A DATE TO REMEMBER
FOR ZIGGY PASTA FOR THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF 'MALADY'

By: Albedosreqium / Soyna

Setting:
Crisis coreish
Rating, Genre and Warnings:
T, but yaoi and my goodness, it is sappy and sweet and all that stuff that normally makes me shutter…man, this is not what I normally write … Thanks to RinaluffsPokemonboys for sapping it up all the more.

Disclaimer:
All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted by the almighty Square Enix©. I do not profit from this endeavour.

Summary and Additional Information
In honor of Malady's one year anniversary… because we luv you Ziggy.
Warning… pathetic inside jokes ahead. I hope that Ziggy will appreciate this little fic.
warning… damn it all, what you have done to me! D:

It had been a year.

They had been together for a whole year and Zack wanted to make sure that the night was special to commemorate their anniversary. He wanted it to be super special and super great and a super surprise. It just had to be a day to remember. He knew it was sappy –- Genesis would call it romantic –- that he wanted to do this all on his own. Angeal had offered to help him, but Zack had insisted that he could do it on his own.

He really should have asked Angeal to help, and maybe even Genesis, to make sure that everything was going to turn out perfect.

He thought he was going to cry at how it was quickly turning into a disaster. He had convinced Cloud's friends to take Cloud out for a couple of hours and keep him out of his apartment, and that, thankfully, was working.

Everything else was failing –- quite badly.

Zack had decided Cloud deserved a special meal. He knew his favourite food was seafood, and looking back at the mess in front of him, he realized he should have stuck with his first choice, which had been grilled salmon. But he remembered vividly how Cloud had raved about a dish they had tried on a mission at Costa del Sol; it was shrimp scampi with spinach noodles. Cloud had loved it so much that it seemed to be all that was on his mind during the tour, and ate it every night when they went to the small bar by the ocean. The look on his face was enough for Zack to just want to melt into a puddle of goo.

The recipe seemed simple. All he had to do was sauté the shrimp with some butter and some spices, cook some spinach noodles, and then pour the shrimp with sauce over the noodles. Then he would watch Cloud devour the meal, while Zack could sit back, proud at how happy he would make Cloud.

He had never cooked with shrimp before. Zack figured they were all the same, which was why he had grabbed the first bag of shrimp that was in the freezer. However, as he looked into the bag now, he realized how small they were. He remembered quite precisely how Cloud had held the shrimp up with his fingers, commenting on their size. Cloud had given up on using the chopsticks and was to impatient to wait for a fork – so he had bit right into the cooked crustacean, taking at least three bites to finish one off. These shrimp were small and were barely as big as the tip of his finger. The recipe called for thirty shrimp, but as Zack looked at the thirty puny shrimp in his hand, he knew that wouldn't be enough, so, he poured the whole bag in.

The sauce didn't look at all appetizing either. It was lumpy and way too watery to be called a sauce. It was more like a soup. He turned up the heat, hoping that it would thicken.

It was a little more complicated than he thought it was going to be. The noodles would be easy though. They were just like normal noodles, except flat and green. He set that water to boil and placed the box beside the warming pot.

He was not concerned about the dessert because he had made it before. He was going to make the same dessert that they had shared on their second real date; it had been the first time that they really kissed. Cherry cheesecake had been the cause of it all, Zack remembered with a faint smile. Some of the sweet sticky cherry sauce had been stuck to the corner of Cloud's mouth. Cloud had been completely oblivious of it, until he pointed it out. Cloud had tried to lick it off but his tongue went to the wrong side of his mouth. Zack had smiled and took advantage of the moment, leaning over the table to lick it off himself. That lick became a kiss – one of Zack's favourite memories.

He made the crust and packed it firmly into the pan, adding the cream cheese mixture on top. It wouldn't take long, only ten minutes at three hundred and fifty degrees. After that, he could get the cherries out of the can and pour them on. He wondered briefly if he should make some whip cream to go with the dessert, but after a look in the fridge, he noted that he hadn't thought of that at the grocery store.

He was tempted to call Angeal to ask him how to make it but refrained. He wanted to do this on his own.

That was when things started to go wrong. The cream sauce started to boil vigorously, so he hurried over to the mixture to stir it. He was appalled that the sauce turned from a white to a sickening brown colour –- smelling of smoke and scalded milk. It was nothing at all like the smell he remembered in the restaurant. It was supposed to smell like garlic, with lemon and the very faint scent of freshly cut grass from the parsley. Zack gave it a swirl with the wooden spoon, and let out a pained groan when he saw the black flakes arise from the bottom. He had burnt it.

