Cloud frowned at the workload that had just been dumped on his bed and sighed. Each book felt like it weighed a ton and, somehow, after months of training for hours at a time, the load never seemed to lighten. He never would have guessed that going away to become a SOLDIER would be so hard. The training he had expected, but being underage required him to attend classes regularly as well. Classes were difficult and took up most of his energy and, leaving him weak and exhausted at training and embarrassed in front of other cadets. But worst of all, he embarrassed himself in front of Sephiroth on numerous occasions.

The Great General Sephiroth, admired by all for his strength, intelligence and stamina. He was the reason Cloud and so many others had gone out to become SOLDIERs. Everyone wanted to be as strong as him, wanted to I be /I him, and Cloud was no different. But where the blonde lacked in the discipline and sheer strength required of SOLDIER, he made up for in spirit. Cloud had dreams, albeit unrealistic ones. He thought of nothing else when he was training but the ideal SOLDIER and how he could attain such a power. Or, at least he tried to.

The truth was, Cloud was easily distracted in his studies by thoughts of home and the regret of having ever left. He sulked almost daily now after having endured a year of torture and humiliation from his peers on top of all of his academic trials. The other cadets--the older boys, mostly--liked to pick on Cloud whenever they had the chance. The girls thought he was cute in his shyness and chose him to be the object of snobbish giggling and silent jokes, but the boys were much more active in their harassing the blonde. It seemed as though Cloud had only dug his grave deeper and deeper. His only friend--his only escape, really--was Zack.

Whatever Zack saw in the young cadet, no one knew. Cloud was a shy and timid sixteen year-old boy with delusions of grandeur but no ability to back them up. Zack was a SOLDIER First Class and one of the greatest in the world; strong, outgoing and friendly. It was that friendliness that first took Cloud by surprise.

Upon first encountering his superiors, Cloud assumed they were all cold and unfeeling warriors who lived and breathed discipline and hierarchy. And while Sephiroth was closest to this truth without proving to be the epitome of Cloud's assumptions, Zack was furthest from them.

Zack was Cloud's only friend. There was an age difference between them and certainly quite a difference in rank, but nevertheless Zack clung to Cloud almost as if it were I he /I who desperately needed the companionship.

Zack was by no means easy on Cloud because of their friendship. Cloud was, after all, a young cadet with dreams and aspirations. If anything, Zack could be too hard on the younger boy because of his want for Cloud's dreams to be realized and fulfilled.

Cloud shook his head to clear it of any thoughts straying from the task at hand and set about to tackling his work.

The next morning, Cloud had awoken feeling light-headed and dizzy. It took him longer to get ready for classes and, once there, everything seemed blurry and abnormally loud. Everything was going by too slow, yet somehow happening too fast. By lunch, Cloud found himself leaning over a toilet in the infirmary.

The nurse, a kindly older woman, instructed Cloud to return to his room and sleep the rest of the day and informed all of his afternoon instructors of his absence. On his way back to the dorms, Cloud remembered that Sephiroth had been scheduled to oversee his squad's training that day. Great, he thought. One more thing to add to his list of excuses. SOLDIERs didn't make excuses. They did everything they could within their power to make up whatever they would miss due to an illness and make it as if the absence never happened. But cloud was already terribly behind in his schoolwork and there was no way he could've made up his training.

He frowned to himself as he climbed into his worn-out cot and pulled the blankets to his chin. The bed had once been hard and unbearable, but a year's worth of tossing and turning had finally worn it into something somewhat comfortable. He mused over this to himself silently for what felt like a few moments before there came a rather loud knocking at the door.

"Come in," he groaned, not at all pleased at being disturbed while in such a state. He had half a mind to turn the intruder out rather rudely, but decided against it because he wasn't in the mood for any yelling or unpleasant confrontation.

The door opened and the grinning visage of Zack appeared in its place. Cloud sat up quickly and his heart skipped a beat. Zack had never come to his room and probably not even bothered with the dorms since he himself was just a lowly cadet. Cloud held his head as it protested having left the comfort of a pillow so abruptly and wondered what Zack had been like as a cadet. Had he always been so strong? Or perhaps he was once weak and shy like Cloud…

"Sorry about that," Zack muttered when he saw how the light from the hallway was hurting Cloud's eyes and closed the door behind him. "I didn't mean to bother you, but I heard you were sick and wanted to check on you."

