THE NIBELHEIM DIALOGUES

By Kevin Jones

SETTING: Cloud Strife and Zack Fair at Nibelheim Inn during the "Nibelheim Incident" featured in FF7 Crisis Core & Last Order. Cloud hesitantly opens up about his feelings towards his friend, Zack.

"So much for dreams," spoke the young, blonde-haired teen staring up at the ceiling of the Nibelheim Inn.

With a sigh, he began reminiscing about the events of the last few days-- the original excitement that he felt upon learning that he had been chosen to go on a mission with Zack Fair and the legendary Sephiroth, the anxiousness of returning to his hometown, and finally, the shame that he had been feeling ever since they arrived in Nibelheim. Shame that ran so deep that he couldn't even bring himself to show his face to most of the townspeople.

After all, he had intended to announce his promotion to SOLDIER upon his next return home. Unfortunately, that promotion never happened. He remembered vividly the day he told his mother that he would be joining the ranks of Shinra's finest. Instead, he had ceased to progress past the Shinra infantry. INFANTRY, can you believe that? Cloud Strife was no hero, and he knew it.

Sprawled out on the bed in the inn, he couldn't help to think about all the famed SOLDIER operatives like Genesis, Angeal, Sephiroth, and... Zack. Unlike the others, Zack was the only one who even gave him the time of day. Their first mission together Modeoheim seemed like ages ago, but he remembered it perfectly. There was no reason the first class SOLDIER had to be nice to him. And yet, he was. Cloud had taken a liking to Zack right away and had found himself constantly thinking about him after the mission ended. How could he not? Zack was kind, strong, confidant, and, well... attractive.

Cloud quickly sat up in bed at this realization. Had he really just thought that? No, no, ridiculous. They were just friends-- nothing more than that. It must've just been the admiration he felt for Zack that made him think of such ridiculous things.

"CLOUD! Are you going to stay holed up in here all day man?"

The voice quickly drew Cloud out of his nostalgic daze. Ironically, it was the black-haired SOLDIER first class he had just been thinking about.

"Huh? Oh... I don't know. I mean, I visited my mom, and... I'm pretty much set for the night," Cloud responded timidly, finding it difficult to look his friend in the eye.

"Really? I would've thought a guy like you would have tons of friends to visit." Zack pulled the large buster sword off his back and set it up against the wall before falling back onto his own bed with a yawn.

"Yeah... well, I do! They're just... really busy and..." Cloud cleared his throat, trying to come up with any way to change the subject. "So how is the investigation going? Have you and Sephiroth found anything here?"

Zack rolled over onto his side to face his friend with a look of amusement plastured across his face. "Of course! Tons! We're currently investigating this girl who we think might be linked to Genesis. Oh, what was her name? Tina, Trisha..."

"TIFA?!" Cloud exclaimed, unable to believe what he was hearing. "There must be a mistake, she doesn't have anything to do with this whole mess! You have to believe me!"

Zack began to chuckle at the younger teen's response. "Calm down, I'm just kidding! She seems pretty harmless. BUT, I couldn't help but notice you've been avoiding her all day. You two have some kind of history or something?"

Cloud couldn't believe how easily he had fallen into this trap. He felt both angry at Zack for lying to him and relieved to hear that his childhood friend wasn't in danger. Still, one look into those Mako-filled eyes made him unable to stay mad for long. "Well, yeah... sort of. We were friends when we were kids, that's all."

"Just friends, huh? Judging by the way you were looking at her picture during the trip here, I would've guessed you were a little more than friends." Zack grinned widely now. "C'mon, you know you can tell me anything."

Cloud hesistated for a moment, staring down at the floor now. "We're really just friends..." He looked back up to his older friend now with a bit of a confused look on his face. "I mean, I like her, but that's it... I think?"

"You think, huh? Well, I'm no expert on love, but it sounds to me like you might have a little crush on her. But don't hate me for saying so-- we have a big day tomorrow, and I don't want to worry about you killing me in my sleep over a stupid comment on my part." Zack smiled.

