A little PWP song fiction for my favorite FF7 guy, Zack, to my favorite tune... A "pre-game" story.

("Stress" By Jim's Big Ego. Go to mp3.com and get it NOW!)

It was just another day in the SHINRA building's residential level. A loud alarm went off as the little red numbers on the clock flashed 6AM. It was a hellish time to be awake on a Friday morning, Mako enhancements or not. A sleepy voice began to swear as a hand shot out from under the blankets and smacked the alarm to the floor, unplugging it. Zack sat up, blinked blearily at the sunlight, stared at the alarm clock in pieces, and finally staggered to the bathroom. He hated Fridays; Friday mornings were the /worst/. All he wanted to do was sleep all day until it was the weekend, but there was work to do.

Splashing cold water on his face, Zack successfully transformed his bed-head into its traditional spikes and flashed himself a victorious grin. He was awake and good to /go/. Just as he was pulling on his boots, his door slammed open to allow a fuming Sephiroth to fly into the room. Zack blinked stupidly as the /very/ energetic man dropped a stack of messy files on the coffee table and ranted for several minutes before storming out again, silver hair streaming behind him. The door slammed again, leaving the room peaceful once more. The SOLDIER blinked in awe, and continued lacing his boot. Zack scooped up the stack of papers and headed for the office. Dropping them on his desk, he sneaked a peek into the General's office to see the man on the phone, still irate. Zack took a another look at the mass of folders and decided he needed some coffee.

All the women in the SHINRA cafeteria turned on the charm as he walked in the room, but Zack was more than happy to flirt right back. Rescuing his large coffee from a giggling girl behind the counter he retreated to a quiet corner and snagged a newspaper, only to be beset by a crowd of SOLDIERs and recruits. A bizarre dance ensued as he spent several minutes rescuing first his coffee than his paper from the barrage of trays, elbows, holsters, bags, feet, and knees, as the crowd settled in, but at length he was back to sipping the steaming liquid and perusing the sports section (the only part of the paper that hadn't been stolen by one of the others). Occasionally Zack nodded in agreement to the lively conversation going on around him but he wasn't really paying attention. He scanned to the bottom of the page. JUNON SEADOGS DEFEATED IN ONCE IN A LIFETIME OVERTIME PLAY! GONGA TAKES PENNANT! Zack sprayed a mouthful of coffee in surprise, soaking a startled audience as he jumped on the table and started doing a victory dance. The rest of the cafeteria looked on in amusement as the crowd of military men pulled him down off the table while trying to "shush" him. He got himself under control, wiped the residual coffee from the wrinkled sports section, and vowed to pin it up on his door for the rest of the week. Still grinning like a lunatic Zack moseyed back to his office to face the daunting pile of paper, two more coffees and a box of donuts in hand.

In the hallway outside the office, Zack's good mood promptly died at the sight of a man in a lab coat laying in wait. Hojo's glasses gleamed menacingly as Zack walked by, and the SOLDIER flashed his most unpleasant smile at the diminutive oily man. Hojo stepped out of the way at the last minute as Zack juggled two coffees, the box, and the newspaper to open his door. He kicked it shut with his heel before the scientist could slip in behind him. Setting his load down carelessly on top of the mound of paper, he grimaced when he realized that it had gotten larger while he was away. Turning back to the door, he cracked it open just enough to give the still lurking scientist a wicked grin and slapped a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the doorknob; slamming it shut again. The sign, very obviously stolen from the Costa del Sol Beach Resort, swung wildly for a moment, its little picture of a surfer seeming to cheerfully mock the startled professor.

On the other side of the door Zack smothered a laugh and rummaged in his pockets for two packets each of cream and sugar, adding them to the second cup. The clock on his computer read 8AM. The man shook his head in disbelief. Sephiroth was now off the phone and morosely looking at his screen. He paid no attention as his friend nudged the door open and silently came in. Not looking up the General pulled yet another file off his desk and wordlessly offered it to his Lieutenant. Zack looked at the "Urgent" note taped to the side and rolled his eyes. He carefully set the coffee down in front of the white-haired man. Sephiroth stared in surprise at the distraction and then up at Zack, the faintest of smiles playing across his face. The dark man grinned again and from behind his back produced the box with a flourish. Even the usually-cold man was forced to crack a smile at this, and he looked almost guiltily at the file still in his hand. Zack rolled his eyes again, snagged the file, and playfully smacked Sephiroth in the head with it before stealing a pastry and stalking back to his desk. He looked at the paper-mountain again, and reached for his second cup of coffee; then he checked his E-mail. The phone began to ring.

