't been years, arm cheerfully tossed over the shoulder of another SOLDIER, laughing and giggling while the other SOLDIER, a pale blond that looked like he could blend in easily with snow, rolled his eyes.

Eyes that soon met hers with a curious gaze.

"Is that her?"

Aerith blinked.

Zack blinked as well, eyes shifting from the blond to Aerith.

"Aerith!" Zack cried, voice cheerful, as if he hadn't been missing for years without so much as a goodbye. Drawing his arm back from the blonde (and Aerith would have had to have been blind not to notice the pout that adorned the blonde's face when Zack did so), Zack sauntered over to her cheerfully, large muscular arms coming up to wrap around her.

Aerith could do nothing but stand there frozen, unknowing of what to do or even say.

Zack, Zack, Zack, Zack…

With a sharp gasp Aerith didn't know she was capable, she clung right back, biting her lip as she buried her head into his shoulder, tears threatening to spill.

He was alive, he was alive, he was alive.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come back to you," Zack whispered into her ear. "I may or may not have gotten a little caught up, if you know what I mean."

Aerith responded by smacking Zack's back. Laughing, the SOLDIER backed up, grinning at her from ear to ear. Then, a frown splayed on his face as he looked back. Only then did Aerith remember that Zack hadn't shown up on his own.

The blond boy was squirming slightly, looking like he had no idea how to respond to Zack and Aerith's physical affection.

"Cloudyyyyy," Zack whined out, "Come here and give us a hug, I wanna be held in the arms of my two favorite people and I can't do that if you're way over there."

Aerith snorted. 'Cloudy' rolled his eyes and, without further ado, did what Zack commanded. Aerith herself reached out to accept the hug with ease. Anyone Zack trusted, she trusted.

However…

The second Cloud's skin touched her own, Aerith flinched back as if burned, the sound of a thousand screaming voices piercing into her ear. Cloud flinched back as well, looking at her cautiously.

Eyes darting between the pair of them, Zack sighed and took a step back.

"Yeah… That, right there, is one of the reasons we're here," the SOLDIER spoke before giving Aerith a long look. "Cloud… They… I'm not sure what they did to him, to be honest. What I do know is they shoved way too much Mako in him at once without letting him build any mental defense, and it's been making him hear voices."

Voices…

"The dead, crying out," Aerith summarized.

Cloud flinched and Zack looked surprised. Surprised, and then a bit offended.

"You knew Mako was made out of souls?" he exclaimed, "and you didn't say anything?"

"I suspected," Aerith corrected. "I've never been in a Mako reactor. And, with you… The voices were quiet. Whatever life they once had, they'd faded, like in Materia. With him…" Aerith gestured, not saying anything but really needing to.

Cloud grimaced.

"They're trying to tell me something," Cloud insisted, almost as if he was trying to convince himself. "Something important. But, it's hard to make it out. And it's hard to make myself out, if that makes sense? My memories are a jumbled mess."

"The fact that you can remember anything about yourself at all over all of those souls is…" Aerith paused before shooting Zack a sharp glance. The SOLDIER scratched the back of his head awkwardly, giving Aerith those big puppy dog eyes of his. Aerith narrowed her eyes before pointing out the obvious. "You want me to try and fix him."

"I'm not broken!" Cloud snapped. At this, both Aerith and Zack shot the blond looks. Cloud squirmed slightly. "Okay… I'm damaged," Cloud accepted, "But I am not broken," he said firmly.

"You aren't," Zack agreed. "But, if Aerith can help, that's all the better."

Aerith raised her eyebrows.

"And is that all you're here for?"

There was a dangerous edge to her voice. A dangerous edge, and just a touch of pain.

Zack snorted, shooting her an incredulous look. "Are you kidding me? I fought my way through a literary army to get back to you, Aerith. I- I don't know where we stand, not anymore. But… I do know you still mean a lot to me. And I owed you to see you in person, after all that time you waited for me."

Cloud eyes were darting back and forth between the pair of them, eyebrows scrunched.

"Wait… Are you two together?"

"Maybe,"

"No,"

Zack flinched. "No… We aren't. Not anymore."

Aerith refused to meet his gaze. Not right here, not right now, as the realization of exactly what was happening finally started to hit her..

Years.

She'd waited years for him to come back to her, dreamed of the moment he'd walk right back into her church, with a smile on his lips and his eyes dancing with mirth, ready to tell her another story.

Looking at him was painful.

Aerith knew there was another story here, too.

Right now, though, she just wasn't ready for it.

Instead, she smiled at Cloud, taking a step forward.

"I can't make any guarantees," Aerith warned. "This isn't an exact science. But, I can help you learn to listen. I can help keep you from getting drowned in them. And… I might be able to help get your memories back, if that's what you want."

Instead of answering her, Cloud shot Zack a questioning glance. Aerith didn't bother looking at Zack, but she assumed he nodded, because Cloud gave a nod of his own before turning back to her.

"Alright. Thank you. Zack trusts you and that's good enough for me."

There was a pain in his words, Aerith realized. And questions that would need to be answered. Questions Aerith herself wasn't ready for right now. Instead, she decided, she'd focus on helping this young man, and doing everything in her power in making this right.