I realized I haven't posted a fic to this site in over a year. Gasp! The horror! Maybe because LiveJournal is way more addicting. ;D I wrote this a few weeks ago and figured it was good enough to share here. Let there be Clack!
A Bit of Honor
Sometimes Cloud wondered if the reason he didn't really fit in all that well at Midgar was because he was basically a poster child for an innocent country boy. Besides his quiet demeanor and big blue eyes, he hadn't been living in the city long enough to realize that a lot of the folk there were just plain jerks.
This wasn't true for everyone, of course, but Cloud found that the majority of people cared solely about themselves and whatever would benefit them the most. He supposed it made sense in such a big city like Midgar, but even after several years, it was still a bit of a culture shock from Nibelheim, where the town had been one big happy family.
Mostly.
But never in Nibelheim would he have ever found a box of four abandoned kittens, mewing so loudly that it was a wonder that no one had stopped to take them. They were on the side of the road near a trash can, and while some people did look in the box, they'd either roll their eyes or just shake their heads a little before going on their way.
Cloud wondered how some people could be so self-absorbed that they'd ignore helpless animals. The kittens looked pretty young – a little too young, he thought, when he peered into the box. Their eyes were open, but they hadn't quite grown into their paws and ears yet. There was really only one thing to do in a situation like this.
"I'll take care of you," he murmured, gently picking the box up. As soon as he did, though, he wondered how he'd managed that. His roommate would probably rat him out if he brought four kittens back. He could always bring them to Zack's place, but he had a feeling that Zack was way more of a dog person.
He'll just have to deal. After all, one of the things Cloud loved most about Zack was his compassion. Surely he'd feel enough pity not to boot them out of his place.
The kittens didn't weigh much, but they kept stumbling around as Cloud walked, so his eyes kept darting into the box every other second to make sure they were okay. He probably looked insane, carrying a noisy box in a city of self-absorbed people, but he didn't really care. He just wanted to get these little guys to a more caring place.
Luckily, as he trudged through the roads up towards Zack's apartment building, the kittens quieted down a bit. Hopefully this meant people would stop staring – even if it was for a good cause, Cloud didn't really like eyes on him. He hustled upstairs quickly and after he'd awkwardly knocked, it occurred to him that Zack probably wasn't even home. He'd remembered how upset his boyfriend had been when he was told to go on some scouting mission on one of Cloud's rare days off.
Sure enough, nobody answered even after he'd rung the bell. Cloud frowned and stared at the door, as though trying to will it open. He had a key – Zack had given it to him since he 'always lost his', but Cloud had a feeling it was more than that – but had never used it. Zack was usually at home when he came over, or they came here together.
Any other time, Cloud might have turned around and gone back to his room, or just wander around until Zack got back, but he couldn't very well do that with the kittens making such heartbreaking noises. Carefully, he set the box down and got out his key, turning it in the lock as though it was a time bomb.
Nothing exploded, of course. Even so, Cloud gingerly stepped into the apartment after he picked the box up again. "Zack?"
He was hoping his boyfriend was just asleep or something, but no such luck. The place was empty except for him and four squealing little kittens. Well, at least he could take them out of the box.
Cloud set down a large, soft towel on the floor and gently set each scrawny kitten down on it. This was the first time he could get a proper look at them, since they could barely walk around anywhere. Mostly they just wobbled around, squealing and mewing.
One kitten was solid black. Two of them were gray tiger-striped, but one had four white paws and a weird white marking on its face. The last one really caught Cloud's interest since it was mostly black, except two white paws and a strange marking on the back of its neck shaped like a white cross.
...Or an 'x', like the scar on Zack's face.
Cloud leaned against the couch and picked up the kitten with the scar shape, chuckling when it loudly squeaked in protest. It calmed down when he cradled it against his chest, gently stroking it with the tip of one finger. How could anyone be so heartless as to let these little guys go?
The motion of petting the kitten was awfully calming. Cloud sighed happily and closed his eyes, unintentionally drifting off into a little catnap and not noticing when the other three kittens crawled up, curling up beside him to sleep.
"Spike?"
Cloud's eyes immediately snapped open and he nearly jumped up to stand at attention, but a hand on his shoulder prevented him from doing so. Wait, where was he? That was Zack's hand, so he was in Zack's apartment. Yeah, that made sense. It always took a second for him to register where he was.
Something moved on his lap and he glanced down, the kitten with the scar marking stretching out a little on his legs. Cloud smiled, lightly petting it again.
Zack carefully sat beside him, and Cloud didn't need to look to know that his boyfriend was smiling teasingly. "What, gonna give those to Sephiroth? Warm him up a bit?"
"No." Cloud turned red at the very thought. Sephiroth would probably skewer him. Or worse. "I found them abandoned in town. They were in a box by the trash."
