Disclaimer:
Sadly…err… VERY unfortunately, I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters to be truthful. They belong to Square… err Square Enix as it's known nowadays. But I just can't help loving these characters, so I will borrow them for enjoyment and use them however I please (clears throat). I can assure you that no drop-dead-gorgeous guys will be permanently damaged in any way by the end of the story. I don't get any profit from this, so don't sue me.
Notes: A fair warning: this is YAOI/Shounen-Ai/Slash, meaning (Boys hot for other Boys) however you want to call it. So, if it's not your cup-o'-tea, then take a hike, you have been warned. So, if your close-mindedness is getting the best of you, then stick with things that rub you the right way.
In other notes, this story is not Beta-ed, though if anyone would like to be my Beta I would really appreciate your help. So all mistakes are mine, though I hope there aren't much.
Pre-FFVII, AU. OOC, Yaoi/Shounen-ai/Slash … Crazy fan-girl fantasies… Can you really blame me? Not if you're still reading this after the warning.
Summary: Cloud has been lusting after a certain black haired neighbor. But said neighbor is oblivious to the blond except when he sometimes 'conveniently takes note of him' just for the fun of bullying the smaller boy. But would a science assignment give Cloud the chance to make an impact on his crush? Or would getting marooned in the dark depths of the unknown make him realize that not all desires are worth wanting?
00000
The 14 year old blond would put his alarm clock for 5 o'clock in the morning every night before he went to bed. It had been happening for so long a time, that it had turn into an unconscious habit.
Though secretly enjoying the outcome, he cursed himself for being so weak.
He didn't understand his obsession; it was senseless even to his own mind. But the thought of catching but a glimpse of that ray of light was worth anything.
'And such a light it was'
The light had nothing to do with the sun though.
His heart skipped a beat with his last thoughts, blue eyes shutting out the world
00000
The noise from the alarm clock registered slowly, gradually luring him away from hot biscuits being eaten under the old oak tree. Cloud reached out to turn the alarm off, and then he sat up and stretched his skinny pale limbs.
He eyed his night-light and mentally cursed at it. Though hating it every morning, he couldn't stop loving it every night. His fear of the dark had too strong a hold on his person to actually commit himself into getting rid of it.
The phobia had always existed, but was made worse by the childish pranks of others who thought it was amusing to lock him in dark places, dark places with horrendous insects that he detested.
His eyes automatically checked every corner of his small room. Making sure nothing was hiding in the shadows that the night-light wasn't able to illuminate, mentally going through the list as he did every morning.
The closet door was still closed; the stories that the elders told the children to scare them into behaving were traumatizing enough to leave mental scars.
The only dresser in the room wasn't surrounded by a strange glow. Ghosts liked to hide behind innocent looking furniture and lie in wait until the right moment.
He didn't look under his bed, as it were, it was better to let sleeping dogs lie. Even though the idea of a boggy man under his bed was ridiculous to his teenage mind, he didn't have the courage to risk it.
The cream walls were bare except for a large portrait of him and his mother and he didn't see any apparitions in it, nor did he see any moving eyes.
His small bed was in front of the two windows side by side with the wall. He pushed the light white curtains aside and waited, heart hammering with anticipation.
He was ten years old when he had woken up without a reason. Cloud remembered looking out the window and seeing an image that will forever stay in his memory. And he made sure that it stood there by seeing it every morning after.
What was taking place now was the same scene as every other morning. He saw the dark haired teen walking toward the water tower from one of the surrounding houses. The spiked hair and fair skin made him look surreal under the remaining stars. A sword was strapped on his back, ready for use.
Cloud Strife loved to see him training. The other's movements were precise and smooth. The blade would glimmer under the glow of lights. The sight was mesmerizing enough to leave him with parted lips and half lidded eyes.
For years now, the other boy continued to fascinate Cloud, he would always watch from the second floor window of his room, memorizing every aspect and every curve of the young man. Cloud couldn't deny how his heart would race whenever he caught a glimpse of the peaceful look on the other's face.
"Zack"
He whispered his name in awe. Zack was one of a kind, he concluded. Zack was an expert with that sword of his, and Cloud had it in good account that it wasn't the only sword he was good at.
As attractive as Zack was, he got a lot of attention from both males and females. It didn't calm the situation when said person was as flirty as they come, and the famous dashing smile just added to the handsomeness of it all.