"Oh shut up! You know I would never hurt you, I... erm, Tifa's just a friend." Cloud once again found himself falling into a word trap and frantically trying to change the subject. "Honest."

"Alright, alright. I believe you. Maybe you should work on getting a girlfriend though man. When the right girl comes along, you just gotta go for it!"

"The right girl...?" Cloud spoke softly, blushing a bit while trying to piece his thoughts together. "Well, I don't really have time for girls. Working for Shinra is a pretty big commitment-- not that I need to tell you."

"Mm. Am I embarassing you? You're getting kind of red buddy?" Zack flashed one of those big grins again.

"No! I just don't talk about this stuff much."

Zack pointed to a nearby candle and lit it with the fingertip of an index finger. "Well, as your commanding officer, I would suggest you keep it that way! But... as your friend, I think these things are good to talk about. You're what, 16 now? I remember that age. Hormones flying everywhere, girl-crazy, and mmaybe a little... confused?"

Cloud was taken back by the question, finding himself lost for a response. "Confused about what?" He asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible now.

"The usual. Life, work, girls, sex in general." Zack chuckled a little, remembering back to the arrogant, horny 16 year old he used to be.

"Oh, so you're saying that thinking about stuff like that is... normal?"

"Definitely, at that age I was flirting with any girl who would listen to me. Which, by the way, I wasn't much higher up in Shinra then you are right now. It was pretty tough."

"Well... there is someone I've been thinking about lately. But you're saying that it's probably just a phase that will pass?" Cloud asked, refusing to make eye contact once again.

"Well, I don't know about that. Who is it?" Zack asked with increasing interest, sitting up in bed now.

"I..." Cloud cleared his throat, "can't say."

"Oh come on, tell me!" When Cloud once again refused, Zack decided to get a little more playful and agressive. He jumped out of bed and onto Cloud's, pinning the younger boy on his back. "Tell me or I'll go find Tifa and tell her you have the hots for her!"

"Hey get off!" Cloud was laughing a bit now too, but he was also feeling a familiar sensation in his uniform pants that was making him nervous as well. After a few half-hearted attempts at resistance, he decided it would probably be best to test Zack's reactions. "It's actually a guy."

Zack was dumbfounded by the response from the boy beneath him. "A guy? Like... a guy, guy?" He was used to creating uncomfortable situations for other people-- not having them used against him. "Does that mean youre... uh...?"

"No! Well, I don't think so. I'm still definitely attracted to girls, but this one guy has just been all I think about lately." Cloud admitted, finding the courage to look Zack in the eyes as he spoke. "You think that's weird, don't you?"

"Well, no. I, uh, just wasn't expecting to hear that is all. But if you like this gir... guy, then you should tell him if you haven't yet. It's best to be upfront with these things, ya know?" Zack smiled, adjusting from the original shock now to a more reassuring state and voice tone. "Plus, you owe it to yourself to find out how he feels, ya weirdo." He released Cloud's arms long enough to begin tickling the sides of his chest.

"Yeah..." Cloud nodded in agreement before bursting out in laughter at the sudden tickling. "Stop it, you ass!" He yelled playfully.

"Ass, huh? You gonna stop me, Mr. Strife?" Zack asked with that all too familiar smirk on his face, relenting in the tickling to draw his face up close to Cloud's in a falsely intimidating way.

Cloud felt much more comfortable now with the situation and felt Zack's warm breath on his cheek now. Before he could stop himself, he leaned his head up a little to plant a small peck of a kiss on the older man's lips before quickly withdrawing and remaining silent.

For the second time, Zack was completely shocked by the action. Had that really just happened? Surely Cloud hadn't been talking about HIM before. "Cloud... I... need to get to bed." In a few quick motions, he swung himself off the bed and onto his own.

Cloud just watched his friend in silence, suddenly filled with the pain of rejection-- something he feared more than any monster. A few seconds later, the candle and surrounding lights went out and he curled up into a ball in bed. Silent tears began streaming down his face as he realized the huge mistake he had just made. Was this the end of their friendship together? Regardless, he had never felt more alone in Nibelheim then at that very moment.