Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. I don't own Squaresoft ( Square Enix ). As much as I wish I owned them, I don't. I don't own the characters in this story, if I did I wouldn't be sitting here writing. Though! The story is based on true events.
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It had been almost two weeks since everyone had gone to the bar, or to Vincent and Nero's for that matter. Sephiroth and Zack had been away on a mission, Nero and Vincent had been busy with doctors appointments. As for Cloud and Jiro, they were just busy with school and training.
"Hold it up more, Cloud. You're going to end up dropping it, stupid."
"Don't call me stupid, asshole." Cloud said, raising the practice sword higher and bringing it down against the one Jiro was holding.
"You know I love you." Jiro stuck his tongue out at Cloud, dropping the practice sword down by his side and grinning.
"Not too bad, Strife." The taller teen patted Cloud on the back.
Cloud just smiled, walking with Jiro to put his practice sword up.
"It's not like you need practice," Came a voice from behind both the teenagers. Right away Jiro knew who it was, rolling his eyes and turning to face the other boy.
"Oh shove off, Aiko."
"I'm only being honest, he is, after all fucking a first class SOLIDER." Everyone in the room went silent, and turned towards the three boys.
Before Jiro could say anything Cloud lunged forward, sending both him and Aiko to the floor. Cloud straddled the boys waist, raising his fist and then bringing it back down against the other teens jaw.
"You take that back!"
"Oh, you get him, Cloud! I mean..stop!" Jiro said, laughing softly and trying, well not really, to pull Cloud off of the other boy.
Aiko shoved Cloud off of him, rising to his feet and kicking Cloud square in the face. Cloud fell backwards, holding his now bleeding nose, looking at the crowd starting to form around them. He glanced up at Jiro, who now was holding Aiko back.
"C'mon Cloud! Get up, kick his ass." Before Cloud could get to his feet one of the sergeants came over and separated everyone.
"Jiro, General's office. Now! Aiko, Cloud, infirmary."
xxxx
Jiro had run off, leaving Cloud all by himself in the infirmary. Once the nurse said he'd be fine Jiro booked it to the General's office. Cloud sighed, glancing around the small room he was in, hell, he wasn't even sure why he was still in the infirmary. His nose had stopped bleeding, he felt fine, though he was in trouble for starting a fight. He just shrugged, pushing himself out of the small bed and walking towards the door. He glanced out, blinking when a bunch of the nurses started running around, grabbing various things and then running back to the room across the hall.
Being curious, Cloud stepped out of his room and slowly made his way down the corridor, peaking into the other room. He gasped when he saw Zack laying in the bed, his blood soaked shirt being cut from his body.
"Would you people quit fussing over me, I'm fine, it's just a cut." Zack said, trying to shoo one of the nurses away.
Cloud watched as they ripped the rest of his shirt off and toss it in to the garbage bin beside the bed. The blond haired teen bit his lip, trying to peak into the room more with out being seen. He swallowed hard when he saw the huge gash across Zack's stomach, and all the blood that was coming from the wound.
"Oh, my God." He said out loud. His eyes widened, and he covered his mouth, cursing himself. Zack looked up a bit and smiled when he saw Cloud.
"Hey there, buddy!" Zack winced when the nurse injected him with morphine.
Cloud slowly stepped inside the room, walking over to Zack's side.
"A-Are you going to be okay?" Cloud's voice broke a bit when he spoke. To be honest, he was scared Zack was going to die. There was so much blood, the sight was sickening.
Zack smiled, reaching out for Cloud's hand and giving it a light squeeze.
"Nothing can kill me."
Cloud offered Zack a soft smile, pulling a chair up to the bed. He sat there, holding Zack's hand and watching the nurses stitch him up. Cloud winced a few times as they threaded the needle in and out of the open wound. Once the nurses were done, they cleaned Zack up and left the room.
"Zack, what happened? H-How did you get that?"
"I was careless, but more importantly, why are you here?"
Cloud frowned, letting go of Zack's hand and looking down at the floor. "I got into a fight.."
"Did you kick their ass?" The older teen grinned, reaching his hand back out and brushing his fingertips against Cloud's.
Cloud just smiled, shrugging a bit. "Not really, I got a bloody nose and then one of the sergeants broke up the fight."
