A/N: All right. Well, I'm in the process of editing this thing over and fixing all the mistakes I've caught along the way, so some of it may seem out of place until it's completely done. Not that it didn't before, but yeah. Anyway, for those who are just starting this, it's just a little AU fic I've been working on and off of. So yeah. Updates can be very slow, I'm warning ahead of time.

Summary: Cid Highwind is just your usual college student who gets offered the opportunity he's been dreaming of. Finally free of home and set loose in the Japanese city of Kagoshima, he ends up running into everything from a slightly insane housemate and friend to a mugger who may just end up becoming more than he ever hoped. But in the end, will everything end up the way he planned?
Rated: M for all those wonderful words that follow Cid around like a cloud. And maybe for some other stuff too? Note that this story does include shonen-ai/yaoi, so if you don't like those types of things, I suggest you don't read it and don't complain to me. I don't need flames from anyone since I get enough from myself.

Chapter One--Arrival

"Hey you! Highwind, right?"

The young man turned, hefting his duffel bag higher on his broad shoulder. With a free hand he ran his fingers through his short, blond hair. Blue eyes the color of the sky above glanced forward, resting on the black-haired man running toward him. "Yeah, what of it?"

The man finally caught up and stopped before the blond, panting. "Just welcoming you, that's all." Holding out a hand, he smiled. "The name's Zack. I'm your housemate."

You've gotta be kidding me. However, the blond smiled warily and accepted the handshake. He almost forgot where he was and was startled as Zack bowed slightly from the waist, head inclined upward. "Oh, right." He mirrored the movement, noting not to forget again.

"So you just get here?" Zack reached out again, this time taking hold of the suitcase near the blond's feet. At the hesitant nod, he smiled again. "Hey, don't have to be all shy and stuff. I'm pretty friendly when ya think about it. So, where you from exactly? They didn't tell me much except that you would be here." He lifted the suitcase and started to lead his new housemate out of the airport.

"Uh… Florida," he finally said quietly. "University of Tampa." Silently he followed the ebony-haired man, the warm air outside blowing softly around them.

Zack nodded, his back turned to the blond. "Cool. Cool. So you're like… beachy and crap. Good thing you came here. Any further north and you would have been seeing snow and freezing your ass off." He threw a grin over his shoulder before stopping before a black car. "Well, here she is. Wanna go ahead and load your stuff in the back?" He pulled out a tiny remote control and popped the trunk, placing the suitcase inside.

Beachy and crap? Okay. This guy's nuts. Gotta be. "Uh, yeah. Sure." He dropped in the duffel and a second bag, closing the trunk solidly. Glancing around, he noticed the other was missing. Shrugging, he started toward the passenger side door, but jumped as Zack stuck his head out of the window he was headed toward.

"What. You wanna drive? Not on my life buddy." He grinned again, jokingly pointing toward the opposite side. "This car's my baby and no one but me gets to drive her. Hell, not even my best friend has ever gotten a chance at her!" He laughed, the sound ringing through the blond's head. The jet lag was starting to kick in.

Sighing, he pulled open the door and slid into the seat. He kept forgetting all these important details. This wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. First off he'd forgotten the whole greeting and now he'd forgotten that the cars were opposite over here. Or at least some of them. Shaking his head, he laid it back on the seat and closed the door as Zack started the car and pulled into the traffic.

Cid sighed. He was just your average college student, barely making it and broke to boot, but somehow he'd been offered this one time opportunity. He doubted it was because he'd showed any talent back home. No, more likely it was because he had kept asking about the exchange for several months now. He'd shown them he could do it and had taken all the necessary courses; he was ready. But now that he actually was here, he was starting to doubt it all.

At twenty-two years old he was somewhat small at his age at the height of five foot eight. He never really saw it as short, but for some reason everyone else did. Even those people shorter than him did. He just didn't get it. Maybe it was the fact that his parents were both tall. With a father at six foot three and a mother at five foot eleven it would have been figured that Cid had been taller. But no, he was stuck with five foot eight. Not that it bothered him.

He almost laughed and would have if he hadn't been feeling a little sick. His parents. They were practically the reason he was here figuring it was only because of them that he'd even started college. He'd never really thought about it during his high school years, but when he'd asked his parents what they thought about his applying to the university, they'd laughed. Downright laughed in his face. Said he couldn't do it. So he'd enrolled just to prove them wrong. And as it turned out, he was doing just that.

