Author's Notes: I had this idea when i was in the gym and listened to the guys who were talking about stuff. hope you like it!!

Disclaimer: Don't own Zack and Cloud

"Gym Buddies: Advices"

By katong0032

"You're late!" The tall black haired man said. His nice apparel, white shirt, blue shorts and rubber shoes, was already drenched as he was running at the treadmill, keeping his heart rate up.

"I know, I had a rough night." The spiky blonde haired man said as he entered the gym wearing a blue jersey with his name on the back (STRIFE) and the number 32, paired with black shorts and a rubber shoes. He had his extremely big gym bag strapped on his left shoulder. He went to the locker room and opened his bag to get his strength training gloves and wore it. Then, he threw his other things on his locker.

He went outside and faced the mirrors that are all over the walls of the gym. He saw his friend still not stopping at running. He stretched out his arms over his head and yawned at the same time. "Still sleepy, are we Cloud?" his friend shouted from across the room with a mocking smile on his face that disappeared in just seconds as he inhaled deeply to regain his breath. He replied with his voice still sleepy, "What time did you got here, Zack?" then walked to the treadmill beside his friend's to occupy it and started to run as the machine started.

"Man, I've been here thirty minutes ago…" Zack replied as he clicked a button to slow down the machine he was on. He started to walk still fast paced. "What took you so long?"

"I overslept…" Cloud replied with a hint of breathlessness. "What about you? I was here yesterday and you didn't come."

"Well, I have errands to attend to…"

Cloud looked at him dubious expression on his face. "Like what?"

"I have to buy something…" he said shyly and scratched the back of his head.

Cloud didn't reply but instead, he ran faster and seeing that had his speed was slower than usual. Zack on the other hand has stopped already and was gasping for breath on the bench behind them. He was breathing hard and his sweat had been dripping on the carpeted floor. He drank from his bottle of Gatorade and almost finished it with one big gulp.

"Hooooh!" Zack shouted to gain his normal breathing and he stood up. He faced the mirror and stretched his body properly to prepare for hardcore workout. Zack flexed his right arm to observe any changes that have been occurring on his body. He smiled at himself when he saw his bicep that was now bulking. While looking at the mirror he saw two girls that were looking at him with kinda flirtatious smiles. He turned around to smile back and walked to them to say hi, maybe... Yes, Zack was quite the ladies man.

Zack has the body of a guy who girls would look at twice. His handsome bright face was reasonably a thing to look at first, with his carefully pushed back hair with a strand of hair hanging loose in front of his face and his intense sky-blue eyes as if melting everything he looks at. His built was rather big, broad shoulders, quite full-size arms, toned forearms, pumped chest, v-shaped back with muscles, six-pack abs, nice glutes, muscled thighs, slender calves and he was rather tall.

Unlike his friend Cloud, who's still running on the treadmill already out of breath, he was rather shorter than him but with the same muscular built, a little skinnier but muscles always conspicuous even out of the gym. His face was serious; his hair was unmanageable as if he has just got out of bed always but he had the same color of eyes as his friend but a lot darker.

Zack approached the two ladies who seem to want to have a conversation with him. With Zack as the regular in the gym and a certified buff, he obviously took the chance of show off his assets.

"Hey ladies!" he said charmingly with a big smile tugging at his lips. "Need any help?"

The ladies giggled and nodded. Zack help them at exercising and lifting weights. Zack even made fun of those weights that the ladies were lifting, he was acting out that the weights was heavy. Zack, as always, have lame jokes when it comes to meeting ladies. Lame but he's attractive so it didn't matter. The other girl asked Zack to flex his arm and let them touch it. Of course, Zack willingly obliged.

"Do you know how I got those?" he said smirking at the lady whose touching his muscles. "Dedication, hard work and lotsa food babe!"

Zack continued to talk as much and started to tell stories about his embarrassing moments at the gym, how he managed to wake up the following morning sore, how his passion on the gym made him as healthier as ever. He even told them the diet he had on, the programs he used and the supplements he'd taken. Unknowingly to Zack, Cloud was behind him "Zack, come on." He said in his low shy voice.

"Huh?" Zack turned his head to Cloud for a second and back to the ladies again. "Well, gotta go! These babies need more…" he said tapping his arms and bid the ladies goodbye.

"What was that about Zack?" Cloud said seriously.

"Well, they need help and here I am offering."

"Yeah, right…"

"I was gonna save the other one for you" Zack said and tapped Cloud at the back with a big mockingly grin on his face. "Sometimes you just have to deal with the ladies, Cloud."

"And Aerith?" Cloud asked when they got to the room where hardcore workouts can be done. There are heavy weights and plates lying around the place waiting for someone to them up.

