Disclaimer: … Come now. If I really owned Final Fantasy VII, do you think I would be writing fanfics about it?… Okay so I would. So Let me clarify that I do not own FFVII OR any or its characters… If I did… Zack wouldn't have died…

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Total concentration. That's what this task required. He would have to give it his all if he were to be successful. Anything less… It would be certain defeat. He couldn't fail… Not now. He came so far! If he were to fail now, all his hard work, everything… It would all be for not. They were all counting on him! He… He couldn't fail them. That would be like failing himself.

Taking a deep breath, he slowly released it, allowing himself to calm down. Glowing blue orbs closed briefly before opening, a determined look in them. Hands grasped the necessary tools. This was it… The moment of Truth. Everything depended on them. Without them… The mission was a failure. And he couldn't fail!! HE… He just couldn't!!! He was a SOLDIER for crying out loud!

"Its not Rocket Science… Just thread it already. Your pants aren't going to fix themselves Zack." An irritated voice broke the silence, causing the young man to lose his concentration. Zack frowned, looking up at the other.

"Angeal…" he whined, "Why do I have to sow them?" He asked, looking at the thread and needle in his hands. He frowned; placing the two down and picking up the pants he was suppose to be stitching. A smirk crossed the older SOLDIERs face.

"Because there's no one around to fix them. You have to learn for yourself." He stated, the faintest hint of laugher detected in his voice. Zack had obviously heard the hidden laughter, because a glared appeared on his features. Angeal let out the laughter he'd been holding back. The young man before him was truly something else. Zack was young, only sixteen-years-old, yet here he was… SOLDIER Second Class. Not many could brag about that. He'd joined Shin-Ra at the age of fourteen. Angeal had first noticed his talents. Two short years later, and Angeal was already considering 'The Puppy' as he liked to refer to him as, For SOLDIER First Class.

"Angeal!" Zack said, whining tone rising slightly. A sigh escaped Angeal as he shook his head. During a small training bout, the sword Angeal had been wielding had cut through the others pants. Angeal had pointed this out to Zack and told him to be more careful. His enemies were going to leave him in a lot worse state than just ripped pants. They'd ended the training session then, and he'd told the boy to go fix his pants… By himself. Ten minutes later, Zack had plopped down on his office floor and made himself quite comfortable. He put on a new pair of pants; the ripped pair was currently lying on the floor in front of him.

"I though I told you to fix that in your room." Angeal said from his spot at his chair behind his desk. Zack grinned up at the older man.

"No, you just told me to go fix my pants. You failed to specify the where part." Zack pointed out to him. Angeal glared at Zack… That little smart ass…

It was common sense. But I guess you missed out on that as well." He said. Even though his tone was annoyed, a small smirk rested on his features. He then looked at the thread and needle that was suppose to be sowing the pants. "Aren't you don't yet?" he asked. A small frown appeared on Zack's features as he looked at the two objects he was suppose to be using.

"I can't thread a needle. I'm a SOLDIER Angeal… Not a seamstress." He said, crossing his arms. He looked at the pants he was currently holding. A small look of disgust appeared on his features. It would be so much more simpler to buy a new pair of pants. Angeal had told him no. That saving money was important. Zack understood his point of view. Being a SOLDIER, their income was excellent. They were able to spend as much as they wanted. However both came from poor families. So both understood the need to save as much money as possible. Fate had been kind to them when they achieved their ranks. But fate could also take that away from them just as easily. He was brought out of his musing by Angeal's sigh. He blinked, glowing blue optics looked up at the older man. His head tilted to the side slightly as looked at the other.

"Give them here. I'm going to show you once and only once." He said, holding out his hand. A smile erupted onto Zack's face as he quickly grabbed the thread and needle with his free hand. Scrambling to his feet, he headed over to Angeal's desk. Angeal took the thread and needle from him. "Okay, now pay attention. To make it easier, wet the end of the thread with your mouth. It makes it easier to thread the needle."

He stuck the thread into his mouth, wetting the end. He then showed Zack how to thread the needle and did the first few stitches before handing it over to Zack. He told the young man that he would never learn how to do it if he didn't try for himself. Zack soon found himself sitting on the floor, legs crossed Indian style as he started to sow his pants just like Angeal had showed him. When he'd finished with the task, his face lit up like a Christmas tree as he got up and basically shoved his pants in Angeal's face. The said SOLDIER quickly leaned back in his chair and shoved the offending clothing item out of his face. That was something he did NOT want that close to his face. A small glare landed on Zack, but quickly vanished as he shook his head. It was amusing, seeing how easily Zack got excited.

"Good… Now you can leave my office and go do something else. Go show it to the other men in the dormitory. I'm sure they'll be thrilled." He said, heavy sarcasm dripping off his voice. Whether or not the other noticed this was unknown, for he simply waved the comment aside.

"Angeal… It's after hours… I'm not allowed out in the halls." He pointed out. Angeal blinked, looking at the clock on his wall. It was after hours all right… It was one in the morning. He sighed, placing his head in his hands as he massaged the growing migraine. That meant he was stuck with the Pup for the night. He looked up at Zack, realizing it had gone quiet… Almost to quiet for Angeal's liking. It was never a good thing when the energetic young man was quiet. He looked over to where Zack had been… He wasn't there. He blinked, looking around his office, stopping at the small couch that rest against the far wall.

A small smile pulled the corners of his lips up. Apparently it had been past Zack's bedtime… For the young man was currently lying on his side, his right arm folded under him as a pillow. His back was leaning against the back of the couch. Shaking his head, Angeal stood up, grabbing the discarded pants that had been thrown on a chair. Folding the pants, he gently lifted the boys arm out from under him and placed the pants there as a make shift pillow. It would be better for his arm this way. He didn't want him waking up with a cramped arm.

He stayed where he was, knelt down at his level, just staring at him. So much pride… He would never have thought that so much pride could exist in one person. Yet Zack took being a SOLDIER seriously. He took pride in what it meant, and he never lost sight of his dreams. 'To be a Hero!' He even said it with pride. He rustled the mass of spiky black hair gently.

"Never forget your Pride Pup." He said lightly to him. He got up and walked over to his desk. The lamp sitting on the corner was the only source of light. He turned it off before making his way to a door on the left side, his bedroom. He opened it and looked at Zack before entering. "Good night Pup."

Twin A 07 – Yay… My first Final Fantasy VII story!! Okay, so this is set before the events of Crisis Core. Just a small little something I whipped up. There's really no pairing, but if you wanted or looked extremely close… as in got down on your hands and knees with a microscope I guess you can see a bit of AngealxZack. Dunno… Anyways, R&R please!! I accept constructive criticism… After all, you learn from your mistakes