Lost in Translation
By Portrait of a Scribe

Miscommunication 3.


"There are well over fifty fun things to do in an elevator. Ever tried any?"
--Anonymous.


Zack was carrying a backpack. Not that that in itself was unusual, considering that he was still taking classes on tactics and the like between his duties as a SOLDIER 2nd Class (he preened a little at the thought) and training sessions with Angeal. What was unusual was that he was holding it in his hands and standing in the back of an elevator… like he had been for the past hour and a half.

So it was that, when Angeal got on board, he was immediately suspicious of his student's behavior. Knowing him as well as he did, Angeal also recognized when something was amiss. However, he figured that it couldn't be anything too terrible, otherwise some kind of mayhem would have already ensued.

"Zack," Angeal greeted. Zack grinned at his mentor.

"Hey, Angeal," he returned, and then fell silent again. The elevator stopped two floors down, and he still hadn't said a word aside from his initial greeting. Several more Shinra employees got on, packing into the already-cramped space, and Angeal found himself pressed against the back wall, shoulder to shoulder with Zack, who clutched his book bag to his chest, wrapping his arms around it in an almost protective manner.

Was Angeal the only one who noticed that half of the new arrivals were Turks? He spotted one up near the front, her raven hair done up in a clip that left some of her tresses to fall loosely about her shoulders.

"Chie!" Angeal called. The Turk in question turned inquisitively at the sound of her name, and then smiled slightly when she saw who it was.

"Angeal," she greeted, waving slightly. "Good to see you again."

Angeal nodded at her. "You, too. I don't think I've seen you since yours and Terra's birthday party."

Chie's smile widened slightly. "'Sir Commandant' has been running me ragged."

Angeal thoughtfully raised his eyebrows as the elevator stopped again to admit more passengers. Chie carefully made her way to the back, squishing in on Zack's other side. The boy tightened his grip on his bag.

Squeak.

Angeal's gaze flew to the backpack, frowning slightly. Had that bag just squeaked?

He looked back up to Chie to see her looking at him with a similar expression on her face. After all, Chie Jerrel wasn't a Turk for nothing. She was even more perceptive than her twin, Terra Jerrel, Angeal's current girlfriend. Chie wouldn't have missed that sound for anything.

Angeal turned a suspicious gaze onto his student, but said nothing, facing forward again. Chie shook her head and did the same.

When the elevator stopped a third time and even more bodies entered the space, Zack fidgeted. A whole second after the doors closed and the lift began moving again, he moved.

Unzipping his backpack, Angeal watched as he peered inside of it and asked, loudly, "Hey, Murphy, you still alive in there?"

And the disconcerted passengers bore witness to the sight of Angeal Hewley's cheeks coloring red as he covered his face and tried to hide the fact that he was laughing his ass off.

Zack just grinned sweetly and, when the elevator was empty again but for himself, his mentor, and the raven-haired female Turk, pulled out a common squeaky toy made for dogs.

Grin widening, he clenched his fist around the ball-shaped object.

SQUEAKY-SQUEAKY-SQUAWK-SQUEAK!

Angeal cracked up.


Disclaimer: Don't own it. I only own Chie and Terra Jerrel, as well as the squeaky toy. XD

Posted 2010-4-17.

Hope you all enjoyed this one as much as I did.

The plot bunnies keep biting. This one actually almost happened to me in real life. Seriously. We had just gotten done at the doctor's office, and my mom, brother, and I were in a crowded elevator. I had a backpack on, and headphones in my ears, and I felt a tug at my backpack, so I looked back at my brother (he's younger than me) and he was looking innocent. My mom waited until we had gotten off the elevator to tell my brother that he should've opened my backpack and said, "Hey, are you okay in there?"

Needless to say, I cracked up. I remembered that moment, and just had to write this one because it's something I can totally see Zack doing.

Chie is Terra's identical twin sister, and is a Turk, if you couldn't tell. She's not mentioned much in Cast Me Gently Into Morning, really just in passing. But here she is... She's actually with Sephiroth, I think, as far as most of my fics go.

Me? I'm a Zerith, Cloti, and Yuffentine fan, myself, and I don't do yaoi.

Thank you to Calenlass Greenleaf1 and YourChemicalRomancex for reviewing the last chapter! You guys are awesome, and I'm really glad you liked it so much!

Don't know when the next chapter will be out. Thanks for reading!

-Portrait of a Scribe