FF7 Prompt Fill: It's Nothing (Zack)

[ladykf]

[Tumblr post] From the Sickfic Prompt list, It’s Nothing - (character) insists they’re fine, right up until they collapse

It started with a headache, a low thrum in the back of his head that made Zack wish he wore his helmet for once. Then again, the pressure might not have been great. It felt better to press at his temples and forehead, a little, so it was hard to say.

Kunsel, ever the detail man, had been giving him sidelooks all morning. At least since he decided that squats were spending energy he just didn’t have. He had a training session with Angeal that afternoon and was going to need all the reserves he could muster. Realistically, he knew it was probably just some bug or something, his body hurt and things didn’t taste right - didn’t help that he really wasn’t hungry, he made himself eat because he knew he was supposed to, that SOLDIERs burned calories like crazy even at rest because of the mako. Fat lot of good that stuff had done him against this, but there wasn’t anything he could do but gripe.

And Zack was many things, but he was not a complainer. Not about some stupid little bug, not when he’d seen his heroes shrug off literally bleeding wounds to get a job done. He didn’t even have a mission, it was just training. Stupid headache wasn’t going to stop him, that was just ridiculous.

He met Angeal at the VR room with a smile, always glad to see him, but didn’t have much to say. It was fortunately easy to deflect his moment of concern, saying he just wanted to focus on his training. Angeal wasn’t cruel, but he was definitely a hard case when it came to training. Zack felt himself breathing hard far too quickly, but waved it off when Angeal asked. You didn’t get breaks in the field, it would be good practice, right? He wasn’t sure about the sim, though, he hadn’t thought it was generally this hot in Wutai but he could feel himself sweating. He tried to get a good breath in, blinking a few times and wiping the sweat off his face as best he could with a damp arm.

“Zack?”

Again with the questioning. It was nice Angeal was concerned and all, but he was looking worried and that was just… just ridiculous. “’m fine, Angeal. Let’s do the next… the next part.”

The world tipped a little and Zack took a half step to the side, managing a startled little ‘oh’ before everything went black.

He woke up some point later, feeling a cool hand running back through his hair, hearing quiet conversation in the background for a moment before the click of what was probably a phone. It was a tremendous effort to pry his eyes open, blinking tiredly up at the blurry figure over him that slowly resolved into his mentor. “’ngeal?”

“You and I are going to have a long talk about acceptable risks, Zack,” Angeal said quietly, still petting his hair and making a quiet sound when Zack winced. “Later. Can you see alright?”

“Yeah, ‘s ok.” He blushed a little at the arched brow he got for that. “Really. Just… just tired, is all.”

“You’re running hotter than Genesis after a battle, I think we can add ‘fever’ to this of things that aren’t okay,” Angeal said, shifting a little and getting a water bottle. “Here, let me help you sit up and you can try a little water.”

Zack made a quiet sound of agreement, blushing a little to realize Angeal had him laying in his lap. He was eased upright and leaned against his mentor’s broad chest, quiet strength even in the arm wrapped around him. But he took the bottle, making a face at the slight tremor in his hands. He was able to drink it, at least, a long swallow that felt good, though he waited for it to settle before taking another sip. “Think that’s fine…”

“Good. You might have been a little dehydrated,” Angeal said, watching him a long moment as he drank. “I’m going to guess you didn’t eat much, either. What’s wrong?”

Zack made a face, feeling absolutely ridiculous. “’s just a bug…”

“And that happens to everyone, it’s one of the less enjoyable parts of being human,” Angeal reminded him, going back to petting his hair. “Really, everyone. It’s just rarer when you’re at higher levels. Still something you need to treat and cut yourself a break on, okay?”

Zack muttered an ‘ok’ and pointedly did not look at the First. Say what he liked, Zack had never seen any Firsts in anything less than ass-kicking condition, let alone passing out during a warm-up sim. That was just embarrassing.

“Zack.” Angeal waited patiently until he was looked at, smile soft and understanding. “It’s alright. Sick happens, there’s other things we can do, okay? Let’s go back to my place, you can get a shower and catch your breath.”

“Yeah, okay… thanks.” Zack managed a more genuine smile and accepted a hand up, swaying a little. But Angeal was there, a constant strong support, and he didn’t mind leaning on him so much this time. 

It was… nice. Maybe it wasn’t a total loss.