A/N: Thanks to Marle_Nadia for taking a peek and helping me with Zack's lines.

Sneaking into Midgar wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. No, that was strangely the easy part. What would be difficult was the journey to Sector Five, and into Aerith's waiting arms. There was Shinra crawling all over the sector's slums, and honestly, Zack had had enough near-death experiences in recent memory to try his luck again just yet.

They wouldn't harm a hair on Aerith's head, he knew, because then they would have to answer to Tseng. For now, he would lay down low and let everything calm down before trying to contact her. If he had to wait five years to see her already, a couple of weeks was nothing.

"Uhh…."

Zack looked at Cloud as he leaned on the wall of their shoddy, abandoned shack, half coherent and far skinnier than he should be. The former grunt was showing some promising signs that he could snap out of his mako poisoning, even saying a complete sentence after the fight in the Midgar Wastes. He could use his legs again, too, which was really helpful as they left the scene, heavy downpours covering their tracks. At the moment, however, Cloud's cognitive abilities had waned again.

Or he was kind of sleeping. Zack really wasn't sure.

He came over to the blond and looked him over in the dark. "You need a shave, chocobo-head," he quietly murmured. Rubbing the scruff that had accumulated over the last week and a half, Zack figured he needed one, too, at least before he met Aerith again. Continuing his once over of his friend, it seemed he really was just exhausted from the merciless march into the slums.

The shack they were holed up in wasn't much to write home about. It was without water and electricity, and there was the sound and faint scent of rodents. Still, there had been some moth eaten blankets and a few questionable towels. Their clothing was soaked, and Zack had stripped them both to their boxers; he hung the clothing wherever he could.

Finished checking over Cloud, Zack went to peek into the bedroom. It was times like these that he was glad for his mako enhancements, because he had no way to light the shack. There was a dresser, and he opened up the first drawer to nothing but an old sock. The second drawer, at least, held something he could use: a pair of weather worn pants and a stale, brown shirt.

They barely fit, but this was going to get him to the nearest clothing shop. Zack glanced at the Buster Sword, then down at Cloud, not risking bending over to rub his head; his clothing was liable to rip if he moved the wrong way. "Hold down the fort for me, Spike."

Zack couldn't remember for the life of him what his measurements were, let alone Cloud's, and he didn't spend enough time there to find out. Out in the open meant he could be seen be a Shinra operative, and that could spell death for them both. He wasn't planning on staying much longer than he had to in that shack, either. They would get dressed, sack their uniforms, then go...somewhere. As he buttoned up his slightly too large shirt, Zack frowned. Where would be a safe, cheap place to rent until everything boiled over? The amount of gil he had was limited to whatever he had picked up during his run from Shinra and a roll of bills he found on a dead commander. The slums could be cheap, but he couldn't afford too cheap.

He had passed by a bar going to and fro from the clothing shop. Maybe he could pick up some information there.

He turned to Cloud. "How ya feelin'?"

Cloud was running a rope through his belt loops and tying it tightly around his hips. "...A little better," he replied in a monotonous tone, slowly folding up the bottom of his pant legs.

"That's great. Hey, we're gonna go get a little something to eat nearby, think you can handle that?"

The blond blinked his mako bright eyes, then looked down as he touched his stomach. "Hmm...When did I—when was the last time I ate?"

"We haven't had a bite to eat in days!" He wasn't about to tell him how hard it was to get him to eat when he could find a meal. How he would make sure the food was chewed enough to spit into Cloud's mouth and hope that he wouldn't choke on it. Those days were blissfully done with.

"Y-yeah. I think I'm hungry. I think."

"Alright!" Zack put on one of the black fabric jackets he had bought, then zipped it up and brought up the hood. He picked up the other one from the chair, then handed it to Cloud. "Make sure you cover up those spikes of yours, buddy."

He helped hide Cloud's most defining feature before hiding the Buster Sword behind the ratty old couch; at least rats couldn't eat metal. At least he hoped Midgar rats couldn't. Their clothing was still drying, and he wondered if the stale funk of old furniture and possibly mold could be washed out of them. Another thing to worry about later.

Zack checked to see if the coast was clear, then motioned for Cloud to follow him. The blond was still weak as he recovered from mako poisoning and exhaustion, so the going was slow. They could afford to be slow, with their heads down and covered. Hopefully, Shinra would do sweeps in the other sectors later, if any at all. He wasn't sure if their pursuers would scour every last house and establishment in the slums, all for them.

