K (karanguni) wrote in no_true_pair, @ 2008-06-13 15:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! 2008 twelve characters challenge, author: karanguni, crossover: ff7/fma, pairing: hawkeye/zack |
FFVII/FMA: Go Fetch (Zack, Hawkeye)
Title: Go Fetch
Author: karanguni
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII/Fullmetal Alchemist
Characters: Zack, Hawkeye, Cloud and Black Hayate cameos
Rating: G
Warnings: Characters == dogs, y/y?
Prompt: Hawkeye and Zack play a game or sport together.
Summary: Woof, woof.
927 words. This is my sad attempt at breaking writer's block. Mmmm, short, random fic go! \o/
The place was crowded in the truest sense of the word: it wasn't just the press of people, but the feel of them: there were women and men, parents and children and grandparents and cousins, laughter and shouts and smiles everywhere. Sunshine, green grass, and not a single free parking space that Zack could see. It didn't really matter, anyway, since his was a neat little motorcycle that ended up wedged between an old Vespa and a tree. Grinning, he cut the engine and hopped off, his white Labrador pup obediently scampering down and waiting – patiently – at his feet until Zack found a length of lead. 'Here we go, boyo,' he said, latching the leash onto his dog's collar. Beaming, Zack ruffled the lab's ears, and said with a wink, 'Time to go find some girls, huh?'
The entire place was one huge organised mess, and the two of them threw themselves into the series of competitions, shows, stalls and attractions everywhere. They passed a husky breeder who had the most beautiful dogs Zack had ever seen in his life (his own excepted), they both had problems tearing themselves away from the snack stall (small bar present for doggy-sized companions), they sat at the edges of the show circle and hooted at the little Pomeranians.
'How about that one, Cloud?' Zack asked as a finely groomed border collie executed a strut across the circuit. 'Too hairy?'
Cloud barked obligingly. The collie didn't even turn to acknowledge him. Cloud barked again, softly.
'Didn't think so either,' Zack agreed, dusting off his knees and getting up. 'How about we head down to the field? Bet they don't have as many pedigreed jeezers down there, right?'
It was five bucks for a small plastic frisbee, but the run of the public area was free – Zack bought a garish pink one that Cloud sniffed at suspiciously, but they had a good couple of rounds of fetch anyway, Cloud's puppy-eager movements making it easy for him to outrun any of Zack's throws. They were fifteen minutes into their game when Cloud trotted back empty-jawed, sat at Zack's feet and whined.
'What's up?' Zack asked, patting down the scruff of the pup's neck. 'Someone took our toy?'
The hunt was too futile for Cloud to have been bothered with it, but Zack was determined that no four-legged fiend take his five hard-earned bucks worth of crappy plastic. 'You wait here,' he told Cloud, before bounding off to try and spot one frisbee in a field of five hundred. He got hit by a Dalmatian once, almost savaged by an overenthusiastic Jack Russell, and accidentally stepped on a Shetland's tail ("sorry! Sorry! Oh god, here, have a – um, Cloud likes cat treats, but they must taste pretty good, I guess?").
The culprit – detected half an hour later on the other end of the grass – was a small shorthair, innocuous looking but clearly trained in theft. The pink frisbee sat at is paws. 'Woof,' the dog said to Zack.
'Woof yourself,' Zack replied as he snatched up the toy – and met resistance. He levelled his eyes with his opponent's. 'My frisbee, man. Mine.'
'Wroff,' the dog replied without releasing its grip.
'This is war, you realise?' Zack said, tugging hard. He pulled the frisbee back a few, but the dog came with it, digging its paws into the dirt as it went.
Zack was on one hand and two knees and about to execute a tricky roll-over-play-dead manoeuvre when he heard the sound of a throat being cleared from above him. He twisted a bit and looked up into blond hair and a woman's face. It was a scarier sight than Zack had anticipated. 'Uh,' he said.
'Black Hayate,' the woman snapped sharply, and all of a sudden Zack was on his ass, his frisbee saliva-sticky in his hands. The dog – Black Hayate? – heeled immediately, strolling over to the woman's side and sitting down, its stubby little tail wagging as though he'd not just inflicted four thousand pawmarks all over Zack's previously white shirt five minutes earlier.
'Hi,' Zack said to the woman, beaming. 'I'm Zack. Thanks for saving my ass, there.'
'Hawkeye,' the woman replied with a nod, and she looked kind of strict, but offered him a hand up anyway. 'Riza Hawkeye. I'm sorry about Black Hayate,' she told him when Zack had dusted off. 'He can be a little bit enthusiastic.'
'It's no problem,' Zack smiled, waving the frisbee in his hand about. 'I've got it back now, that's all that really matters. He puts up a good fight, though!'
'He does,' Hawkeye said, and Zack figured that she looked kind of pretty when she smiled, the sternness falling away and all. 'Where's yours?'
'Uh,' Zack said again, but then there was a "bark!" from behind them, and Cloud came running over, leash dragging behind him and a reproachful look in his eyes. 'There he is!' Zack grinned (planned this all along, he did), bundling Cloud up in his arms when the pup reached him. 'His name's Cloud. He was the runt of a friend's litter, but he's put together pretty well, hasn't he?'
Cloud's eyes were serious when they met Hawkeye's, and he didn't flinch away like he usually did with strangers when she reached over to pet him. Zack slipped him back down to the ground. Black Hayate came over to sniff and investigate; polite yips were exchanged, then Cloud jumped up towards the frisbee and Black Hayate tugged at Hawkeye's pants leg, and Zack said, 'How about a game?'