DOGS of War

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Zack stretched, glad to finally be up and off of that operating table. The removal of his stitches hadn’t hurt, but it was time consuming and he’d had to lay still for what felt like hours. He took a moment to run his fingertips over the long scar on his back. It was still raised and if he really focused, he could feel the tiny divots where the thread had entered his skin, but the scar was still fresh and over time would fade to the same flat, shiny, pink of his other scars. He pulled his shirt on, slinging a pale blue scarf around his neck to hide his collar. He had laughed when his mom had sent the long, fluffy article of clothing, but now he was grateful for it. Zack wasn’t vain, and he had no problem with the collar—he was only going to have it for a few more hours anyway—but Angeal had suggested he keep it hidden just the same. He stood in front of the mirror, fluffing up the scarf and his hair. It looked a little out of place with his uniform, but he shrugged figuring that if anyone asked he’d just explain that he came from the jungle and Midgar was freaking cold in comparison—a fact he’d been known to much lament in the past.

With a small nod, he headed out of the infirmary, tossing a quick farewell and promise to return later with Haine in tow. He wandered the halls, meandering his way back to Angeal’s apartment. As he walked, his mind drifted, his thoughts running the gamut from Haine to Angeal to Einstürzen to kittens. His mental drifting was cut off, however, by the feeling of something bumping up against his chest accompanied by a small “oof” and thump as the cadet running into him hit the ground.

“I’m sorry, sir!” the cadet jumped up, saluting in apology and standing nervously, slightly out of breath from running.

Zack blinked down at him for a second before his eyes lit up. “Oh! You’re really small!”

The tiny cadet immediately slumped, his lips forming a small pout under the helmet he wore. “I’m sorry, sir?”

Zack blinked again, confused at the reaction until he realized just what he’d said aloud. “Oh! Nonono, I didn’t mean it like that, I mean not in a bad way, I just—Hey, can I borrow your clothes?”

= = =

Genesis hit the floor with a soft “whump.” His eyes flew open in surprise at the rude awakening. What the hell? He had practically the biggest bed in all of Midgar, how the hell did he fall out of—why was he in the living room? Right, Haine. He looked around, seeing no signs of the boy. He tried to stand up, not realizing the blanket that he’d wrapped Haine in the night before was now tangled around his legs. He gave a startled yelp as he went down, getting friendly with his plush carpet once again. He glared down at the thick, luxurious fibers just daring them to laugh. Genesis was not morning compatible. Especially when startled awake by a reminder of gravity’s absolute power. He grunted, kicking off the offending blanket and standing, brushing himself off and sparing a quick glance around the room to make sure that there really hadn’t been anyone around to see that. Once he determined that his reputation as a graceful sex kitten was safe, he began looking around his apartment for his quiet guest.

The bathroom door was open, the tiled room within dark and vacant. Haine’s room was similarly devoid of life. Genesis didn’t think Haine would be in the master bedroom, but he checked regardless. Empty. He was growing concerned. Maybe Zack came and got him while I was asleep? That didn’t make sense. Firstly, Zack was supposed to be in the infirmary right now. Secondly, he doubted that Zack would be able to do anything quietly enough to not wake him up. He dressed quickly, frowning. Haine probably wouldn’t have left on his own, he didn’t exactly have anywhere to go. Gen’s brain finally achieved the same state of awakeness as the rest of his body and a small “ha” sound escaped him as he made a bee-line for the balcony. He quickly drew aside the heavy curtain blocking out the light from the sliding glass door, looking down to see Haine sitting on the floor of the balcony with his back against the brick of the wall just outside the door. He turned away from the book in his hands to look up at Genesis as the redhead slid the door open and stepped out. Genesis noticed that the book was the one he’d been reading last night when Haine came out. He must have left it out here.

Noticing the soldier’s somewhat frazzled appearance, Haine immediately stood, holding the book out to him. “I’m sorry. You were asleep, I didn’t want to wake you.”

Genesis shook his head, pushing the book gently back toward the youth. “No, it’s alright, you can read it. I was just a little worried when I couldn’t find you,” he explained softly, relieved to see Haine still speaking in sentences with almost no traces of zombieism. “In fact, you can read anything of mine you like, there are plenty of books in your room, you’re bound to find at least a few that you like.”

Haine pulled the book close, holding it protectively as he gave a small nod. Genesis could see that he was grateful, but unsure of how to express it, so he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he hesitated, gathering his thoughts for a moment before speaking carefully.