Cloud coughed a few times, hopefully from the smell of sewage and not from his illness. He continued on despite his fit, trying to hide weakness that was apparent to Zack. He stuck closer to the blond, making sure he could lean on him if he needed it. The ex-MP shook his head. "I'm fine, Zack," he rasped.

Zack stayed right where he was. "If you say so."

Cloud pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. "I was in Soldier, too, y'know."

"Hey, I think you should have been in Soldier, but you didn't get to test out again, remember?" After what Cloud had done, he deserved First Class, in Zack's opinion at least. Still, until his friend's head was screwed on tight again, he wasn't going to let him fall into delusion.

The blond looked like a knife had jabbed him in the heart, and all his bravado drained from him. "...Right. Right…"

"Hey, you beat Sephiroth, man. You should be proud!" Zack pointed at the bar, trying to take attention away from their short discussion. "There it is!"

He was glad it was so close, because he was noticing Cloud's legs were beginning to shake as he slowed his walking. Zack brought his arm to wrap around his side, a familiar position in recent months, and very subtly lifted some of his friend's weight off of his legs. He heard Cloud about to protest, and all the ex-Soldier could do was shaking his head and smile at his friend's tough guy routine. "We're almost inside, then you can sit."

A huff, then a hesitant nod.

It was another minute before a bell rang from above as Zack opened the wooden door to the establishment, named 'Seventh Heaven' if the sign outside was accurate. It was refreshingly clean, the wood floor freshly swept and the tables free of dust. It wasn't particularly well lit, but that was common in the slums. There was a couple of neon lights advertising menu items, and several empty tables.

He wondered if, perhaps, he had come in before the bar was opened. But would the door be unlocked, especially in the slums? He snapped out of his thoughts as Cloud groaned softly next to him. Zack took him the corner booth, the spot further from the counter. It didn't matter if the bar was open or not now; Cloud was having an episode.

Zack gently sat him down and helped him get comfortable. "Hey, buddy. Just hang in there."

Cloud was seizing up in short spasms, his limbs twitching or his mako drenched eyes doing something peculiar. It was a shame to Zack that his friend earned his glow the way he had. It wasn't fair. What if he permanently became a vegetable? Maybe Aerith could help him…

"Hi sir, can I help you with anything?"

Zack turned his head to face a little girl, who was wearing a little yellow and white dress. Her face, framed by brown locks, grew shy as they continued to regard the other. "Um…"

He looked back at Cloud, then helped rest his head on the table before returning his attention to the little girl. "Ah, could you get a waitress?"

Her face grew more bashful. "I-I can get you what you need."

"Oh. Um, just a glass of water, please," he responded awkwardly, unsure if the little girl was actually working here. Or in what capacity…

"O-okay." She turned on her heel and quickly shuffled towards the counter.

"Whew." Zack leaned into his seat, then stretched out his hood a little more. He checked on Cloud, whose fit was calming back down again. At relative peace, the former grunt laid peacefully at the table, his fingers occasionally twitching on the wood surface.

This was becoming more of an issue than he had planned, but he couldn't just leave Cloud alone, and how was he supposed to know he was still having an episode here and there? Well, besides the occasional Soldier talk or saying he was him or something. Maybe he would have to find a doctor eventually, after everything quieted down. Hopefully.

He heard the little girl talking, and the sound of a deep grunt. Looking towards the back of the bar, he saw the little girl getting some help from someone to fill her glass. He was a tall, dark skinned man, and he was now staring back at them.

His eyes narrowed, and he ushered the little girl away. Then, he walked from behind the bar to greet them, gun arm and all.

Oh.

"Whatchu doin' in here?" the man demanded, his gun arm slowly raising up in a threatening manner.

Zack looked at Cloud, then back at the stranger. "Just some food and drink. We're from outta town."

"Outta town?" the man repeated. "Yeh look like Shinra dogs t'me!"

Zack was slowly inching out of his seat, wondering what he was going to use as a shield or distraction when, not if, this man lost his cool. "Hey now, we aren't working for them!"

"Yeh want me to believe for one goddamn second the two of you glowy-eyed freaks ain't workin' for Shinra?!" There was a clicking noise from his arm. "Shinra don't let its elite goons off the hook like that!"

There was no way this guy was going to believe his story, so, Zack decided to backtrack. "Fine, but we're here to enjoy ourselves, just have a few drinks. Right, Spike?"

Cloud moaned into the table, then twitched a little.

