A falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes.

[general_affairs]

The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out. You've left me in the dark. And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat. I tried to find the sound, but then it stopped.

I took the stars from my eyes and then I made a map, and knew that somehow I could find my way back. Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too. So I stayed in the darkness with you.

Comments

All of my stumbling phrases never amounted to anything worth this feeling

[general_affairs]

[ He could still feel it, electric and warm under his skin. Hands under his coat, solid muscle that was instead pliable and soft under his own hands. The easy fit of two bodies, the flutter of hungry breaths, and kisses that had almost opened floodgates. It kept his heartbeat fast and his thoughts racing with almosts, what-ifs, shouldn'ts, and buts.

He stared at his conversation with Rude on the matter, tapping his thumb idly on the phone's case as he turned all of his thoughts over and over in his head.

He checked the time and pursed his lips, chewing over his options with knitted brows as, for once, uncertainty hung over his head like a sword. But still, he stood and snapped his phone shut after a final message shot to Rude, and left the Turks' floor to head down for the garages.

The elevator's doors opened to a busy scene: Infantry loading a spare vehicle with supplies and tools, and final checks being made for the party's leave. Reno lingered a moment with his hands in his pockets, chewing on the popsicle stick hanging from his lips. But, he'd slide right out between the closing doors and weave through the hum-drum of preparations, coming up to the small party assigned for departure.

He shot a glance to Sephiroth going over a list with a few infantrymen, snorting with irritation as he stopped by Zack. ]

About time Lazard kicked him out on the field.

[ As angered as Reno was by how Lazard handled Modeoheim, he wouldn't linger on the subject. Instead, he bit off some of what little was left of his popsicle and continued, expression lightening to something relaxed and easier: ]

Have fun camping out in the boonies for a week with those party animals. Shouldn't be too bad though. Maybe clear your head out there. Besides, you're from a reactor town too, right?

I would give all this and heaven, too

[general_affairs]

[ Tseng's voice was in his ear, smooth and solid and certain as it guided him through the corridors and down into the hidden layers underneath. He could hear it over the rush of blood through his ears, and through the angry snap of lightning as bone cracked and collapsed.

He didn't need Tseng to guide him along the right path, and both of them knew it. He knew the way nearly by heart for how long he poured over all of the details--all of the possibilities and uncertainties of possible security codes and all the contingencies ShinRa was capable of. All of the safety protocols and lab reports. Every second had been accounted for, but even so, Tseng's voice coming from the headpiece was a good anchor point to keep his wrath efficient and focused. It couldn't spare the lives of the scientists that crossed his path, but it did at least promise them a swift death by his hands. A snapped neck, a shattered temple, a muffled bullet through the head.

Something in the back of his head warned that he should leave them alive if he could, but they could've left Zack and Cloud alone, too.

Rude rounded a corner with supplies in his arms, confirming the path to the exit had been swept and cleared, and the two slid into the laboratory after Reno breezed through the door's security. There was a second of seeing the two tanks and suspended bodies in them that he froze, staring wide-eyed. He gripped the handle of his magrod until his knuckles turned white and electricity arced across the conductive shaft, and any notion of concern for those he killed here today was wiped from his mind. They chose the wrong person to experiment on, and Reno had made sure there was hell to pay for their choices.

There wasn't time to mourn or celebrate, though. There was brief chatter between the two Turks, and Tseng in the earpiece. They were just confirmations that everything was in place and all parties were prepared while Reno hurried through protocols and commands on the console that monitored and controlled the tubes that held Zack and Cloud. Tseng rattled off passcodes, counted down a timer in time with Reno.

The redhead was glued to the screen with tense shoulders and a clenched jaw, but he steadied his breathing. He focused on the task, and kept an attentive eye on the security footage as it flickered through different channels on a second nearby monitor. Rude hovered instead nearer to Cloud, calling out to Reno once the draining sequence and extraction sequences began.

Reno slipped a USB stick into a slot at the console, and turned on a heel with a sharp inhale. There was a small gasp as the acrylic walls lowered. Besides him, Rude easily caught Cloud's weight and eased the unconscious blond down to start drying him off.

Rude should have been the one to handle Zack. That is to say, he was the stronger of the two Turks, so handling the bulk of a SOLDIER would've been easier for him than for Reno.

Reno, who knew how to efficiently lift and carry people heavier than himself, still let both of them slowly collapse under their weight and sink (carefully, and with control) onto the floor. He'd wrap this man up in his arms, still wet and a little sticky from Mako, never minding the mess it made of his suit. He ran a hand along the back of Zack's head and a long his hair with a soft, shaken breath, and looked up at the ceiling to keep anything from falling down his cheeks in relief. His head tipped and, shutting his eyes tight, he pressed his cheek in relief to Zack's temple.

It was only a brief moment, the way he looked up as if thanking whatever deities for their answer to all of his bargaining. There just wasn't time to linger, and while Cloud was breathing just fine on his own, he still wasn't waking up. ]

Hey, hey--you're alright. I got ya, big guy. It's just me and Rude. We're getting you two outta here.