"hmmm?" Zack asked as he picked up a thirty pound dumbbell and started with bicep curls.

"Girlfriend?" Cloud also did the same facing the mirror to ensure his posture.

"Ah… that one" Zack momentarily stopped and shifted the weight to the other hand. "I can't understand her sometimes."

Cloud got heavier weights and started to have his second set and looked at his friend with curious look.

"I mean, sometimes, she's so sweet then the creepy moody attitude always ruins the moment." Zack dropped the weights to replace them with heavier ones.

"Just that?" Cloud asked and started military press

"Well, no…" Zack continued with lateral raises. "There's these wishes."

"Wishes?" Cloud dropped the pounds and took a breather and sat on a nearby bench.

Zack still had one more set to go with his lateral raises but said "She gave me this list where she wrote all these things that she wanted to do together, I haven't read it yet."

"So?" Cloud asked and sipped on his bottle of water.

"It's hard Cloud, what if she didn't like what I would do? What if I don't like what is on that list?" Zack sat on the bench across the room and wiped sweat off his face. "I mean, with that list, more or less she's expecting something right?"

Cloud nodded and stood up to pick a barbell sixty pound on it and started his shrugs. "Read it first and when you don't like a part of it, tell her if there's a problem."

"You're lecturing me about talking when you can't even approach a girl huh?" Zack joked and started to pile up plates on the leg press machine.

Cloud gave nothing more but a serious face. "She is your girlfriend, she'll understand"

Zack sat on the Leg press machine and using his legs he pushed up with great effort. "I guess… Whaaatever!"

When the two are done stretching all of their muscles, it was now time to take it to the next level, meaning heavier weights with supersets.

While Cloud was piling one hundred and fifty pounds on the smith machine, Zack asked something.

"So, how's Tifa doing?"

Cloud gave him the cold shoulder and didn't answer but continued to add more weight at the machine. They're will do squats; their favorite. Zack did the twenty five repetitions on squats before considering talking again.

"Come on, talk!" Zack insisted while Cloud was currently on the machine.

"Did you have a fight?"

"Why would we have a fight?" Cloud done and waiting for Zack to finish another set. "I haven't seen her in days."

"Then" Zack exhaled as he lifts the weights. "Why…" exhaled again "are you…" exhaled again "silent about?" He finished the sentence as he finished the set.

"Nothing, I don't know how she is…" with that, Cloud position himself again to have another go on the machine.

"Really?"

Cloud nods

"Even a call? None?"

Cloud shook his head.

"You called her?"

Again, shook his head.

"Well, that's because you're an idiot!" Zack said with a big laugh.

Cloud finished the set and sat down again and looked up at Zack skeptically.

"Well my friend, Tifa is a hot gorgeous chick."

"So?" Cloud asked and drank his Gatorade.

"When she walks in a room, every guy will drool especially when she wears that skimpy little skirt showing almost everything. People ask why the hot chick's still single." Cloud gave Zack an evil look then Zack raised his hand to motion that he's saying something more. "I remembered when you saw her in that skirt, you stared but when you saw someone else staring, you pulled her away from the crowd and got angry for wearing that."

"And?"

"And what do you think she feels after you scolded her about her clothes?"

"That she should never wear those clothes?" Cloud became so clueless.

"And what about when you give her a ride home on your Fenrir? Or what about when you slept in her sofa the night she was scared of thunderstorms? Or when you let her sleep in your bed when she was drunk and didn't do anything to her?"

"Thankful?"

"Yeah… right… but you think that's it? Of course she's wondering why you care about her so much! You stupid shit!" Zack smacked the back of Cloud's neck. "And right now she's thinking why you never called when she never did."

"I was thinking maybe she's busy and I'd interrupt something that's why I didn't call."

"Cloud, all I'm saying is that there's someone in already in front of you but still you refuse to move… she likes you." Zack went to the incline bench to perform sit-ups. "My friend, when are you going to take property?"

Cloud sat on the abs machine and get on with it. "Tifa and I aren't like that."

"Well, what are you two? Friends?"

Cloud nodded.

"Come on! Don't give me that shit!" Zack was on his fiftieth sit up. "Don't you feel anything?"

No reply.

"You like her too!! Admit it! You talk more when she's the one you're talking to!" Zack excited but already almost out of breath but continued. "You like protecting her why not protect her by being yours… nobody will look at her if they know if she has a boyfriend."

Cloud almost choked at those words, stood up and grabbed heavier weights. He was silent through out the time he was on the gym as if in deep thinking about something else other than his work out.

Men…

A/N: Well what do yah think? R&R Thanks