"Ahh, that's too bad." Zack ruffled up Cloud's hair and then called for one of the nurses.
"When can I leave? I don't want to stay here over night. Give me some pain killers and send me home, please."
The nurse glanced back out at another nurse and motioned for her to come in the room. They stood outside the door, talking quietly and then stepping into the room.
"You're going to have to have someone help you for a few days, with bandages and moving around." One of the nurses nodded and looked over at Cloud.
"I'll be fine, I can take care of myself," Zack said, following the nurses gaze and looking at Cloud.
"Mr. Fair, you suffered from a very deep wound, it's going to hard for you to move around."
Cloud stood up, chewing on the inside of his lip and raising his hand slightly.
"I'll help him."
The nurse nodded, "Very well then."
Both of the nurses left the room, coming back a few moments later with a hospital shirt and a few bandages. The one nurse handed the bandages to Cloud while the other helped Zack to get the shirt on. The nurses helped Zack to get out of the bed, waiting for Cloud to come over and help him up the rest of the way.
"Really I'm fine, I can walk by myself." Zack said, throwing his arm around Cloud's shoulders.
"Alright Zack, just lean on me if you need to." Cloud said, nodding and gently wrapping his arm around Zack's waist, trying to hold the bundles of bandages in his other hand.
Cloud huffed a bit, trying to hold Zack up, damn was he heavy. And right now, even though Zack probably wouldn't admit it, he was leaning all his weight on Cloud. The boys walked across the courtyard, well more Zack limped and Cloud tried, tried being the keyword here, to pull him across the courtyard.
Once at Zack's apartment on base, Cloud pushed the door open, dragging Zack into his bedroom and sitting him on his bed. He breathed in heavily and fell down into a chair across the room, taking a quick breather.
"God damn you're heavy." Cloud said, rising from the seat and walking over to sit on Zack's bed with him.
"You're going to be alright, yeah?"
Zack nodded, patting Cloud's leg in reassurance. "I'll be fine, you can leave if you want to."
Cloud shook his head, "No, I told the nurses I would help you. Besides, I'm done with classes for the day."
Zack smiled, scooting back carefully in the bed and leaning against the headboard. "I think I'm just going to take a nap, can you help me out of this shirt?"
Cloud nodded a bit, pulling his knees up on the bed and leaning over Zack. He bit his lip, reaching his hands down and grabbing the hem of the other mans shirt. Leaning closer, he pulled the shirt up slowly, careful not to rub the material against Zack's wound. The older teen closed his eyes, inhaling Cloud's scent when he leaned closer to him. Zack leaned up slightly, letting Cloud pull the rest of shirt off. Blinking, Cloud looked down at Zack, noticing how close their faces were. He bit his lip, his cheeks starting to burn. Cloud breathed out against Zack's face, closing his eyes and trying to pretend he was anywhere but where he was now.
Zack leaned his head up a bit more, brushing his lips against Cloud's. The blond jumped slightly at the touch, relaxing after a moment and pressing his lips to Zack's. Blinking in surprise, Zack lifted one of his hands, cupping Cloud's cheek and nipping at his lower lip.
"Zack.." Cloud whimpered out, moaning softly when Zack's tongue licked at the roof of his mouth. A shiver ripped through the younger teens body, this was an entirely new experience for him. It made him blush, thinking that Zack was his first kiss. He placed his hands on the older teen's shoulders, and being a little brave, he nipped at Zack's tongue. Zack moaned into Cloud's mouth, his hand that was previously on Cloud's cheek was now pushing it's way under the hem of the other teens shirt.
"Mm, you taste good, Cloud." Zack mumbled against the others lips, sliding his hand further up his shirt, brushing his fingertips against his nipple. Cloud shivered, pressing his lips harder against Zack's and groaning softly.
"I KNEW IT! Sephiroth, you owe me fifty dollars!" Jiro screamed, after he had slammed the bedroom door open and caught Cloud and Zack in their heated lip lock.
Cloud blushed, pulling away from Zack and burying his face into the others shoulder.
"Jiro, get out!" Zack demanded, pointing at the door.
"Oh hell no, not until Seph sees this." Jiro said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Sephiroth slowly walked towards Zack's bedroom, rolling his eyes when he heard the teen yell. "Jiro, can't you ever be qui-" The General stood in the door way of Zack's bedroom, raising his eyebrow and pointing to the raven haired teens hand, which was still up Cloud's shirt.