Cloud looked over at the alarm clock beside his bed. He had been lying there for at least an hour, though he could have sworn no more that five minutes had passed.

Zack sat in a chair near Cloud's bed and folded his arms. "When you're sick, you need to drink lots of fluids. Maybe have some soup."

Cloud blinked. "Where am I going to get all of this?

Zack jumped up suddenly, alarming Cloud, be he failed to notice this. "I'll take care of you," he declared. "I'm sure your roommate won't appreciate me coming and going, so you can stay with me."

The thought of staying with Zack somehow excited Cloud. Surely he, a full-fledged SOLDIER, had something better than a lousy cot to sleep on. Zack's bed would be far more comfortable and his room would surely be cool to someone hot from fever. "Isn't there a rule against that?"

Zack frowned thoughtfully. "A rule that says I can't care for my sick friend? That doesn't seem right?" He offered Cloud his hand. "Come on; I'll take you back to my place."

Cloud took his hand and his head started to spin.

Zack's room was much larger than the dorms rooms and he had it all to himself. He had his own bathroom and a full-sized bed and even a kitchenette with a refrigerator, a microwave, and a few cabinets. It was more like an apartment, really.

"You must be hot; I'll open a window."

Zack went over to the bed and motioned for Cloud to lie down before going to a window and opening it to allow in the cold winter air from outside.

The whole place was instantly refreshing and the bed was wonderfully comfortable and already Cloud felt more relaxed.

Cloud had all but forgotten about Zack himself when the dark-haired man suddenly spoke from the other side of the room. "Tell me if it gets too cold. I'm going to make you something, okay?"

Cloud didn't even bother to respond; Zack went on regardless, rummaging quietly through cans in one of the cabinets. Cloud rolled to his side and was instantly overcome by the scent of Zack. It was a faint scent, but one nevertheless terribly intimate and suddenly the impact of Cloud's situation caught up with him and he blushed faintly.

He was in Zack's bed; alone with Zack in the SOLDIER's room.

Cloud didn't know when he had started to develop feelings for the man, but he had until recently pushed them aside and decided not to dwell on them. Until he found himself in quite and awkward position.

Cloud was known to talk aloud in feverish states about things he never would otherwise say and feared what Zack might hear. He found himself praying to remain awake, at least while Zack was in the room.

The microwave's timer went off; a shrill sound that made Cloud want to cry out and bury himself in the sheets, ears bleeding. Zack came over to the bedside, an apologetic grin on his face when he saw Cloud's grimace. "Sorry. Here; sit up." He helped Cloud to sit up against the headboard and placed a tray in his lap. "Eat this," he instructed, referring to the bowl of soup he had carried out on the tray.

Cloud looked at him, blinked, and grinned shyly. "Thanks a lot."

Zack smiled. "Don't worry about it; just eat." He ruffled Cloud's blonde spikes as he checked the alarm clock first and then his watch. "Gotta go, kid. You think you'll be okay?"

Cloud nodded, spoonful of soup in his mouth.

Zack stood up easily from where he had been kneeling on the floor and went to retrieve his jacket from the chair he had tossed it on before. When he grabbed the doorknob, he turned to Cloud. "You get too cold, close the window. There're a few more blankets in the closet if you need 'em." He smiled--"See ya later, kid."--opened the door, and left.

Cloud finished the soup by then and set the bowl and tray on the bedside table. Zack had plenty of blankets whereas he and the other cadets had one or two. He wasn't sure whether to feel envious or extremely grateful for his friend's hospitality.

He fell back into the soft bed and once again felt Zack's presence in his scent. He buried his head in the pillow, breathed in the scent, and fell asleep instantly.

Cloud woke up with a start when he felt something touch him, only to find Zack sitting beside him, drawing back his hand.

"Didn't mean to scare you," he laughed, "but I was just checking for myself. Your forehead's really warm. Feeling any different?"

Cloud blinked, adjusting his eyes to the light, and became more and more aware of how hot the room was and how heavy his head felt. He fell back onto the bed immediately and groaned.

Zack shook his head. "Damn."

"What time is it?" Cloud asked groggily. He had a bad taste in his mouth and prayed that he didn't stink of sickness. The last thing he wanted was for Zack to have his bed smelling horribly after being so kind to Cloud. He turned his head and breathed in the pillow. Zack's scent still lingered there.

