A Little Bit of Both

By: Phoenix Dayze
(Zack/Cloud)
PG-13

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. This is purely for fun.

Zack bit his lower lip nervously, then he berated himself. What was he doing? This wasn't like him at all! He wasn't supposed to be worried about something so trivial! He let his eyes flick back to the young, blond cadet and sighed. Not so trivial. He chastised himself. Cloud is…Cloud. And that was the problem exactly. Cloud was quiet, withdrawn to the point of being a recluse, and anyone who looked at him could tell just how innocent Cloud Strife was.

Biting back a shiver of arousal over the thought of Cloud's innocence, Zack shook his head. What was he supposed to do? Cloud wasn't quite sixteen yet, which was a little young, but as much as Zack's First Class mentality told him that, Zack's seventeen year old body didn't care in the slightest. He wanted Cloud—that much he knew. And not just for sweat-coated skin, languid kisses, and torturous heat, but for friendly hugs, hand holding, wrestling in the park… Zack smacked himself. Shiva he was starting to sound sappy!

Lighting up a cigarette, Zack leaned back against the cold bricks of the gym, watching Cloud's small, lithe form run through his drills as he took a long drag. The boy was good enough, determined enough, that Zack had to wonder if he had any other hobbies, or if all of his spare time went into training. It wouldn't surprise him. Although the image of Cloud snuggled next to him playing video games or painting, his skin smeared with a myriad of sticky hues was immediately appealing.

He took another long draw from his cigarette, closing his eyes as various scenarios raced through his mind, all involving himself teaching a far-too naïve blond how to experience the world. A smile curled over his lips. The images were sweet. Now if he could only work up the nerve to talk to the kid outside of training. He huffed as he exhaled a puff of smoke. The great and mighty Zackary Donovan afraid to talk to a skinny runt of a guy, barely old enough to apply to SOLDIER. He really was getting pathetic.

"Any way I can talk you out of one of those?"

Zack's eyes snapped open to settle, a bit wildly, on a pair of wide, earnest blue eyes. His mind fuzzed blank. When had Cloud approached him? And why hadn't he noticed? He blinked as Cloud's request took shape in his brain, and he dumbly held the pack out to the younger man. Cloud smoked? In the back of Zack's mind, he had to wonder at Cloud's nerve in asking a very superior officer for something that was technically not allowed in this facility, then, it occurred to him that he was off-duty today. Zack was dressed in street clothes, tattered jeans and a black tank top, and his unruly hair was restrained by a faded bandana. It was possible that Cloud didn't recognize him.

Cloud seized a cigarette from the offered pack and, putting it between his supple lips, leaned close for a light. Zack flicked the flame to life and tried desperately not to stare as the firelight cast a small glow on Cloud's cheeks. Leaning back, Cloud inhaled deeply, his eyes fluttering closed briefly as he let the blessed smoke consume him, before exhaling it with a sigh. He looked over to Zack with a grateful stare. "Thank you, Sir. I needed this."

Well, Zack mused, I guess that answers that question. He watched the boy in silence for a few moments as Cloud smoked with the same determination he used in his training. The cigarette was just another tool, and Cloud wielded it with confidence. The sight was strangely intriguing.

Stubbing out the last of his cigarette, Zack forced himself to speak. If he was ever going too make a move, now was as good a time as any. "So, Private…" too impersonal, he chided himself. "Mr. Strife…Cloud…" Zack could feel the blush rising on his cheeks. When had he become such a blathering moron? He was usually so smooth and charming… He noticed, with no small amount of humiliation, that Cloud was watching him with an intense look of amused interest. Zack sighed and fiddled with the lighter. "I used to be good at this." He mumbled.

One of Cloud's eyebrows rose slightly as he took another hit. "Umm…if you don't mind, Lieutenant," Cloud began lowly, a light pink coloring his face. "If you're not busy, would you mind running through a few exercises with me? I'm done with classes for today, and morning drills were cancelled for tomorrow." Cloud's blush deepened. "So it won't matter if you keep me late…or if you need to schedule me late, in case you already have something planned…I just mean I'm available all night…" Cloud winced as he finished in a rushed breath and took another furious drag off of the cigarette burning away between his fingers.

Zack's eyes widened. Was Cloud giving him an in? It sounded very much like the young man had just begged for an invite, informing Zack, none too subtly in his own way, that he was free from now, until lunch tomorrow. That he would be available all night… Zack swallowed thickly. He wasn't sure what Cloud wanted from him, but who was he to deny the boy?

Pulling another cigarette from the pack, Zack placed it between his lips and lit it up. He took a quick puff, then offered it to Cloud, who was stubbing the end of his last cigarette under his boot. Cloud took it with a grateful smile. And as Cloud's lips closed over the tip where Zack's mouth had been moments before, Zack lost it. His sanity, his reservations, his inhibitions, you name it. He received the cigarette back a little numbly and took a hit. He could almost taste the minty flavored residue on the tip, left over from Cloud's mouth. Zack gave an inward groan. This was too much.

"Will you have dinner with me?"

The question seemed to catch Cloud off guard, despite their earlier conversation. He stared at Zack searchingly as the cigarette switched hands yet again. "Is that a request from my commanding officer?" He took a puff and exhaled slowly. His brows knitted. "Or is it an order?"

"Neither." Zack assured him quickly. "It's the nerve-wracked hope of a man who likes you very much. Despite the fact that liking you has turning him into a bumbling fool. You don't have to say yes. It's entirely up to you if you do. But I would like it a lot if you did…say yes I mean."

A larger smile than Zack had ever seen on Cloud's face grew across his features. "Very well," he said as he passed the cigarette back to Zack. "I accept."

Tbc…