He turned around; ready to throw the destroyed sauce down the sink, only to see that he had placed the noodle box in a very bad spot. It was resting on top one of the burners – Zack supposed he had left it on. The bottom of the box was smoking, a lick of red flame dashing out from underneath. He reached over to the boiling pot of water and threw it onto the stove, successfully putting out the fire, but unfortunately, flooding the oven.

"The cake!" He yelled, after hearing sputtering from inside the stove making him realize just how stupid that move had been. Zack dropped the pot into the sink and grabbed an oven mitt. He threw open the door of the oven and saw that his cake was now flooded and completely ruined.

As if things couldn't make him panic more in the apartment, the smoke detector went off. Zack was on disaster control mode. He slammed the stove shut, and grabbed a towel that was nearby, meaning to fan the smoke away from the detector. He didn't realize that he had the open cherries resting on it, and the can went flying across the room, in a horrible splay of red and a terrible crash.

He stopped for a moment, and just stared at the mess he had created. There was hot water dripping from the stove top, mixing with the smoke from the burning cake. Cherry goo was every where...

"Zack?"

He looked up, his face going from a shocked horror to more of a blatant 'holy shit'. There Cloud was, blinking his wide blue eyes at the newly created disaster. 'Wasn't he supposed to be with his friends ...?' Zack thought.

"What are you doing back?" Zack asked him as he took a step forward and slipped in the cherry goo. He regained his footing but there was no way that he had looked graceful. Instead he scratched the back of his head, looking quite defeated.

"What?" Cloud yelled back to him, unable to hear him over the noise of the smoke detector. Zack dashed over to it, jumped up and knocked it off the ceiling to silence it. Cloud backed against the wall as it flew past him. Zack groaned, he hadn't meant to hit it that hard.

"What are you doing back? You were supposed to be out for …" Zack looked at the clock. He was behind schedule. This was the time that Cloud was supposed to be here.

"I was… I… I was," Cloud stammered, his cheeks turning red. Zack couldn't help but smile at the sight of the easily flustered man. He was wearing simple casual clothing. A pair of low slung light blue jeans and a simple t-shirt, but Cloud looked good in anything. As he examined him, Zack realized that Cloud had an envelope in front of him, clutched tightly to his chest.

"What happened?" Cloud finally got out, his blue eyes roaming over the disaster that was the kitchen.

Zack rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his dark hair, and gave a low chuckle as he looked at the mess. His eyes fell on the stove, and he realized that he still hadn't shut it off. That was quickly fixed, and after waiting a moment, he pulled the door open to see how bad the damage was. Of course, he couldn't actually see the mess – there was far too much smoke billowing out.

He let out a torrent of curses as he tried to minimize the damage that he had already done. He went about bouncing around the kitchen trying to get it under control when he heard giggling.

Cloud was still standing at the kitchen door and he had a hand over his mouth, obviously trying to suppress his giggles.

"Are you laughing at me?" Zack asked, feigning hurt, putting his oven mitted hands on his hips.

Cloud shook his head but his shoulders were shaking with humour. His eyes were sparkling way too brightly not to be laughing.

Zack felt a pain in his chest and frustration push itself forward. Everything today was turning into a failure and it was becoming as far from the special day that he had planned as possible. This was not how this very important and very special day was supposed to go. His voice came out snippy, "Well! I was just trying to make today special. I wanted it to be a day to remember, not to laugh at."

Cloud uncovered his mouth with his hand and adjusted a large envelope that he had pressed to his chest, holding it even tighter. The smile left Cloud's face and a deep frown replaced it. He even shuffled a few steps back, gave him a sad look and turned out of the kitchen.

Zack's frustration melted into a panic, his heart breaking slightly. He hurt Cloud. It wasn't Cloud's fault he didn't know how to cook or that he destroyed the kitchen in the process of trying to make a perfect meal. Zack was really wishing that he had asked Angeal for help so that it wouldn't have been such a failure.

"Cloud?" he walked forward, avoiding the cherry streak that stretched across his kitchen.

He arrived into the living room to see Cloud looking at the contents of the envelope with a frown.

"Cloud ... I'm sorry," Zack said as he stood in front of him. "I didn't mean to snap like that, I just…" He let out a deep breath. "Everything went so wrong."

Cloud raised his blue eyes to meet his violet ones. "I know." Cloud ran his teeth over his bottom lip and held the envelope out to him. "Here."

Zack reached out and took the package. The contents made a small rattling noise that sounded like lego. "I wanted to get you something nice too. I got my mom to send me something from home. It got broken in the mail and … I was trying to fix it and or find a replacement but I couldn't." Cloud frowned as his eyes focused on the large envelope.