The man shook his head. "I don't care, we don't serve your kind here!"

Zack gave him a look as he slowly stood, the dark skinned stranger taking a step back and keeping his gun arm trained on him. "Hey! We're not here for any trouble!"

"Shinra dogs are always trouble!"

"Barret!"

A woman was approaching from the back of the bar, and Zack couldn't help but study her. Long brown hair and the most peculiar eyes, more red than brown...He had only seen them on one other girl before, but she was dead. He looked at her long legs and chest, then back at her eyes again, which had taken on a slightly exasperated glare from his stare.

She looked him up and down, then held her stare on his glowing, indigo eyes. The young woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, but we aren't comfortable serving Shinra here. They...tend to cause trouble when they drink too much."

Cloud made another muffled moan, and Zack looked back at him. He squeezed his fists a few times, then turned back to the woman. "Alright, but can I please get a glass of water? My friend isn't feelin' well."

Barret tsked "No shit, you probably been bar hoppin'," he mumbled.

"I wish that was it," Zack murmured as he tended to the blond. "He's feeling a little sick."

"What's wrong with him?" the barmaid asked, her voice firm but with a gentle tone that hadn't been there before.

"I…" He couldn't tell them the truth. Now that he thought about it, if Cloud came to in the bar, he might just go into a depression if he saw this woman. Just too alike. He tried, they both tried, but things didn't go the way they should have. Maybe they never do, he thought. Zack shook his head. "It's alright."

He went to collect his friend, not wanting to make any more of a scene. "Come on, Cloud."

"...Cloud?"

"Uh…" The blond twitched as Zack began lifting him from his seat.

Zack saw the bartender come close. Her hand reached for the hood of Cloud's jacket before pulling it back, revealing his chocobo tail of unkempt, long spikes. She gasped, then held his head in her hands. "Cloud?!"

"Wait...Is that you, Tifa?" Zack stared at her. "I thought you died!"

Her carmine eyes came to look at him, and he took off his hood. Her lips parted in surprise. "Zack?"

"You know these two?!" Barret demanded.

"I do," she replied without looking back. "Oh, my god…"

It was now or never. "We're on the run from Shinra," Zack quietly explained. "After Cloud stopped Sephiroth, they took us into the Shinra Mansion with the rest of the survivors." Saying that brought a question to his lips. "How come you're here, and not…"

"Master Zangan," she said, her voice full of emotion. Tifa shook her head. "I can't believe this…"

"Me either," the ex-Soldier said. He was about ready to laugh with giddiness.

He watched as Cloud slowly brought his hands up to meet Tifa's, his cerulean eyes looking at her while a tired smile rested on his lips. "Tifa...I…"

"Shhh." Tifa looked around as her thumb rubbed his stubbly cheek, then up at Barret. "Help me get them downstairs."

"You can't be serious!"

"I am." With Zack's help, she got Cloud to his feet. "We can trust them."

"Hey, big guy. Just because I used to work for Shinra doesn't mean I left on good terms, y'know."

Barret tightened his jaw, looking between them all. "Fine! But if you two get outta line, or bother Marlene, there'll be hell to pay!" He moved over to a pinball machine.

Zack sat near the couch where Cloud rested, looking over the Buster Sword after a refreshingly hot shower. He had gone back for their things, and just in time, too; Shinra was beginning to trickle into Sector Seven, and the last thing he wanted was for a clue to their whereabouts to be found. With their new found allies, Zack and Cloud could lay low in relative safety.

"So, how's 'Enrico Solgador' for a fake name?"

He looked back at Jesse, the woman typing furiously on her computer. "Do I have to grow a mustache for that name?"

The cinnamon haired woman laughed, then shook her head. "No, but I'd keep the beard for now, if you plan on going topside any time soon."

Zack scratched at a cheek. It really wasn't his thing, but he supposed it would cover his scar, at least. "For now."

"Do I have to, too?"

He turned to Cloud, who was rubbing his cheeks. The blond was wearing some fresh boxers and a shirt, clean from a shower a few hours ago. "I'm not a fan."

Zack shook his head. "Me either. But, I guess it'll have to do for now."

That was the least of his issues, but it felt good just to talk about such a silly little thing. They were safe by fate's grace, and Tifa had promised to go looking for Aerith next week as the sweeps went away from the area. She wanted to fill her bar with flowers, so Aerith might have to come look and see how many would be needed…

A smile grew on his lips. Things would be okay, after all.