In a over two hours Zack made no progress in clearing his desk, but had successfully created a mosaic of different colored stickies in --and on-- the large scheduler that he had out since the first of many phone calls. He was almost caught up with the most recent deployment change, when the dreaded phone started to ring again. It was his mother. He made non-committal noises for several minutes, taking the much needed respite to get his desk organized for the next onslaught. He fumbled in his drawer for a delivery-menu that he hadn't used yet this week, folded it into an airplane, and skillfully shot it through the door to the General's office. Sephiroth pulled the offending object from the air before it jabbed him in the ear and rolled his eyes at the silent victory-dance from his assistant. Zack narrowly escaped promising to go home 'soon' for a visit, and hung-up the phone. Staring thoughtfully at it for a moment, he took the handset off again and set it on the desk, grinning beatifically at his genius. It was officially break time, he had just declared it. A quiet "humph" of amusement caught his attention as he gave his chair a "Victory Spin." (1) Sephiroth was leaning on the doorframe, watching in amusement. Zack reclaimed his menu and began to dial, placing an order for the General's two things as well as six more just to "round things out." When he finished he took the phone back off the hook. The two of them then stared at the now organized mountain of work and cringed. Having nothing better to do until the food arrived, Sephiroth claimed a stack of "Needs a signature" documents and settled on the couch with a stamp and a pen. Zack pulled out the stack of "Requisition Approval" forms and clicked his pen menacingly. The bureaucrats said they wanted the forms done /quickly/, they never said anything about them being /legible/. Zack smiled. After half an hour of quiet work, their food arrived. He looked at the clock on the wall, 1PM.

Zack filed the last of the folders away in the cabinets with a sigh of relief. His desk, spotless once more, was ready and waiting for another day and another deluge of paper. The army was always about feast or famine. He couldn't wait to get back on the field. Sephiroth emerged at length from a meeting and escorted the nervous looking technician to the door. Glancing at the clock, the man grimaced. He was just in time... for another meeting. The phone began to ring in the inner office. Zack smothered a laugh at the taller man's exasperated expression as Sephiroth stalked back to his desk and growled into the phone. The lieutenant lounged at his desk until his commander managed to land another paper airplane in his hair. He carefully unfolded it. MEETING CHANGED TO TELECONFRENCE. GO HOME. HAVE FUN. The soldier shot his superior a disbelieving look and silently mouthed the question, "Fun?" The white-haired man shrugged and pointed at the door. He returned the shrug and grabbing his jacket, he headed out; it /was/ Friday after all. The clock on the phone read 7PM.

It was evening, but Midgar's Sector-6 was lit-up and ready to party. Under the plate there may have been the ever present doldrums of the slums, but above, where SHINRA's finest worked and played, it was happy hour. Zack wandered into a popular SOLDIER hangout and received his customary cheer of greeting as he was recognized by everyone in the bar in a uniform and under 35. He tossed them a sloppy salute and grabbed a beer as it skidded down the smooth bar-top. The pool table was calling.

Zack threw up his hands in defeat as he lost another game and looking over the cheerful crowd, he could make out the clock above the bar by the light of the disco ball. It was 9PM. Suddenly feeling a little tired of the rambunctious scene, he cashed out his tab at the bar and bought several chilled bottles on a whim. The cool air on the street was refreshing as he walked back along the route that would bring him to SHINRA HQ. The random denizens of the alleyways left him alone as he passed, his uniform clearly marking him as difficult prey at best, deadly at worst.

The lobby guard was dozing behind his desk as the soldier strolled past, Zack paused in fumbling for his keycard in order to take pity on the man. The cadet awoke with a start as he was prodded with the cold beer, panicked that his supervisor had found him. The taller man left the guard the offending beer and slouched into the elevator, pondering whether to check the office before heading to his apartment-style quarters. The General would undoubtedly still be at work but wouldn't expect him to stay and help. Zack shrugged and elbowed the button for floor 50, he would at least go and check his messages.