"What!" Zack sounded completely shocked. Cloud understood why; it seemed that in a business city like Midgar, only a fellow country boy could have room in his heart for animals. "Ugh, oh man. That really sucks. Good thing you got 'em, or..." He trailed off with a frown, though it warmed into a smile when he picked up a kitten, one of the tiger-striped ones.
"You...don't mind that I brought them here?"
"Why would I? You'd probably get booted out if you took them to your place. Or your roommate would've ratted you out or something." He set the kitten on his lap and reached for another one. "Never been much of a cat person, but you've gotta be made of stone not to love kittens."
I knew it, Cloud thought, but just smiled a little in response. "They were taken from their mother too soon, I think. We can't start finding homes for them for another couple of weeks."
"'Kay." Zack didn't seem too concerned with this, which led Cloud to believe he had no idea what raising orphan kittens entailed...but they could cross that bridge when they came to it. "Only if you let me get a picture of you with them sleeping all over you."
"Huh!"
"Taking a catnap with cats? Can't pass up that imagery." Zack grinned and captured Cloud's lips in a fleeting kiss before the other could properly respond. "Or maybe we pose them like they're attacking you. Y'know, big bad cats with a wild chocobo? Me-yow."
Cloud rolled his eyes. "I'm not a chocobo."
"Keep telling yourself that...chocobo."
"Whatever." Cloud couldn't keep himself from turning a little red. "Is there a pet store around here? They'll probably sell kitten formula."
"...They don't eat cat food?"
"No."
"..." Zack sighed, but willingly handed Cloud some gil, even at the other's protest. "There's a pet store somewhere in this sector. Don't worry, I'll stay with the little guys." He kissed Cloud again.
"O-Okay. See you in a bit."
When Cloud came back about forty-five minutes later, however, it seemed the kittens were more apt to attack sleeping puppies than sleeping chocobos. Me-yow.
Just as Cloud had predicted, it was another three weeks before the kittens had been weaned off of the formula and were eating solid food. Zack was definitely celebrating this; after all, he'd been the one who'd had to feed all the little guys at two in the morning after he got back from a late night and Cloud was forced to go back to the barracks.
Not that he'd minded, Cloud could tell. Zack was just a naturally affectionate guy, and apparently that affection extended to animals. He'd become especially fond of the boy kitten that had the marking identical to his own.
"See? We're practically twins." Zack held the kitten up to his face. Cloud just smiled. He knew his boyfriend didn't like the origins of his scar at all. Maybe seeing such an adorable creature with a similar marking had helped ease the pain of it, at least a little.
"Definitely," Cloud replied, hiding a smile. He quickly scooped up the black kitten that looked like it was just about to run and pounce an electric cord. "You know...we should probably try and find homes for them."
"You think?"
"Yeah." He set the kitten down. "You're really busy and all. And you know I can't have one. They should be with families who can spend more time with them."
A thoughtful frown crossed Zack's face before a dejected little sigh replaced it. "I guess you're right. I've got patrol today around Midgar. Maybe I can ask around if anybody's looking. Or put up signs."
"Good idea."
"Got it from you." Zack grinned, leaning over and initiating a kiss that was meant to be short and sweet, but clearly got other ideas a moment later. With a husky moan, he started slowly easing Cloud backwards, intending to hover over him, but a loud, indignant squeak made them tear their lips apart. Cloud was about two seconds away from squashing the gray and white kitten.
"Sorry," he said before he could stop himself. Zack chuckled and shook his head, unable to resist a chaste smooch.
"It's okay. I don't want a furry pancake on my floor."
"I was talking to the cat."
"Touché." They stood up. "I've gotta get ready for patrol. If you've got nothing else to do, maybe you could draw up a sign. We'll post 'em around town when I get back, okay?"
"Okay."
"Have fun!" Zack grinned, running off after one more smooch.
After two more weeks, they managed to find good homes for three of the kittens. The last one standing was Zack's favorite, the one with the scar marking. Because of his attachment to this particular kitten, none of the people that expressed interest seemed remotely good enough. Cloud was surprised when Zack even turned down a pretty girl who claimed a kitten would be the perfect addition to her house.
"You can't be picky, you know."
"Yeah, but we've bonded. I can't let just anyone have him!" Zack rolled a bright pink jingle ball across the rug and the kitten darted after it like a freight train, just barely avoiding smacking into the wall when he pounced on it.
Cloud smiled. He had to admit, it was kind of nice having a pet, even though it lived at Zack's place. Zack felt a bond with the little furball because of the scar, and Cloud felt one because he'd rescued the kittens in the first place. It seemed like nobody they found would be worthy enough to have this one.
"Why don't we just keep him?" he tentatively suggested.
Zack blinked a few times, quiet for a moment before breaking into a smile. "Heh, why didn't I think of that?"