"I know. It's kinda pathetic," Cloud whispered as Zack looked inside. Zack examined the contents and saw glass everywhere of different colours. "It was supposed to be a Spirit Glass. I used to help my mom make them to sell to the tourists. You're supposed to hang them in a window and …" Cloud was silent and looked at his feet. "I got mom to make me a special one for you."

Zack stared at the broken present and saw a lot of yellow glass inside.

"It was silly anyway." Cloud's voice indicated that he thought it was anything but.

"Come on," Zack said smiling. He put the envelope on the couch and grabbed the smaller man into a big hug. Cloud looked incredibly cute when he was bashful. "We're both silly failures at this and we both failed miserably at trying to do something for each other."

They held each other for a little while and Zack stroked the blonds' back and felt his tense muscles ease, becoming relaxed against him. Zack left an array of kisses on his head, taking in his scent and his warmth; everything that was Cloud. All of this had been his for an entire year ...

Cloud spoke into his chest. "I guess. I wanted to make sure I got something special for you."

"What was it of?"

Cloud pressed his face into Zack's chest and mumbled something.

"What did you say?" He said pushed Cloud away just enough so that he could see his face. Cloud kept his eyes pointed down, trying to hide the glimmer in his eyes and the blush on his face.

"My mom has a sick sense of humour," Cloud grumbled.

Now Zack was curious and the corner of his mouth twitched upward. "What was it?"

Cloud kept looking at the floor. "I made the mistake of saying that you thought my hair looked like a chocobo's crest. When I asked mom to make me one, I thought she was just going to do the usual star burst but she made a yellow chocobo."

Zack bit his lip and tried to refrain from laughing. "Seriously?"

"Shuddap!" Cloud said, slapping his chest as he looked up at Zack with very red cheeks. Zack could no longer hold back his laughter. He grabbed Cloud and wrapped his arms around him to hold him in a big hug that the blond tried to pull out of. "I told you, my mom has a seriously strange sense of humour," Cloud muttered.

Zack chuckled and leaned down, pressing Cloud into a kiss. His teeth nibbled gently at Cloud's lips, and the blond melted against him, returning the kiss. Zack lead –- his hands going to stroke his sides and back. Clouds own tongue grew brave, reaching forward to meet Zack's. Cloud's hands moved to Zack's sides, fiddling for a moment with the hem of his shirt, before slipping them inside, his hands hesitantly going to stroking his skin.

With a moan, the kiss broke apart. They stared at each other hazily for a moment. Zack smiled softly as he leaned in to start to kiss Cloud along his jaw line and then down to his neck. He knew the right places to nibble to get Cloud to moan. The blond did just that, wiggling against him slightly, still having enough control to keep his moaning sounds to a low volume. Zack's hands began to wander more, moving from his sides to his tight bottom. He smirked, as he nursed Cloud's neck, and grasped the tight bottom. The blond in his hands yelped and tried to pull away, but Zack held him firmly, squeezing again for good measure.

"Zack," Cloud whined softly, his eyes flickering up at him. Zack knew though, from Cloud's tone of voice, that he wasn't really upset over his blatant grope. Zack grinned at him, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. Cloud opened his mouth and looked like he was going to say something but was interrupted.

The door had flown open, and there stood Angeal Hewley, his chest heaving slightly. "Is everything all right in here? We heard the fire alar- Oh my." Angeal's face went from highly concerned, to confused, to an almost bashful look, as his vivid SOLDIER eyes passed through the room, stopping on the young couple. Zack's hands were still firmly planted on Cloud's tush.

Zack released Cloud's ass, looking bashful, but still kept the blond pulled close to his side. Angeal opened his mouth as if he were going to start to talk when a very pompous, almost melodious voice from behind him interrupted, "See, they were doing just fine, Angeal. You're such a worry wart."

Zack could see Genesis Rhapsodos peak into the room, scrutinizing everything. "Oh," his eyes were alight with humour, a hand clapped over his mouth. "However, I suppose you were right to worry about him destroying the kitchen."

Zack felt his face flush with embarrassment. He frowned when Cloud chuckled lightly beside him. In retaliation, he attempted to give Cloud a slap on the back for his giggle which unfortunately, only made the blond giggle more.

Angeal straightened up and crossed his arms, but the First Class SOLDIER's eyes kept being drawn to the mess in the kitchen. "I wanted to make sure you weren't setting the building on fire." Zack swore he heard his mentor make his famous 'tsk tsk' sound.

"I had a few complications," Zack mumbled, lowering his head.

"You know, I would have helped you," Angeal told him as he stepped into the kitchen, manoeuvring around the cherry stain on the floor.