While he hadn't made the best grades in his high school career, he'd done all right, good enough that he'd won a few scholarships. But that didn't help him with living expenses so he'd taken on a part-time job. Everyone had said he'd end up doing miserably by just being in college, but to add in the job? They all thought he would fail the first quarter. Straight out flunk. But he'd done fairly well and now he was a senior, his last year ahead of him. And then just two weeks ago he'd received notice that he'd been approved for the exchange study.

He'd been positively ecstatic at the news. He was finally getting part of his wish to see other countries. And to get out of Florida. He loved the state, but he was overly tired of it. And he had figured he'd hit the jackpot: Japan. But now… now he just wanted to sleep. Sleep and not even move for a week. That was how he felt as Zack pulled onto a quieter street, pulling off to the side.

Zack looked over, his smile dropping. "Hey, you don't look so good. You all right?"

"It's called jet lag," he grumbled as he closed his eyes. Groaning, he pulled himself out of the car and made his way to the trunk. Grabbing his bags, he followed the much more energetic Zack to the house.

The house itself looked a lot smaller outside than it was. As he stepped into the main room, he gasped, staring upward toward the ceiling. It was huge. Or maybe he was just unaccustomed to large spaces still. He had been living in the standard dorm for his whole college experience. The only time he actually stayed in a house was over breaks when he went home. But still. Not even their house was this big.

"Tada ima!" Zack called the word out, removing his shoes before he stared forward, disappearing into a hallway. Cid carefully did the same and placed his shoes beside several other pairs. But he didn't call out. Who was Zack talking to? He knew from his language studies that he'd just called out "I'm back", but he didn't see or hear another person. Knew he was crazy.

The black-haired head popped out of the hallway, and he motioned for Cid to follow. "Your room's down here. I didn't put in much since I didn't know what you wanted. Sorry, I only have a futon, no bed." He dropped the suitcase and moved toward the closed window. Opening it, he allowed the flower-scented air inside. Cid laid his bags down and joined Zack at the window, gasping at the huge cherry tree right outside, the blossoms fluttering in the breeze. "Yeah, I thought you might like it."

He turned away as Zack disappeared out of the room. A second later he heard the black-haired boy's voice calling to him. "So the bathroom's over here," he said, pointing toward a dark room. "My room's over here, you just went through the living room. Kitchen's over there. There's a study in the back of the house, but I never use it. Kind of just storage right now. But you're welcome to it if you want. There're a couple of tables and things back there you might like for the room. I dunno."

Smiling he ducked his head into his darkened room. "Cloud, get your ass up. We've got company, you know." He entered quietly, leaving a very confused Cid standing outside. "Hey. Get up," his voice drifted out of the room followed by an indecipherable growl. So there was someone else here. But why were they in Zack's room? He sighed and turned away, eyes roving over the house again. It wasn't his business anyway.

"I don't care that you're still tired, the new kid's here and you should at least be decent enough to come out and say hi. Don't make me get the hose." Zack reappeared at the door, his face still turned toward the room. Noticing Cid watching, he laughed. "Gotta get him up somehow."

A shuffling sounded from the room and Cid glanced around Zack to see another blond, his hair ruffled from sleep and sticking up wildly, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. "Yeah, yeah I'm up. Besides, you wouldn't get the hose. It'd get your bed soaked."

"So? It's enough just to see your face." Zack reached over and ruffled the new blond's hair. "Cloud, this is the exchange student. Uh, Cid I think. Right?"

He nodded and bowed his head a little. "Yeah. Cid Highwind." He didn't feel like introductions for the moment, but he knew politeness was so very important in Japan. It wasn't like back home where you could just yell "I'm gonna go crash on the couch for a few hours. You wake me, you die." No, over here, politeness came first. So he stood silent as Cloud reached out, shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet ya." When he'd let go, he reached up and grabbed a lock of Zack's raven hair. "Now. If you excuse me, I'm gonna go finish sleeping off last night. Still have a headache worth the record books." Nodding toward Cid, he returned to the darkness.