“I’m going to go back inside and look into finding something for breakfast. You are welcome to join me, if you want.” He studied the boy in front of him carefully, grinning inwardly at the look of consideration that crossed Haine’s face before he nodded once again. Genesis gave a small mental cheer as he crossed the threshold back into the apartment, his small guest following close behind. Graceful Sex Kitten: 1, Crazy Psycho Bitch: 0.

Once inside, Haine settled back onto the couch while Genesis pulled the curtain over the door all the way open, allowing more light into the room. He noticed the blanket on the floor and leaned down to pick it up, holding it for a second and glancing around before tossing it lightly to hang over the back of the couch. Genesis watched with interest. It seemed that Haine had a fairly good grasp of what was expected, but no concept of how to go about realizing it. Either that, or he just didn’t like things being on the floor, the redhead couldn’t be entirely sure. Regardless, he had a starving boy to feed. He had just turned to make his way into the kitchen when a loud knock emanated from the door, followed by Angeal’s muffled voice.

“I said hold on, Zack. If they’re sleeping you don’t want to wake them up.”

”Sorry!”

The door slid open a second later and Zack bounded into the room, the ends of his scarf bouncing along with the motion, his arms full of fabric. Upon seeing Genesis, he stopped to wave his elbow in greeting before spotting Haine on the couch and hurrying over to him.

“Ha! I told Angeal you guys would be up! Look, I brought you clothes!” he exclaimed, unceremoniously dumping the bundle of cloth and boots on the coffee table.

“And I brought food.” Angeal intoned, holding up a couple of doughnut carriers as he entered the living space in a far more subdued manner, the door swishing shut behind him.

“Man after my own heart,” Genesis laughed. “Go ahead and put them on the table if you don’t mind. Zack, would you be so kind as to relocate the clothing, please?”

Zack blinked at the excessively polite wordiness in Genesis’ question, looking at Angeal who wore a similar expression of confusion. Something was up, but he just shrugged it off, grinning as he picked up the bundle, moving it to the couch where he plopped down beside Haine, immediately wrapping him up in a hug and burying his nose in his soft hair. Angeal set the doughnuts down on the table and Zack released the albino, leaning back to grin down at him. “Wow, you smell good. You hungry? We brought doughnuts, ever had one? They’re amazing, you’re gonna love ‘em…” Zack babbled on, his discourse cut short when Haine looked down at the pile of clothing then back up to meet his eyes.

“Are those yours?”

Zack was so happy to see Haine awake and coherent that it took him a second to process the question. “Huh? Oh, nope! I borrowed them from a cadet I ran into today! No, literally, I bumped into him and then I noticed he was about your same size, so I asked if I could borrow some clothes. It took me a while to convince him that I wasn’t playing a prank or anything, but he eventually agreed and lent me a shirt, pants, a few pairs of socks, and some shoes. I thought about asking for underwear, but that’d be kinda weird, so I’m sorry but you’ll just have to go without for a while I guess… But yea, turns out he’s a new recruit, cute as a button, just got here from Nibelheim. I know, I’ve never heard of it either, but it’s a tiny town just like mine, so I feel like I practically know it already!”

Haine reached out to Zack, hesitantly grasping one end of the larger boy’s scarf and holding it up to look at it questioningly. He rubbed the fuzzy material between his fingers before looking up to meet Zack’s glowing eyes. “What’s this?”

“It’s a scarf. You wear it when it’s cold outside so you don’t get sick.”

Haine blinked. “It doesn’t cover very much…”

Zack laughed. “Well, no, you usually wear a coat and like, a hat with it. It’s just extra protection from the cold.”

“Why are you wearing it?”

“Um…” He didn’t want to lie to Haine, but he didn’t want to make the boy feel uncomfortable either.

Haine reached out again, this time hooking his fingers in the part of the scarf wrapped around Zack’s throat, pulling it away slightly to reveal the metal underneath. “People here know you… and they’ve never seen you with this before. You want to hide it.”

Zack nodded, surprised by Haine’s blatant observation. “I just don’t want anyone to worry… or ask questions I can’t answer right now,” he said gently. “But I’m not ashamed.”

Haine pulled back, slipping his fingers out of the fuzzy fabric, and nodded in understanding.

Zack suddenly grinned, reaching for the nearest box of deep-fried goodness on the table. “Okay, no more stalling! It’s food time!”

Genesis and Angeal stood near the entrance to the kitchen watching the two boys on the sofa.