Zack smiled. "Seventeen hundred hours. You slept all night and through most of the day. I wonder if you'd have ever woken up had I not felt your forehead."

Again, Cloud groaned. "How am I ever going to make up all of my work?"

"Don't stress yourself out over it," Zack replied coolly. "Need anything?"

Cloud shook his head and looked at Zack. "…Thank you."

"No problem," Zack grinned reassuringly. "If you don't need anything, get back to sleep."

"What about you? I don't want to put you out…"

"Nah. Couch is fine with me." Zack made his way to the kitchenette and retrieved a drink from the refrigerator. "Sure you don't want anything?"

"No thank you."

Zack turned away and busied himself with the papers that were littered about the countertop when suddenly Cloud felt himself blush.

"Did I…" Cloud stuttered uneasily, getting Zack's attention. "Did I say anything in my sleep?"

Zack thought a moment--hesitated--then answered, "I don't think so." But the sly grin on the man's face told the cadet otherwise.

Damn.

Before Cloud knew it, Zack was sitting beside him on the edge of the bed, leaning closer than usual, with a suspicious smile playing on his lips.

"Something you didn't want me to hear?"

Cloud blushed deeper and Zack laughed.

"Zack…" Cloud protested weakly, but dropped it when he realized that fighting it was futile.

Zack began to ruffle Cloud's hair absently as he seemed to look through the cadet, his cocky grin fading to a wistful smile that seemed too serious for the SOLDIER.

"Zack…?" This time Cloud was unsure of what to expect. This was making him terribly uneasy.

Zack's eyes finally focused on Cloud and his usual grin returned. He played with Cloud's hair more roughly and laughed at the teen's attempts to free himself.

Annoyed, Cloud grabbed Zack's hand and withdrew it himself and Zack, caught slightly off guard, fell towards him. Once Zack regained his composure, Cloud noted that any former traces of mirth had gone from the man's face and he was once again lost in thought.

"Zack…?"

Zack shook his head and Cloud noticed that he was blushing lightly.

"What…?"

Again, Zack shook his head dismissively. "You wouldn't understand."

"Zack."

"Get some sleep."

He was about to get up, but Cloud grabbed his hand firmly. When Zack turned to face the blonde, he felt warm lips on his own. Want overpowered all better judgment and he eagerly returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around Cloud's waist, whose own were around the SOLDIER's neck.

Zack slipped his tongue into Cloud's mouth and felt the younger man press his body closer. Zack's hands wandered in opposite directions, one finding Cloud's ass and the other up underneath the shirt touching hot skin.

Cloud moaned softly and darted his tongue around Zack's mouth in response. He could feel himself growing harder against Zack's thigh and rose to his knees, hands holding Zack's face, both men pressing harder against each other, kissing deeper. Zack's lower hand grabbed the back of Cloud's thigh and held him tight.

He moved his attention elsewhere and began to kiss and suck and bite at Cloud's neck, excitement increasing with every moan that escaped the cadet.

Cloud buried his face in Zack's dark hair and breathed in his scent as Zack kissed along Cloud collarbone and worked to remove his shirt.

Bare-chested, Cloud slid down to site in Zack's lap, the man's erection beneath him and his own hard against Zack's gut. Their lips met again, tongues battling in each other's mouths and again Cloud moaned softly.

Zack pushed him down on the bed and forced a deeper kiss, hands working their way with Cloud's zipper when he felt the hot skin of his stomach and suddenly stopped.

He sat back on his knees and looked at the blonde beneath him. Cloud was shirtless, panting with excitement. Both men were hard, sweaty and wanted each other completely, but the red flush of Cloud's cheeks reminded Zack of the boy's fever.

Eyes half-lidded, Cloud's hands groped blindly, unsure of why the bliss had abruptly ended. Zack smiled and took the blonde's hands into his own.

"Cloud…"

Cloud opened his eyes to find Zack sitting on his hips, breathing just as heavily as the cadet was, a soft smile on his lips.

"You need sleep Cloud, you'll never get better."

Cloud frowned and tried to slow his heartbeat. "If I get better, I'll have to go back to my own room."

Zack laughed and fell on the bed beside Cloud, taking him in his strong arms and holding him tight. Cloud buried his face in Zack's chest and exhaustion began to catch up with him.

Zack kissed the top of his head. "You can come up here anytime you want. But for now, just get better." He began to stroke the blonde hair and Cloud was beginning to feel better already.

Damn.