"What's going on here?"
"I told you! They were swapping spit!" Jiro grinned, turning towards Sephiroth and holding out his hand. "Now pay up, bitch."
Cloud cringed, his cheeks burning red; God how he wished he could turn invisible.
"Could you two, please leave?" Zack asked, pulling his hand out of Cloud's shirt.
"Hell n-" Jiro was cut off by Sephiroth talking and grabbing at his arm. "No problem, Zack. Come on, weirdo."
Jiro gasped, "If I'm so weird how come you called me to your office just to fuck me!"
Zack blinked a few times and Cloud glanced back at the two men in the door way. The General gave them an uneasy smile and pulled Jiro out of the room.
"Aren't they just a lovely couple?"
Shrugging, Cloud moved away from Zack, sitting down on the bed and sighing heavily.
"Are you mad at me?"
"No, of course not, Zack. I, I'm just, you know.."
"No, I'm afraid I don't." The older teen laughed a bit, wincing when pain rippled through his body. "Damn, hurts to laugh."
Cloud frowned, looking over at him, "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
"I told you, nothing can kill me."
Cloud nodded, "Do you promise? And, what do we do about what happened?"
"I promise. What do you mean, Spiky?"
"Between us."
Zack smiled softly, reaching his hand out and touching Cloud's arm. "We just go with it."
"You mean, like nothing ever happened?" Turning towards the other teen, Cloud tilted his head slightly in confusion.
"No, we just go with our feelings. Let things happen as they happen. Kind of like Sephiroth and Jiro.."
"Just with out all the sex?"
Zack laughed, wincing yet again and holding his side. "Yeah, just with out all the sex."
Cloud grinned softly, sitting indian style on the bed. "What about Aerith?"
"I'll talk to her." Zack nodded, biting down on his lip.
"Okay, Zack." Leaning over, Cloud kissed the older teens cheek, a small smile forming on his lips.
"AH HA! I caught you guys again!"
Cloud rolled his eyes, sitting back down on the bed, turning his head, so he could see Jiro. "You're such a pain in the ass Jiro."
"But you love me! Oh, my God! I forgot! Zack, are you okay?!" Jiro came rushing over to Zack's side, starting to touch the bandages. "Let me see!"
Sephiroth appeared in the door way, watching his so called boyfriend fuss over Zack. His eye twitched as a feeling of jealousy pooled into his stomach. "Jiro, leave Zack alone."
"Oh, be quiet Seph, I just want to see."
Zack smiled at The General, who just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Vincent and Ne-" Sephiroth jerked forward as someone pushed by him to get into the room. "Speak of the devil.."
Nero had pushed past Sephiroth, trying to get into the room, so he could see Zack. "Oh, my poor baby." Nero sat down on the other side of the bed, wrapping his arms around Zack's neck, pulling him close to him.
"When Sephiroth called and told me.."
"He freaked out." Vincent said, standing next to Sephiroth in the door way.
"Quit fussing over me you guys, I'm fine. Cloud's helped me out a lot already, I really can't take any more coddling."
Cloud rocked back and forth on the bed, humming softly and watching everyone around him. Zack had some really good friends, he wished he had friends like that, back in Nibelheim. Wait, what was he talking about? These were his friends now. Cloud grinned, his hand reaching out to touch Nero's shoulder, as if to say hello. Nero nodded at him and smiled.
"Jiro, why are you messing with Zack's bandages?" Vincent raised his eyebrow, glancing at Jiro, then Sephiroth. The General held his hands up, "Don't ask me."
Jiro pulled at the white bandage again, frowning. "I just want to see the wound!" He leaned back on his heels, looking up at the raven haired teen. "You're going to be alright, right Zack?"
"Damn, how many times am I going to be asked that. I'll be fine, I promise."
"Yeah, but the doctors did say he could die.." Cloud's eyes went wide, and he looked back at Vincent.
"What? How?! They stitched him up and said he'd be okay!" Cloud felt tears sting the corner of his eyes. The nurses said Zack would be fine; oh God, he didn't want Zack to die.
"Well, they said if a certain someone," Vincent coughed out Jiro's name, grinning. "Came near him, it could kill him."