“Gotta say it, ‘Geal, your puppy has one hell of a gift.” Genesis said softly.

Angeal chuckled quietly beside him. “You have no idea…”

Genesis turned his attention to his dark haired friend, watching him from the corner of his eye. Oh, I think I do… His gaze was drawn back to Haine, the young boy sitting quietly, patiently listening to Zack’s endless rambling with the devotion of a child to a parent. Genesis frowned as his heart clenched. Haine wouldn’t know what that’s like, would he? He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the overwhelming sadness. Haine was smart, clearly, and obviously a fighter. If he wasn’t giving in to despair, Genesis wasn’t either. He turned to Angeal once again. “Hey, can you do me a favor?” he asked quietly to ensure that the two on the couch remained oblivious. At Angeal’s questioning glance, he continued. “I just need to see something… can you tell Haine to go get dressed?”

Angeal was confused, but nodded, moving to stand at the back of the couch. When both boys looked up at him, he spoke. “Haine, please go get dressed.” His voice was soft and kind, but Haine immediately stiffened, his mind shutting down as he moved to obey. He mechanically picked up the clothing beside himself and stood, walking slowly down the hallway before disappearing into the study slash bedroom.

Zack gaped up at Angeal, too shocked to speak for a moment before his shock morphed to anger. “What the hell?! Just what the hell did you do to him?!”

Genesis cut in before the spiky haired youth could get too loud. “No, it wasn’t anything Angeal did, Zack. It was something I noticed last night… I should have known it would take more than just a pep talk to get him over this…”

Zack glared at Genesis, not understanding what the man way saying. He opened his mouth to speak, but Angeal cut him off this time.

“He is broken Zack.”

“Broken?” Zack repeated, looking up to his mentor with horrified confusion in his eyes.

“Yes,” Genesis continued, stepping forward to place his hands on the back of the sofa, resting his weight on it. “His will has been broken, Zack. I don’t know how long it took her, I don’t know—and don’t really think I want to know—what she did, but he is… a slave. And that’s all he knows. When he is given a command, or even something that can be perceived as a command, he has no choice but to shut down and obey it. Even if he doesn’t want to.” He pushed away from the couch, turning to pace in agitation. “I saw it last night. After he got out of the shower, he came out on the balcony where I was reading… Gaia, you should have seen the look on his face when he saw the stars. He looked at me—at me, not through me—and he was so focused, his gaze was so intense I could hardly keep from squirming…” He stopped moving, his shoulders falling slightly. “All I did was suggest he go to bed and he just shut down again. I told him, I promised him that he was free now, and he’s trying to understand. He’s trying to believe that, but we need to help him. We need to make him see. He is so smart, I had the ridiculous hope that he would be able to overcome this easily, but we’re fighting with what’s probably at least a few years of conditioning and trauma. So for now, we just have to be very careful with how we word things, and lead by example.” He met Zack and Angeal’s determined gazes. “The first thing to do is get that forsaken thing off his neck. The healing process will be much easier without such a heavy reminder of his servitude dragging him down all the time.”

Zack nodded emphatically, standing with the intent of going to help Haine finish getting ready to go.

As if on cue, Haine’s door opened, the now fully dressed teen walking slowly toward the three soldiers with his head down. The borrowed clothing was still somewhat large on his small frame, the loose-fitting khaki pants low on his hips and the dark blue button-down shirt hanging from his thin shoulders. While he was roughly the same height as the cadet the clothes belonged to, he had virtually no mass to speak of. The boots, at least, seemed to fit well. He finally looked up, noticing that everyone had migrated toward the door and was watching him. Stopping beside Zack, he looked up at Genesis, a hint of shame flickering across his features. The feeling was short lived though, as strong arms suddenly wrapped around him, pulling him close and Zack’s lips were against his scalp, smiling, comforting.

“C’mon Snowflake, time for us to go.”

= =

“Zack, Haine, this is Reeve Tuesti, head of the department of Urban Developement. He’ll be removing your collars.”

Reeve looked up at Angeal’s voice, smiling at the two teens as they walked into the room. He straightened up from unpacking the bag of tools he’d brought and turned to Zack, extending a hand to him. Zack accepted it easily in a firm, friendly handshake. He extended the same gesture to Haine who paused for a moment, flicking a glance to Zack before mimicking the action himself.

“So, are you a doctor?” Zack asked, leaning over the table to look at the various unfamiliar devices on it.