The central lighting in the hallways had been switched to "off hours," leaving the level looking rather gloomy and abandoned as the soldier traced the familiar route from lobby to office. The janitors, busy polishing the floors, gave him brief waves as he wandered past. Although the outer office was unlit, Zack could detect the hint of illumination that proved his commander was still in residence. The soft glow of monitor light and a desk lamp, sneaking under the closed door, provided ample light for his sharp eyes. He set down his bag and the photo on the desk caught his eye. Even in the dim light, the pretty girl's smile looked bright and cheerful, as did the small field of yellow flowers. He resolved to go and see her on his next day off, if only to stop by the abandoned church and say hello.

Taped to the side of the picture frame was another cheerful image, a postcard from his visit to Costa del Sol. The tropical scene looked especially appealing now that the weather was getting colder. He smiled at a memory of how he had managed to drag his stubborn friend to the beach. Sephiroth had always preferred walking the shoreline after dark to any of the more customary day time activities, but given the man's coloring, a sunburn wouldn't have been amusing. They had wandered the length of the beach many times, simply appreciating the surf, the weather, and the solitude. The silver-haired man had shown some signs of even being happy. Zack daydreamed for a moment about another cushy training-assignment at the popular tourist spot. It had been a over year since some of the troops had last had "Ocean Survival Skills" training, one group or another had to be about due for some. The paperwork would be hellish, but it would be worth it. Provided he could convince the stubborn General that he needed to come along, and "supervise." He resolved to look into it first thing on Monday morning.

The office was quiet, too quiet, even the sound of faint typing had trailed off; 10PM. Zack gave the tiny plush chocobo on his monitor a pat, snagged another beer, and tiptoed into the inner office. He paused on the threshold. Sephiroth was sprawled onto his desk, head pillowed on an arm, sleeping. He had obviously dozed off in the midst of reviewing the new cadet profiles. The man looked exhausted; but as tired as the taller man was, he snapped awake when Zack moved closer. The General was never one to allow anyone to take him by surprise, not even his best friend, his only friend. He stared at the still-cold beer that was waved alluringly in front of his eyes and then at the dark-haired man. Zack casually reached over him and shut off the monitor and then the desk lamp. Sephiroth hesitated for a moment longer, but eventually accepted the bottle and allowed himself to be pulled out of the office and into the elevator.

Zack didn't release his reluctant guest until he had pushed the taller man down onto the couch and locked the door. If left to his own habits, the General would spend most of the night in the office only catch a few hours sleep in his spartan rooms and head back to his desk, or out onto the training grounds. It was Friday night, and like almost every other Friday, Zack had taken it upon himself to make sure that at least /one/ overworked SHINRA employee left his office. Sephiroth always looked strangely out-of-place on the worn and much abused couch. The man could command hostile cities with a look, could make himself at home for month after month in the most noxious and dark corners of Wutai's jungles, but still often looked completely lost when faced with a coffee table, beer, and the prospect of more than three minutes casual conversation. If the General wasn't so bizarrely /likable/, Zack would have wondered why he bothered. The dark-haired man smirked as he set out the remainder of the bottles and cracked the seal of a new deck of cards. Shuffling them idly, he waited for his friend to unwind. The soldier looked up from his card-tricks at the hiss of the bottle opening, and smiled wider at the sight of the man working his way out of his shoulder-amour. It looked as though he wouldn't have to "sit council" with the General all night; with any luck they could just be ordinary people for a few hours. It was a pleasant little white lie; neither of them were remotely normal after all, they were SOLDIERs, modified, /unnatural/-- and the General more so than most. Sephiroth merely stretched --working the kinks from his back-- and reached for his beer, for the moment he seemed willing to be simply human rather than a lump of ice. Zack contentedly dealt up the first hand and cracked open another beer as his companion slouched into the corner of the couch with his cards, another tiny smile ghosting his features. Zack grinned. He loved Fridays; Friday nights were the /best/.

(1) "victory spin" (n.)-- When you're in an office setting, and you happen to be sitting in one of those rolling-chairs... and they have the ability to spin.... it is occasionally natural to let loose and be childish and spin-around in your chair... especially when (a) exceptionally happy or (b) exceptionally bored... It is best done when nobody's looking :) [related words: "To give a victory spin" (vt.) -- the action of doing the chair-spinning.]

Notes:

Ummm... So.... Yeah. I have no idea where this came from. I like Zack, I like this song... I was just sitting at work one day and the whole thing "clicked". And no, it's not supposed to actually have a plot. It is just pure Zack fan nonsense. Shonen-ai or not, you decide. :)

-Lunar.

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