Nero rolled his eyes, getting out of the bed and smacking both Sephiroth and Vincent on the arm; who were laughing at the looks on Cloud, Zack and Jiro's faces .
"Yeah, laugh it up Seph, see if I let you touch me ever again."
Sephiroth bit down on his lip, balling his hand into a fist and holding it up against his mouth, trying not to laugh.
"Oh, Nero guess what I saw today."
Cloud's eyes widened yet again, and he looked at Jiro, shaking his head and mouthing the word 'please'.
"What'd you see, Jiro?"
Grinning the snow white blond rose to his feet, pointing at both Zack and Cloud. "These two, k-i-s-s-i-n-g," Jiro spelled it out in a sing song voice.
Burying his face in his hands, Cloud groaned, peaking between his fingers at Zack; who was smiling and nodding a bit.
"Well, isn't that just lovely." Nero smiled, patting Cloud on the shoulder, glancing back at Vincent.
"Yeah, and Sephiroth owes me fifty dollars!"
"You guys bet on it?" Vincent nudge Sephiroth's arm, raising his eyebrow.
"More like he did, I kind of just went with it."
Vincent laughed, shaking his head. "He mentioned it while you guys were fucking."
"Must you say it so loudly?" Sephiroth glared at Vincent, who held his hands up, still laughing.
"Well, that's your fault for sleeping with the loser."
Nero, Jiro and Cloud all gasped as Sephiroth grabbed Vincent by his shirt and lifted him up into the air.
"Whoa, easy big fella." Vincent tried pulling at Sephiroth's arm. "I was just kidding."
"I'm tired of you being so damn rude to him. He has done nothing to you, Vincent, you have no reason to be an ass."
"He insulted Nero the first day we met him."
Nero smiled softly, he loved his boyfriend, but sometimes he could be a little dense. "He was making an observation."
Vincent groaned at what Nero said, tugging at Sephiroth's arm again. "Put me down."
"Apologize to Jiro."
"For what?"
"All the cruel things you've said to him."
"Whatever, I'm sorry, Jiro."
Sephiroth glanced at Jiro, who just gave a slight nod, letting him know he accepted Vincent's apology. The General released the other man, smirking at him when he fell to his feet.
"Watch your mouth next time." With that said, Sephiroth turned and left the room.
"Oh, he loves me!" Jiro beamed, running after the other man.
Nero sighed, "Just had to start, didn't you?" Shaking his head, Nero stepped out of the room. Vincent frowned, looking over at Zack and Cloud.
"Guess I better go fix things, huh?"
They both nodded, waving to Vincent as he left the room.
"Oh, my God!"
"What?" Cloud jumped, looking over at the other teen in worry.
"It's quiet." Zack smiled, and held his one arm open, motioning with his other hand for Cloud to lay down next to him.
Smiling a bit, Cloud crawled over Zack, laying down on the other side of the bed. He tensed up when Zack wrapped his arm around him, slowly relaxing when the older teen pressed a kiss to his forehead.
"Are you scared of me?"
"N-No, I, I just get scared of my feelings.." Cloud said, his hand coming up to rest on Zack's side.
"What do you mean?"
"It's hard to explain, I guess. Like, I missed you when you were gone on your mission, and I had no idea why."
"Well, I missed you, too."
"That's cute. I was also scared to death when I saw you laying in that hospital bed."
"Normal human emotions, Cloud." Running his fingers through Cloud's hair, Zack kissed his forehead again.
"Yeah, I know...But I've never felt this close to somebody before. I feel safe when I'm around you."
"Well, that's a good thing."
Cloud nodded, "I just, I don't know how to deal with all of these new feelings."
"Well, I've got an idea."
"Yeah, what's that?" Cloud looked up at Zack, his eyebrow arching.
"How about we take a nap and talk about this later. These pain pills are starting to kick my ass."
Nodding in agreement, Cloud cuddled closer to Zack, his head resting on the others chest. Zack leaned his head back, closing his eyes and slowly falling asleep. Cloud followed suit, falling asleep soon after the other did.
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Authors Note: Sorry, it's not amazing. I've got a lot of stuff going on, and I'm working on another fic, so yeah. You guys asked for Zack and Cloud touchiness, well, there you go. Maybe not a lot, but at least it's something, eh? Sorry for the shortness and for how lame it is. Don't hate me!