“No, I’m an engineer. I was told the collars you wear can cause great pain if triggered, so they will have to be disassembled carefully so as not to trip the mechanism that causes it.”

“Wait, Tuesti, right? I’ve heard of you! You designed the Mako reactors, right?”

Reeve nodded patiently. “Among other things. Would you like to go first, Zack?”

“Of course,” he said enthusiastically, pulling his scarf off and handing it to Angeal before tugging his shirt over his head and moving to sit on the exam table. “Figure if you screw something up, better for it to be on me.”

Reeve chuckled. “Your confidence in my abilities is overwhelming…”

Zack grinned up at him, immediately deciding that he liked the man’s quiet and polite mannerisms, and how he genuinely seemed to care. He looked over at Haine, noticing that the boy was once again protectively sandwiched between Angeal and Genesis, and smiling brightly at him when he saw that his fluffy bundle of scarf had been relocated to Haine’s lap and his hands were now wound up in it, squeezing and squishing it like some sort of plush toy. His smile edged slightly more towards a smirk when he noticed Genesis also watching the boy, the redhead’s eyes softer than Zack had ever seen them. Perhaps he didn’t need to worry about leaving the white haired boy in his care after all.

Zack felt fingers gently pushing his head forward and he complied, looking down and allowing Reeve better access to look at the back of his neck where the collar was attached. The engineer’s touch was sure and gentle as he ran his fingertips over the metal, the minute vibrations being transferred to Zack’s flesh causing a shiver to run down his spine.

Reeve immediately pulled away, concerned that he had somehow hurt the youth. Zack, however turned and assured him that he was fine, and the man returned to his thorough inspection. His eyes took in the extensive scarring around the plate on the back of Zack’s neck. It looked as though the plate had been heated prior to being applied to the skin, searing it in place before the bolts were inserted. Reeve’s jaw clenched tightly in anger as he continued looking over the cool, gleaming contraption. It was bad enough seeing this done to someone who was SOLDIER, but to think that all the others who vanished were average children, all weaker and younger than Zack…

Reeve took a slow breath to steady himself. Getting angry at a corpse was less than productive, and losing focus right now could mean hurting Zack. He turned his full attention back to the task at hand, locating a small panel on the back of the collar, that directly overlapped the plate of metal bonded to Zack’s skin. He picked up a tiny screwdriver from the table and set to work undoing the screws holding it in place and pulling it away, revealing the wiring inside. Now was the time to focus, Zack was trusting him right now, and he had no desire to prove that trust misplaced.

He used the screwdriver to poke into the cavity, gently pulling the wiring out to examine it more closely. He followed each wire, figuring out where each ran to and from and what purpose they each served. It was several minutes of intense scrutiny and calculation before Reeve was finally willing to make the first cut. If he chose the wrong wire the results could be devastating and possibly fatal to Zack, but he refused to let his hand shake even the slightest bit as he snipped the first wire, holding his breath in anticipation and watching Zack closely for any signs of pain. After a few seconds with no reaction from the boy, Reeve finally let himself relax a bit, making sure to sever each of the wires that connected the various circuits within the collar’s housing.

The engineer stood up straight, smiling at Zack as the youth turned to him. “Hard part’s over, kiddo. Next I just need to cut off what I can and grind down the rest.” He heard Zack’s happy sigh of relief and the more subtle exhalation from the others gathered in the room as he turned to the pile of protective sheets that had been left by one of the nurses. He picked one up, unfolding it and holding it up for Zack to see. “I’m going to have to drape this over you to keep as much of the metal shavings from hitting your skin as I can,” he explained, placing the thin, plastic-coated fabric around Zack’s shoulders and pulling it up to tuck it as far under the metal band as he could without making it a fire hazard. “The cutting wheel I’m using spins clockwise, so we shouldn’t have to worry about anything flying up into your hair or onto your head, everything should be expelled downward. I would have you lay down, but I need you to stay leaning forward to give me as much room to work as possible. Please try to stay as still as you can, I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.” At Zack’s nod of understanding, he picked up the small cutting wheel, switching it on before bringing it to the collar, just to one side of where the band attached to the base.

A high-pitched whine filled the room and a small shower of sparks began streaming downward over the protective sheet on Zack’s back. True to form, Zack remained perfectly still through the entire procedure, even the few times that Reeve had to stop cutting long enough to cool the metal and the cutting wheel down enough to continue. Once the band itself had been cut away, Reeve switched to a grinding tool, quickly bringing the last of the metallic remnants as flush to Zack’s skin as possible before finishing the job with a polishing wheel to ensure that the metal was smooth and free of any burrs or edges that could catch on anything.

