Cloud... Why do you think I abandoned you? True, I'm not with you in the physical sense, but I am with you. You feel me every once in a while, and I can't help but feel bad every time I come to you, since it makes you feel like you've lost me all over again. But I have one final gift for you before I leave you. Aerith is waiting, but I can do this one last thing for you...
/Zack?/ Cloud. The feeling of fingertips sliding across bare flesh. /What...?/ Relax, Cloud. This is my gift to you. Enjoy it. The harsh sound of zippers, gasps and moans as Zack became more real. /Zack.../ Moan. Cloud. /Zack, I love you. Please, give it to me. I want to feel you, one last time.../ Cloud... His name ending on a moan as he pushed his way into the smaller boy's body. God, Cloud... /Oh, Zack.../ This was love, the concept, made real. Zack felt Cloud writhe beneath him, accepting him, giving himself over. Zack wrapped one hand around Cloud, making the other's mako green eyes fly open. Yes, look at me Cloud... I want to see the love and desire in your eyes when you come... /Zack, I'm gonna.../ It's ok, Cloud. Come for me. And you do. I feel my heart expand with love for you, and I come deep within you. /Zack, I love you.../ Oh, God, Cloud, I love you too, so much...
Cloud awoke to the sunlight streaming through the window. Moaning, he clutched at his head and sat up... Suddenly, the dream came slamming back. Zack...? Cloud shook his head. It couldn't have been real. Zack was gone, forever beyond Cloud's reach... But the thought didn't seem to hurt as badly as it had the day before. For a moment, Cloud panicked, afraid that Zack was finally slipping away from him again, that he was finally accepting his death and overcoming the pain, which was the only link he had left... He rolled over, grabbing at a pillow, when his hand come in contact with something cool and velvety. Gasping, he grabbed the object and held it up. It was two roses, one red, one white, the stems intertwined impossibly, yet they were real. And Cliud couldn't help but smile. Zack would always be with him.