"I wanted to do it on my own."

"Of course you did," Genesis' voice oozed as he entered the apartment. "You two really are pathetic," Genesis said as he looked at the two young men, his nose only slightly upturned. "I think half the floor heard you crashing about your kitchen," Genesis said as he looked at Zack.

Zack found himself looking at his feet at Genesis' words.

"And you," Genesis said pointing a lazy finger at Cloud. Cloud's blue eyes grew wide. "I heard from, Joey Luxiere, the boy who brings me my double french chocolate-cherry swirl latte, that you caused quite a ruckus when you got your broken package in the mail."

Cloud looked at his feet as well.

"You both know nothing about romance," Genesis said with a wave of his hand, and walked past them. He reached the stereo system -– with the remote missing -– and started to shuffle through the CD's. "You are allowed to ask for help from other people so that you won't fall completely flat on your face." Genesis shook his head as he selected one and pulled out the disk to place in the machine. "Hmm, it's definitely not the LOVELESS soundtrack ... but at least this will help make the night a little more romantic."

Zack looked at Genesis as he fiddled with the stereo, turning knobs and pressing buttons. He looked to Cloud, knowing very well how uncomfortable he was around Genesis. It had taken him weeks to get used to Angeal's father-like tendencies, but Genesis with his aloof -– although it came off as hoity-toity -– attitude still intimidated Cloud, and Zack couldn't say he blamed him. Zack was used to Genesis' snide comments and often rude attitude. It didn't faze Zack much anymore.

"There," Genesis announced, as a song finally started; a soft piano playing. "A little bit of atmosphere. You didn't even light a candle or bring in flowers. You do fail at romance, Zackary. Quite horribly, I must say ... I know that you're used to chaos, but it is hardly the setting to wow your little companion." Cloud gasped and paled slightly. Zack however, smiled. He had known Genesis long enough to understand that that was Genesis' silent way of saying he approved.

Genesis shook his head as he walked by them. He stopped and leaned into Cloud, whispering to him. "Don't be afraid to give him a good slap. Sometimes they need it."

Cloud eyes grew wide as he gave Genesis a quick nod to the statement, most likely not even realizing it.

Zack did not miss the smirk on the red-haired General's lips as he turned his attention to Angeal who was scrubbing at the burnt counter in the kitchen. "Now. I will distract Mr. Worry-Wart over there," Genesis said with a shake of his head. "You two, go back to the way you were."

Zack watched as Genesis grabbed Angeal who looked like he was about to protest, but Genesis cut him off. "Let the boys have their evening together," Genesis said, dragging the larger man away by the arm. "Next time, puppy, I will teach you how to properly romance your little kitten."

Zack frowned as they made their way to the door. He hated Genesis using those nicknames and he heard Cloud groan. Cloud hated being called kitten and didn't blame him. He didn't mind when Angeal used Puppy, but with Genesis, it felt so condescending.

"There is some chicken fettucini leftover for you boys upstairs, if you would like to eat..." Angeal was saying as Genesis carted him away.

Zack smiled and looked at the young blond as a new song started to play. A soft melody filled the room. Zack loved this song as it seemed to fit them so well, even though he had never confessed it to Cloud. The cords of the piano overpowered the room and his eyes softened as the melody caused his heart to swell.

The stars lean down to kiss you
And I lie awake and miss you
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere ...

Zack turned and pulled Cloud so that they were facing each other again. His forehead resting against Cloud's and he ran his hands down his muscular arms so that their fingers entwined. Big blue eyes looked up to meet his violet ones, a hint of a warm smile on Cloud's lips. Softly, Zack started to sing along, his voice barely above a whisper, the song humming warmly in his throat. "I'll watch the night turn light blue ... But it's not the same without you, because it takes two to whisper quietly ..."

Zack squeezed their right hands together, wrapping his other arm around Cloud's waist; the motion made Cloud follow his lead. Zack started to sway, Cloud's head resting on his shoulder as they did so. He could smell Cloud ... It was a scent that belonged to him alone. It was one of the most soothing things in the world and couldn't think of a sweeter smell.

The silence isn't so bad
Till I look at my hands and feel sad
'Cause the spaces between my fingers
Are right where yours fit perfectly ...

The song and Cloud were all that Zack could think of. He sung along as they danced, falling into sweet bliss. The chaos of the failed dinner didn't matter. All that mattered was Cloud in his arms, pressed against him, dancing ever so slowly around the living room. That was all that mattered.

He dipped his head so that he could kiss Cloud's slightly parted lips. He touched them with his own, still swaying to the music. Cloud pushed their lips together and deepened the kiss with small soft movements.