As Reeve pulled the sheet away from Zack, the spiky haired youth happily shook himself, sending a shower of glimmering particles to the floor. Grinning, he reached up with both hands, wrapping his fingers around his throat, reveling in the feeling of his unrestrained flesh. He couldn’t believe how much lighter he felt, and as his fingertips traced the remaining piece of metal, he looked back to the engineer, giving him the most thankful grin he could muster.

Zack hopped up eagerly, brushing himself off and fidgeting mightily to make up for all the time sitting still. He turned to see Angeal smiling warmly at his antics. Genesis was smiling as well, and Haine looked up at him with bright eyes. He gave the other youth a cheerful thumbs-up and bounded over to him. “Your turn!” he shouted happily, grabbing Haine’s hands and pulling him up out of his seat.

The white haired boy followed him over to the table, taking a seat where Zack had been only moments before and allowing the chatty boy to help him out of his shirt. He turned to look at Reeve, noticing the slight strain in the man’s smile and couldn’t help the guilty feeling that accompanied the knowledge that he’d made the man sad. He turned back to face forward, leaning his head down the way he’d seen Zack do it and remained still as the engineer carefully repeated the disconnection procedure on his collar, Zack never leaving his spot directly in front of Haine. A fresh protective sheet was pulled off of the table and draped over Haine’s bony shoulders and Zack grabbed the ends, helping to pull it into place.

“His hair is a bit longer than yours in the back, I’ll need you to hold it up, if you don’t mind, Zack.”

“No problem,” he said, weaving his fingers together behind Haine’s head, pulling the youth forward to rest his forehead against Zack’s still-bare chest. “I got this,” he finished softly, looking down at Haine with fondness in his eyes.

Reeve chuckled softly at the pair before setting to work. The procedure went just as smoothly for Haine as it did for Zack, the tiny albino falling fast asleep in Zack’s comforting grip minutes after Reeve began cutting.

Once the grinding and polishing was complete, Reeve pulled the sheet off of Haine, Zack carefully disentangling his fingers from his white hair and gently brushing the glittery specks from Haine’s pale back and shoulders. He hesitated for a moment, torn between his desire to keep the close contact with the sleeping albino and his excitement at seeing Haine’s reaction to being rid of the heavy collar.

Unsurprisingly, excitement won out, and he gently pushed back against Haine’s shoulders, holding him upright as he leaned down to bring their faces close together. He released one shoulder, moving his hand to Haine’s face, stroking his cheek gently. “Haine… Wake up, it’s all done.”

Haine’s eyes slid open slowly, blinking a few times before focusing on Zack’s friendly face, confusion drawing his brows together.

“Hey,” Zack whispered, smiling. “It’s gone, Haine. Go ahead, feel for yourself.”

Tentatively, Haine brought his fingers to his newly exposed throat. Touching the sensitive skin there for what felt like the first time, Haine met Zack’s glowing blue eyes, his own crimson lighting up with happiness and bewilderment. His fingers curled reflexively, his knuckles resting against his pale neck as he marveled in the fact that his fingers closed around absolutely nothing.

He turned to Reeve, his grateful, relieved expression enough to dissipate the hint of sadness that had lined the engineer’s smile.

“We totally need to celebrate!” Zack suddenly announced, giving a small fist-pump for emphasis.

“Definitely, you’ve both earned it,” Genesis declared, nodding his head in agreement and smiling brightly at Haine, his water-blue eyes shining.

“Yea! I want pizza! And games! Nobody beats me at Twister!” he practically squealed, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

Angeal and Genesis stood, laughing as they helped gather up articles of clothing and carefully wrapping gauze bandages around both patients’ necks before helping them into their respective articles of said clothing. Not that Zack really needed help, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain about the extra attention he was receiving from his mentor.

Without the heavy collar, the high turtleneck of Zack’s uniform shirt was more than sufficient to cover the bandages and the plate beneath. He picked up his scarf, bundling it up and tucking it under one arm before changing his mind and wrapping it around Haine’s neck, fluffing it up to cover the other teen’s bandaged throat and stepping back to admire his handiwork.

Haine’s eyes danced as he looked up at Zack, bringing both hands up to bury them in the fluffy cloth and nuzzling his face down into the softness, a ghost of a smile gracing his delicate features.

Zack had never seen anything so breathtaking.

~ ~ ~