Re: Crossover Final Fantasy VII/Kingdom Hearts II, Zack/Leon, «I'll tell you where Cloud is if...
"Not really incentive if I don't believe you. Then there's the issue of 'how do you get there' after I tell you? Because if you could do it on your own, you would have already." The hand around his jugular doesn't tighten, but that has more to do with Leon needing his voice box intact in order to speak, than any reluctance on uber-soldat's reluctance to dole out lethal damage. He can see the tendons in the guy's bicep flex with the stress of not killing him. Poor bastard has probably had it rough out here on the pimple of the universes prick.
"Okay. But what proof do I have that you'll take me there?"
That really does call for the indolent shrug, so Leon doesn't bother to check the reflex. "You don't. Just the satisfaction of rending me limb from limb if I don't deliver."
He's expecting the claustrophobic pain of losing his air, but the flinch is interesting. Huh. Someone isn't a natural born killer. Nice to know.
"Tell me about Cloud."
It takes exactly five heartbeats before the fingers like bands of steel on his windpipe loosen enough for him to drag a shallow breath and he doesn't bother to do more than ease his lungs. "Short blond chocobo with blue eyes, a pissy attitude and a great ass?"
Violet eyes blink at him and he wonders if maybe being stuck in the backwoods of No and Where has rattled the fellow's brains but the nearly hysterical laughter that bubbles up is just a pressure release. Fabio probably wasn't expecting the appreciative tone to that last bit.
But really, varied psychoses aside, Strife has a fine ass. Leon's pretty sure most of Olympus has checked it out at some point.
"Okay. Yeah. I might believe you. Zack Fair."
Friendly. Of course considering the power dynamic at play at the moment, Zack can afford to be.
"Leo."
It's as good a name as any.
"You'll take me to Cloud. And Sephiroth."
Leon relaxes back against the alley wall and looks Zack over pointedly. "No. I'll tell you where Cloud is, if you help me deal with Costello. Taking you to him is going to cost you a little more."
"Oh really?"
"You might have noticed, I'm not terribly afraid of the consequences of not making you happy. You? Want me to be happy."
Zack isn't looking very happy. but he's not looking murderous anymore either, and the faint little half lip quirk is hard for Leon to read, which annoys the fuck out of him because reading people is half of his job.
"You remind me a lot of this Wutain guy I used to know. So. What do you want with a dog like Costello?"
Leon ignores the comment, but tucks it away for later chewing.
"He has something of mine."
Zack had worked for, and with, some fairly nasty folks in his life. Usually because they were lords of some kind and he had the misfortune of being assigned near them, and other times in an effort to get information for his General and King and bring said nasty folks down. Other times like with Hojo... well... nasty people were sometimes useful, even if only as fertilizer.
Costello was shady and dirty and slime, but Zack was out of his depth and looking for work and information and if nothing else when the time came he wouldn't feel bad handing the turd over to the proper authorities. Or a passing zolom. He wouldn't, had he known what was going to happen, turned the sorry bastard over to Leo.