It was Cloud's turn to be surprised. "Really?"
"Yeah! I mean, we're rarely out on the same days and all. Plus, one of my neighbors really likes cats, so I'm sure she could feed him if neither of us can be home. I kinda like this little guy." He scratched the top of the kitten's head when it came back, which instantly filled the room with the sound of purr-purr-purrrrrrrring. "I don't want to give him up."
"Guess you've got yourself a pet."
"Correction: we do."
Cloud smiled despite himself. "Now he just needs a name."
"Hmmm." Zack picked the kitten up. It just looked at him with big, green eyes, one paw batting out towards Zack's stray bang. "What should we name you, huh?"
"You'll think of something."
Something on Zack's phone beeped. He put the kitten down and took it out of his pocket, sighing when he flipped it open. "We just got called for a mission. Maybe we can think of something on the way."
"We both did?" Cloud was understandably confused. He rarely got to go on missions with Zack, considering they were completely different ranks.
"Yep! To some little backwater town, apparently. I dunno, we'll get the details when we get down to the Shinra building." He was already stripping out of his civilian clothes and stuffing himself into his SOLDIER uniform.
Cloud had already been in his uniform, so he merely readjusted himself, already nervous. Missions always made him feel on edge, especially since he rarely got a chance to prove himself. "Okay."
"Hey, you'll be fine." Zack smiled and gave him a kiss before scribbling out a note, presumably to slip under the cat loving-neighbor's door. Then he picked up the kitten and plopped him on the couch, scratching his head again. "Alright little guy, you're the man of the house! Protect it with honor!"
Normally at anything like this, the kitten would immediately get distracted with something to play with, or he'd purr if he was in an affectionate mood. To their surprise, though, he rubbed against Zack's hand, then Cloud's, and finally let out a pleading, high-pitched meow. It sounded almost...demanding, somehow. It was especially strange paired with the pleading green eyes.
Cloud's eyebrows arched. "Huh. Weird. Maybe he's hungry."
"I just fed him an hour ago. And there's water in the bowl." Zack shrugged, giving the kitten a pat and a warm smile. "Man the house! We'll be back soon, don't worry!"
They didn't come back.
Even with Meteorfall more than two years behind them, most of the buildings in Midgar were still rubble. Cloud didn't really think much of it, though. It didn't even matter, given that most of the people who'd lived here had moved away.
Or died.
He carefully stumbled through the rubble that he was pretty sure was Zack's apartment building. Funny how he hadn't done this for the past two years, but maybe actually hearing Zack's reassuring him and Aerith forgiving him all in one day had melted the ice in his heart. It was enough to make him want to look for any mementos, even something insignificant. All he had of Zack's – that was tangible, anyway – was the Buster Sword, but that had never really been his to take to begin with.
Cloud kept his eyes open, but he didn't feel very optimistic about finding anything. Not that it mattered, since having the memories it'd taken him so long to recover was good enough. But a tiny selfish part of him wanted something more, something he could look at and think of Zack in an instant.
Unfortunately, most of the things he found were pretty indistinguishable, either from rust or ash or just plain wear 'n tear. He must have searched for five hours straight, but he didn't recognize anything he found as Zack's.
Even though he'd reminded himself on the way over here that it was unlikely he'd find anything, Cloud couldn't help but be disappointed. He looked around, a little distracted and lost in thought when something brushed against his leg.
Cloud immediately jumped away a little, reaching for his sword and about to get into a battle position when he realized it was just a stray cat. He shook his head, crouching down to gently pet the cat's head. It rubbed up against him, purring loudly.
"Where'd you come from?" he murmured. The cat moved away a little, only to turn around and rub up against Cloud's hand again, apparently wanted to have some attention to the other side. It was only when this happened that Cloud noticed a peculiar marking on the back of the cat's neck.
A white 'X' shape.
"Hey, I've thought of a name for the kitten."
"Really?"
"Yep. I think it'll kinda fit him well."
"It's not 'Zack', is it?"
"Heh, no. I thought we could call him Honor. 'Cause, well, y'know..."
"...Yeah. I like it."
"You do?"
"Uh huh."
"All right! Honor it is."
"Honor," Cloud murmured softly. It was probably just a coincidence, but the cat turned to stare at him at the word with his big green eyes, then loud out a quiet mrow. Cloud gently scooped Honor up in his arms and glanced up at the sky, finally smiling for the first time all day.
"Thank you, Zack."
Maybe it was his imagination, but it seemed like the sky grew a little brighter after that. Cloud didn't mind. He was taking his Honor with him. Tifa would need to get used to having an animal around, but he knew Denzel and Marlene would love having a cat.
Anything to have a little of Zack's Honor in his life again.
Cats make everything better. This is a fact! ;D
Reviews would be totally lovely and make my day/week/month/year!