His latest girlfriend by the name of Tifa was not only the major's daughter, but the hottest of all young females in town. Cloud couldn't help but grimace as the thought of her big sized breasts.
He truly believed that her future babies would suffer from obesity if those two oversized monstrosities were anything to go by.
'If they didn't pop first'
The thought managed to get a smile from the blond teen. Not to say that he didn't like Tifa. On second thought, he hated her conceited ways, her non stop self-centered bragging, her flirty smiles, and her obvious acts to show off while holding hands with a good looking Zack for all to see.
Cloud wanted Zack, he need to own Zack.
Zack was that one wish upon those hundred falling stars.
Cloud believed that Zack was the perfect image of perfection, as perfect as someone could get
Too bad Zack never really noticed Cloud, that is, when he wasn't bullying the smaller boy.
00000
Cloud suddenly found himself on the ground. Dust flying everywhere from the impact, the summer sun mercilessly showing the world his painful expression. He heard laughter around him, belonging to the other kids. He managed to open his eyes just as Zack walked through the crowd, not taking any notice that he just pushed someone out of the way instead of asking nicely for a bit of space as he excitedly chatted with his best friend, Sephiroth.
'The Freak'
Cloud wouldn't say it out loud, of course, or risk injury, but he did get satisfaction thinking about it. The 16 year old silver haired young man was the person he hated the most. His ego was as large as the sword he liked showing off.
Though he wouldn't really admit it, Sephiroth was nice enough not to push him around, or join in the jokes and laughter that were aimed at him. But the fact the Sephiroth was always around Zack seemed to fray Cloud's nerves.
The blond stood up slowly while dusting himself off. He held his head high even though the embarrassment was staining his ears crimson. He could feel them burn.
The crowd dissolved quickly after that, giving him the chance to walk away without bumping into anyone. He slowly made his way to the town's exit, where only a few houses stood.
The oak tree was waiting for him with open branches.
The blond had felt an attachment to the old tree since he was but a small child. The tree had given him a chance to escape the Nibelheim Wolves that were chasing him after he had wandered too far from the town's gates one afternoon. He had climbed the tree in record time, and only after the wolves were disposed off by Sheriff Valentine and his good sniper skills was he able to get down from the tree.
His mother had been furious when he was taken home by an equally irritated sheriff. Cloud always held high respect for the moody man; he swore it wasn't because he was Zack's father.
The scene was never to be repeated.
But the other boys had a good time chasing him around later on, pretending to be scary big wolves. Cloud wouldn't have taken to running if the other kids didn't take to pulling his spiky hair whenever they caught up to him.
Sighing irritably, he managed not to pout as he sat on one of the tree's thickest branches. He didn't understand why everyone liked to push him around. Sure, he was smaller than the rest of the children his age, and he was skinny and frail looking, but shouldn't that have been a reason as to not harass him? They should have been protecting him, not beating on him.
He heard laughter from a distance, and he pressed himself more into the tree, but sighed in relief when he realized he wasn't the one being laughed at. He relaxed some more and started fantasizing about how things should have been. He wanted a friend; he wanted someone beside him, someone to give him the attention he deserved.
From where he sat, he was able to make out the figure of an ebony haired young man. Zack was indulging himself by showing off some of his sword techniques to a crowd of girls who were giggling uncontrollably, and blushing deeply. Sephiroth was leaning against the wall of a house; enjoying the situation with a warm smile while the sunlight reflected off his skin.
And Cloud wanted to be part of the crowd, but he knew his place. At least from his place at the tree, no one would take to humiliating him.
00000
"Now listen here you bunch of Miniature-Ogres"
'Great way to start your class Mr. Highwind'
Cloud wasn't offended. The blond haired Science professor was known to call his students anything but their names, or specie for that matter.
The goggle wearing man was chewing on a tooth pick; he had his arms crossed over his chest, and a small frown upon his lightly bearded face. In front of him, standing in formation, were his two very distinguishable classes. On his left side, the freshman stood at attention, looking slightly confused at the presence of the higher graders, which made out the sophomores of the small town school.
The sophomores all wore manic grins which were directed toward the smaller teenagers. And Cid Highwind was content to let it slide as long as there was no physical contact.
"The outcome of this project will decide half of your final grade for this year. Mess it up, and only a perfect score on your final exam will help you out of this hell. Now un-wax those ears of yours, because there's no possibility on this lousy planet that I will be repeating myself"
He was stopped from continuing his speech by a hand in the hair.