Zack laughed. "He's a strange one. Takes a little to get used to him." He left the doorway and stepped lightly into the kitchen. "You hungry?"

Cid didn't even want to think about food right now. "No, thanks though. But I don't think it would go over too well with me right now." He smiled weakly.

"Oh. Right." Dropping down, he vanished from Cid's sight as he leaned behind the counter. He heard something shaking and a bottle was raised up to him, Zack soon following. "Take a few of these. They work pretty well. I should probably force a few down Cloud's throat, come to think of it. Bad hangover. Told him he shouldn't get so drunk."

The blond swallowed the pills, drowning them down with a drink of water. After draining the glass, he looked back at Zack. "So, uh, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but does he live here too?" He set the glass down on the counter with a sharp clink.

"Hmm? Nah, he doesn't. Just stays over a lot. Usually when he gets drunk and needs somewhere to stay. Lives in the dorms. They won't have any of that. So he just stays here a lot." He busied himself by pulling down a few dishes and pouring out a glass of what Cid suspected to be juice. It looked like it anyway. It was still morning after all. "Don't worry 'bout him though. He's fairly quiet and doesn't cause too much trouble." He reached under the counter and pulled out a pan. "You sure you don't want anything? I'm making a little bit of lunch."

Cid shook his head. "No, I'm good. Really." Sighing, he motioned toward the hallway. "I think I'm just gonna go unpack and everything."

Zack had already started stirring something on the stove. He looked over his shoulder. "Okay. Hey, you might feel a little better if you get some sleep."

"I was planning on that," he said smiling weakly.

"Oh. Well in that case, don't." Zack grinned. "Any time you want me to wake you up or anything?" He turned back to his stirring.

"No, not really. Unless there's a time I should be up." He didn't know how things worked in this house so he figured he was safe with that choice. He didn't want to completely screw things up his first day.

Zack remained facing the stove, but lifted the spoon he was using and waved it a little. "Nah. Except supper. That's at six. It you're not up by then, I'll come wake you, okay? I was thinking after that, providing you're feeling better, we could head uptown. You know, get some of the stuff you're gonna need, those kinds of things. Get to know each other."

Cid bobbed his head. It sounded fine to him. He was wondering when he'd get a look at the city. He was happy though that he'd been placed with someone who lived on the outskirts. Kagoshima was a fairly large city and he didn't really want to be stuck in the middle of a big city he didn't know. Being stuck in the suburbs of Tampa was bad enough. But here, this was nice. "Yeah, sounds good. So, I'll see you later then?"

"Yup." Zack raised the spoon to his lips, tasting it briefly. Cid wondered for a moment what he was cooking, but decided against asking. Shrugging, he softly walked back through the hallway, careful to be quiet as he passed Zack's room.

He shut the door to his new room quietly, pulling his suitcase close. Well, might as well get to work. As much as he wanted to just lie down and fall asleep he knew he had to unpack first. Otherwise he probably wouldn't get a chance tonight. He was planning on sleeping up until Zack came to get him. He unzipped the case, pulling out his clothes as fast as he possibly could. After a little searching he found the closet and managed to get most of his things unpacked. Finally all that was left was his duffel. Ah, screw it. That can wait, he though carefully. Dropping it in front of the closet, he flopped down on the futon, stretching out his arms.

The soft breeze still fluttered through the room and he soon felt his eyelids growing heavy. Maybe it was those pills Zack gave me. But at least they seem to be working. He had noticed that the major effects of the jet lag were fading away, exhaustion replacing them. The shadows from the cherry tree fell upon his face and he smiled in the mottled sunlight, sighing as he fell into a deep sleep.

All right. So chapter one if finito. Or whatever that is. I never took Italian. XD Anyway, you might have noticed the little phrase up there in Japanese. I'm actually gonna be including a lot of Japanese phrases and customs in here, so to help out everyone who doesn't know the details on these things, I'll include a little section at the end of each chapter explaining it all. Though most of the time you can go ahead and suspect it's some sort of curse word. XD

Tada Ima: That little phrase Zack uses. Just a common expression used when someone gets home to announce they're... well, home.

So yeah. It'll go kinda like that. And... with that I'm outta here. So, if you liked something, dislike something, anything, please let me know, okay? I'm always up for a review. : )