Cloud removed any distance that remained between their bodies, so that they were snugly pressed together. Zack hugged him tightly, moving his mouth to press against his throat. Cloud tilted his head to accommodate the kiss. Zack could feel strong fingers pressing against the back of his shirt and felt them moving in small tender motions. Zack hummed along to the song as he rested his chin on the blonds shoulder.

Zack closed his eyes as they moved, their feet slowly guiding them around in small circles. He kept his fingers intertwined in Clouds and brought their combined hand up so that it touched their shoulders. Zack pressed his lips against the racing pulse in the slender throat.

Waist-deep in thought because when I think of you
I don't feel so alone

Zack's swaying slowed and he increased his grip around the smaller man.

I don't feel so alone ...

Zack could no longer imagine being without Cloud. It had been a wonderful year; a year that felt like they had known each other forever. He could not imagine being without the man that he was now clinging to. He never wanted to be apart and he wanted to make sure that they would spend more than the year together. But ... despite anything that happened in the future ... he was so obscenely thankful for the year they had had. No matter what changed, or where they went, Zack knew he would remember this year as being one of the greatest of his life.

One disastrously cooked dinner and a ruined trinket would not devastate what they felt and meant to each other.

As many times as I blink
I'll think of you tonight

Zack thought of Cloud every night and during every moment. Everything revolved around making sure that Cloud was happy, safe and loved.

"Zack?" Cloud's voice was soft and thick with concern. "Are you crying?"

Zack sniffed and realized that he was. His cheeks felt wet, the salt proving to be itchy. "Yeah," he whispered and had to force himself to let go of Cloud. He looked at the blond and gave him a soft smile.

"The night isn't that bad," Cloud said. "I'm sorry about the gift ..."

Zack chuckled and he ran his hands over his face, wiping the tears away but leaving red streaks. "That's not it," Zack said.

Cloud blinked. "Then why are you crying?" Cloud's hands pressed against Zack's chest and his blue eyes were bright with concern.

"I realized how much I love you," Zack whispered. It was the first time he had said it out loud. He had loved him for so long but hadn't dared say the words. He had been so scared to say it. He was a SOLDIER, a man ... but Zack didn't care anymore. He should have said it sooner. It was the only thing that he ever regretted in their whole relationship.

He should have said it sooner.

And I'll forget the world that I knew
But I swear I won't forget you
Oh, if my voice could reach back through the past
I'd whisper in your ear,
Oh darling I wish you were here

Cloud took in a sharp intake of breath and his eyes grew wider. Zack grabbed his hands and brought them to his lips and kissed them softly; one kiss for each knuckle. "I never want to be apart from you. Ever."

The song trailed off, becoming nothing more than sweet beats, before finally changing. But it didn't matter anymore. It was the only song that Zack would ever care to hear again. That was their song.

"Zack," Cloud's voice sounded almost lost and small. "I love you, too."

Zack smiled brightly, tears shining in his eyes again. He kissed Cloud once more, the kiss saying more than he could ever find words for.

Soyna's Comments:

Sap and a songfic. ONLY FOR YOU ZIGGY! I USED THE 'L' WORD IN MY WRITING…. I never do that. Only for you Ziggy, I swear.
Kitsuchi-chan helped conspire with me to write this … she is doing artwork to go a long with it because dear, we are luv you. She wanted a dancing scene in a living room…. and then I needed help to sap it up so I used Rina for further sappage addition. (She be good at sappage, where as I am not and NEVER WILL BE… so there! I need to go finish writing some smut now to counteract this sappage.)
And on another note… I did not use the word tush… that was Rina.
LUV YOU!

Rina's Comments:

OH MY GOSH I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY ABOUT THIS... Only for you, Ziggy. Only for you. We jammed this this filled with inside jokes, I made sure to add some in there. Hope you love it babes... this took a lot of work. :D

Vanilla Twilight - Owl City - Ziggy's song.
Full song lyrics for the song used here can be found: Owl City Vanilla Twilight lyrics found on http:/ www .directlyrics .com .com

MORE SOYNA COMMENTS.

SO IF YOU READER HAVE NOT READ MALADY YET, I go recommend that you go and do so. You need to tell Ziggy to quit torturing Cloud already!

*and, Ziggy, I left the common mistake in the upper authors note… the one you always have to correct in my writing. I KNOW IT IS THERE! I left it on purpose for you to tsk tsk and wag your finger at me.*

I think this is the longest and most rambling author's note that I have ever added on something that I wrote. I wonder where I have seen similar long rambling author notes before? Hmm? It'll come to me.

SO DO YOU LIKE IT ZIGGY!