"Is there a good reason why you interrupting me Zack?"
The young man cleared his throat, while his classmates all began to snigger behind their hands.
"Mr. Highwind, I know you to be a scholar with a great mind, a genius in a land full of amateurish teachers…"
"Ass-Kisser"
The whispered comment only reached Zack, and he smiled as he looked sideways at Sephiroth. He chose to ignore his friend's remark at the moment for a greater good.
"I have come to respect you like no one else"
Highwind puffed out his chest in pride, nodding every once in a while as if he was agreeing with his student.
"But sir, I'm confused. We're under the beauty of the sun, feeling the wind caressing our faces… not that I'm complaining Mr. Highwind, being outside is much better than being indoors, but I don't understand why WE have to share this beautiful weather with the likes of them"
He angrily pointed at the class of freshmen to his side. Cid blinked his blue eyes as if coming to a realization. He sneered in anger and took the tooth pick out of his mouth throwing it to the ground.
"Now listen here you scamp, I will not have you insulting my students"
Zack managed to look innocent in the face of danger. And he used it to his full advantage.
"My apologies Mr. Highwind, it wasn't my intention to be insulting, I didn't mean it that way at all… Let me rephrase this if you'd give me the chance good sir"
Fishing in his pockets for another toothpick, Highwind gave his consent for Zack to continue.
"What I meant to ask, was why are we here, two different grades, being given the same instructions?"
"I was getting to that before your spikes for a brain decided to make its own jump to conclusions. Now shaddap before I fail you without a moment's thought"
Cloud was personally offended by Highwind's remark. No one insulted Zack in front of him. To get the attention away from the ebony haired young man, Cloud raised his hand and waited to be noticed. To say Cid Highwind was surprised was an understatement, though he schooled his features well.
Highwind knew Cloud as being very quiet, and was never one to willingly volunteer in a class discussion. Cid nodded in acknowledgement and perked his ears to catch what the small kid was going to say.
"Why are we all here Mr. Highwind?"
Stopping the violent growl that threatened to make its way into the air, Cid began taking deep breaths as other students looked at Cloud as if he was a foreign thing.
Once he thought it safe to respond to the question, he sighed and did his best not to appear angry.
"I'll tell you what kiddo. I could just pretend this never happened, but if you all want to know so bad, especially, before I even get a chance to outer a squeak, then let me do it before others start making a fool out of themselves as well. Now listen here you mentally incapacitated bunch. I'm having both classes out here today for the only simple reason that I don't want to be repeating myself twice giving out the same project"
Oh's were heard out of every student.
"Yes that's right. Both classes will have the same project, now be quiet so I can get this over with. One more interruption and I'm failing all of you"
Satisfied that he had the group's attention, he grinned for a job well done.
"By scientific calculations, it is stated that over 2,000 years ago, this planet was visited by foreigners from another planet, aliens to some of you who don't get it. It is also stated, that these… hideous creatures… brought with them many things from their home planet, including another much worse hideous creature than themselves, ones with green skin and not more than 2 feet tall. Though Dr. Gast claims that he has seen live ones on different locations throughout the world, I think the guy is bullshitting to put it kindly. There are only bones left to those critters. They've been extinct for ages"
Glancing over at the group of youngsters, he was happy to notice he had their outmost attention. Some even went far enough to have eyes that nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Now you might be asking yourselves, what do alien bones have to do with you? Well, the answer is simple; you'll be studying those bones as soon as you find them"
At the look of confusion from his students, Cid sighed and cleared his throat.
"You will be studying Tonberry fossils. Little green critters, round yellowish eyes. Though they won't be green anymore that's for sure. The Tonberry were named after their favorite dish, which were berries. And they ate it by the tons"
Cid took a second to laugh at his 'purposely' well meant joke. Though he cleared his throat when non of his students found it the least funny.
"It is said that they carried a lot of hatred in their hearts, and any humans who managed to get into their territory were butchered as a butcher butches a Chocobo"
The awes from the group were music to Cid's ears.
"They wore heavy robes, always carrying a lantern and a butcher knife. Their habitat were always dark, they preferred empty caverns or abandoned ruins, locations seldom traveled by humans. But they were extinct many years ago, but now as a class assignment… your last class assignment, you all will be looking for these horrendous monster's old bones. As I have given you the possible places you can find them, I'll leave the research to you all"
With those last words, he turned around and walked in the two floor building that was used as a school. The students stared at his retreating form until there was no more sign of the man, wondering if more was coming, but when 5 minutes passed, and no sign of Highwind was apparent, as one, the group began to talk to one another.
