Faithless Memories

To Sector Five

Chapter 19

Kris squeezed his arm as she got up to get them a snack. "That's awesome. I'm proud of you. Did you write mom and dad yet?"

He rolled his eyes, but she didn't have to reprimand him. He saw the look she was giving him and held up his hands. "I just got back and got my uniforms. I'll write tonight." He barely waited to attack the leftovers she put down for him and had to swallow before he spoke again. "Oh, by the way, I have already talked to Angeal about moving. He was shocked that I wanted to move out of the barracks so soon, but he said it wouldn't be a problem to get a place. There is only one set of apartments, and that is mostly Turks and single people. He said there are houses that we should be able to afford that have two bedrooms. I can get you the authorization letter and the addresses if you want to check it out on your days off."

She shook her head at how fast he was inhaling the food. "Don't choke now." He glared slightly but slowed a little. He didn't stop, though. She laughed before she finally answered. "The sooner you can get that to me, the better. It's down to the wire, and the landlord has been pushing us to either sign a new lease or give our notice. I don't think he's going to be happy that he'll only have a couple of weeks to find a new renter. At least we should be able to move as soon as we find a place."

Zack managed to stop long enough to answer. "I can probably bring it tomorrow night. I don't think I'll be able to stay for dinner, though.

Kris shook her head. "It's ok. I'll make sure you have something to take with you. Unless you think it might cause problems with your bunkmates."

He gave her a look that clearly showed that he felt she had lost her mind. "They won't even know I had it."

She nearly doubled over laughing. "Okay, okay. I'll make sure it's something you can eat while you're walking."

His excitement at the prospect of another fresh meal the following day had Zack in a good mood until he had to leave. He gave her a hug and a promise to have the paperwork to her the next day.

Once he was gone, Kris sighed. She was glad that they would be back in the same apartment soon, but she now had a lot more to worry about. Not the least of which was that she had to figure out how she was going to get to Mr. Alexandros' shop on time after she moved.

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The next two weeks were a whirlwind for Kris. She had known that Mr. Liksan, their landlord, was not going to be happy when she told him they were moving, and she had been correct. It took all she had not to lose her temper and punch the man when he got up in her face and started yelling about how much money they cost him. In the end, she had to point out that they weren't breaking the lease, so he had nothing to complain about. She had a feeling that they wouldn't be getting the deposit back no matter the state of the apartment, so she didn't count on it.

It was just as crazy for Zack. He was sent on another mission two days after his promotion that was expected to take at least a week. He had to go to Junon. Luckily, he had managed to get the paperwork to her, as promised. Although she felt it was just as much about getting another meal before he left as it was about getting her the paperwork. At least she could always count on him being consistent.

As much as Kris was looking forward to having her exuberant brother around more often again, she realized that it was never going to be the same. He was going to be gone a lot, and she would likely be working during most of his downtime. She really missed sparring with him, but she knew he was already living his dream and loving every minute of it, so she just had to deal with it. At least it was getting better than it had been for the last six months.

She also was not happy about the whole moving process. She managed to get the boxes she needed from work to get everything packed up, but moving them was a different matter altogether. She managed to catch a lucky break when she told Mr. Alexandros about the move. She hadn't needed to take any days off since she had most of the week free, but she did need to tell him because she didn't want him caught off guard if she was late due to not judging the time correctly. It would take her a lot longer to get to work coming from Sector 5. At least it wasn't all the way on the other side of the city.

When she told him what was going on, the first thing he did was tell her to give Zack his congratulations. Even though he rarely got to see Zack, the young man had made a lasting impression. It didn't hurt that Kris talked about him a lot as well.

The second thing he did was ask her if she had anyone to help her move. She almost groaned when she was reminded that she still had to figure out how to move everything from one place to another. It wasn't like she could carry it on the train. She was more than grateful when he suggested contacting the company that delivered the furniture from the store to customers. He didn't have deliveries all the time, so he contracted with a separate company to do the moving. Kris gave the man a hug at the suggestion. He set up a meeting with them, and although it took a big chunk out of their savings, Kris was able to work out a day for them to come and get everything.

That was the hardest part, but finding a place to move to wasn't easy either. It took her several days to find a place they could afford. She was beginning to believe that Commander Hewley was too far out of touch, as most of the houses were both way too large and way too much. The woman that was showing her the different houses must have thought they were starting a family because no matter how often Kris told her they only needed two rooms, she kept showing her homes that could fit a family of five.

Finally, Kris had to bluntly tell her that she would be living with her brother. They needed enough room for privacy, but that was it. The woman looked both relieved and still embarrassed. At that point, Kris realized she must have already heard of Zack. It wasn't surprising as quickly as he moved up, and the woman was a Shinra employee. She still wanted to roll her eyes at the older woman. She shuddered when she imagined what the woman must have been thinking.

Once she made that clear, she finally found a place they could afford. It wasn't much. The yard barely qualified for the name, but the place was clean and close to the train station. It was good enough.

Zack had managed to return and get a day off for the move. It was a long day for all of them, even with the men from the transport company. They didn't have a lot as far as personal items were concerned, but in the six months they had been in Midgar, they had managed to accrue enough furniture that they wouldn't need anything. They also had all the things that were necessary for living, like toiletries and cookware. They were set already, but everything had to be moved. Kris found herself wishing more than once that they could just leave it all and start over. She then reminded herself she couldn't afford to even think like that.

By the end of the day, both siblings were exhausted. Zack even passed out on the couch once they had it in place. Kris was almost tempted to do the same, but she knew she couldn't let him be late getting back. She puttered around and made sure nothing was left behind before she woke him. He was not happy about it but made his way back to the barracks anyway. He would be moving in during the coming weekend. It wasn't that he had much to move, but it was an official thing.

Once he left, Kris didn't bother doing more than pulling some sheets from a box and tossing them on the bed. She didn't bother making it before she collapsed onto it. Unpacking could wait.