"What in the world does he mean by finding them?"
"He's out of his mind"
"What's the big idea? Aliens? Come on, is he serious?"
Cloud didn't really know what to think. Did Highwind want them to do research and find them with his not so helpful leads?
Zack was pondering many things, one of these was to corner his professor and get the answers out of him one way or another. His friends, Sephiroth and a red head named Reno were discussing the library inside the Shin Ra mansion.
"Seph, Reno?"
His two classmates dropped their talk. When Zack motioned them to get closer, they did so quickly, already guessing the mischief that the spiky haired one was mentally creating.
The three teens walked a distance away from the group and sat on the ground.
Zack rubbed his hands together and laughed maniacally. Reno motioned for him to start while Sephiroth waited patiently.
"We could sweet talk Cid into giving us the locations"
Sephiroth frowned at that and crossed his arms over his chest.
"And since when are you in first name basis with Professor Highwind?"
"Gee Seph. What he can't hear won't anger him. And who cares? My father and he are pretty close"
Clearing his throat, he tried not to think on the incident of more than a month before. When he had walked by the kitchen and seen his father having a tongue duel with his Science professor.
"Mr. Valentine and Mr. Highwind have been friends since grade school, of course they'll be close, but that doesn't give ya an excuse to call him that"
"Shut up Reno, who the hell asked for your input? Besides…"
'He could practically be my mommy'
"Besides… he can't hear me"
'Or even noticed I was there at all that day'
"Can we get down to business?"
The irritation in Sephiroth's voice was clear.
"Thank you Seph… anyway, what I think we should do, is make Highwind give us the answers"
Reno snorted and began to rummage into his book bag.
"Mr. Highwind is not one for doing little favors"
'I'm not too sure about that'
Shaking his head to get the dirty mental images between Highwind and his dad, and making a disgusted face that wasn't missed by Sephiroth, he scooted closer to his two friends to make sure they weren't heard by anyone.
"I know just the thing to blackmail him if necessary"
"You can't blackmail a professor Zack, what's with you anyway? Don't you have any respect for your 'elders'?"
"Will you just shut the hell up Reno? And since when are you concern in giving our 'elders' the respect they think they deserve? You might not have noticed, but I want to pass this class, and I will let no one get in my way"
Zack sighed dejectedly.
"Or else, my dad will kick my ass all the way to Midgar"
The other two boys, from experience, have been in presence of a very irate Mr. Valentine, and the image of the man squeezing his hands around a Mr. Heidegger's throat will forever be carved into their memory. They both gave Zack a sympathetic look. Sephiroth sighed sadly, but then scowled.
"Zack, we can easily find the answers in books. Do you know what they are?"
"Funny Seph, very funny, see, I think I'll just give you a reward"
"There's the old library in the Shin Ra mansion, down in the basement. We can go there and you can actually learn what it means to study"
Not waiting for Zack's reply, Sephiroth stood gracefully and began walking away. After having found his ham sandwich in his bag, Reno stood as well.
"Well Zack, Sephiroth is right. It'll be a good learning experience to do it the right way"
Reaching out a hand to help Zack on his feet, Zack took it while growling. The both began to follow Sephiroth at a slower pace.
"And since when is Mr. Hot Shot Reno a good student?"
Reno blushed as he lowered his gaze to the ground.
"After mom swore to send me to the military if I didn't straightened out my grades"
Zack whistled. He knew Scarlet was a tough, iced-bitch. But she did her job in getting her kids to do what she commanded, and they were always for the best of them so he didn't mind the iciness in her that much.
And the Shin Ra military was the worst place to be aside from hell, though most militia personnel claimed the military to be hell.
Zack sighed in defeat. If Reno and Sephiroth were so adamant in doing the research, then there was no option for him but to go along with the idea.
Giving in, he began thinking of ways to entertain himself while being sentenced to days inside a dusty library.
One of the things he managed to come up with had something to do with his too-serious silver haired friend dangling by his foot from a very high place.
00000
TBC
This makes me want to continue my VERY old Rufus and Cloud story, I think I will edit it and see where it leads. I had completely forgotten about that one, or actually, about everything else out here in Fic World.