Disclaimer: Don't own.

A/N: Well I suppose I should warn you this is so alternate universe it's almost not in the fandom anymore. This is a mix of mainly Kingdom Hearts with Final Fantasy VII and VIII thrown it and ages of characters are taken from their respective fandoms.

Warnings: OOC, AU, slash, language.

Beta'd by: El Takeshiro

Chapter 1: Vanilla

Cloud Strife wanted to kill his best friend Zack Fair. The elder man was singing along to a pop song over the radio as he washed dishes. Unfortunately the blond couldn't, as the man was also his employer, and the owner of, AVALANCHE Ice Cream. Why his friend had decided the first name should be capitalized like that was a mystery to Cloud, but Zack had insisted it caught the customer's eye and dragged them in. Privately, the blond thought the neon colors the small store was painted in and the tacky little knick-knacks adorning the shelves on the wall did a fine job of that. He had never seen so many stuffed Chocobos in his life until he'd stepped foot into the local shop.

"Hey spiky, what's got you so down?" Zack asked cheerfully as he slung an arm around the blond's shoulders.

Suds got in his hair and Cloud sighed as he shook them out. "Zack, why am I here today? No one comes in on a Monday morning for ice cream." He leaned against the old fashioned cash register, making sure not to poke his eye out with the 'Sale' tag sticking out the top.

Zack swayed to the music, a silly grin plastered on his face as he slung the dishtowel over his shoulder. "Please, Monday mornings are my busiest time." A raised eyebrow met his statement and Zack shrugged. "Okay, maybe not today, but still. Who couldn't resist the lure of delicious homemade ice cream? The kids love it."

"The 'kids' are at school," Cloud pointed out and he flicked his gaze towards the clock. "We have five hours of dead time to watch the paint dry on the walls until Hollow Bastion High gets outs." Teenagers were their biggest market and Zack's store was one of the hot spots for them to hang out. Cloud didn't really mind. They made good money and he got to see the twins Roxas and Sora on a semi-regular basis. They used to be his next-door neighbors and he babysat for them when they were younger.

Zack hopped up to sit on the counter next to Cloud, almost over tipping the glass tip jar. "You could study."

Cloud nodded absently in agreement. He had attended Jenova University to major in engineering three years ago but hadn't finished. Looking after his ailing mother had come first and he'd made frequent trips back to his hometown to take care of her. When she had passed away, he couldn't afford tuition anymore and had dropped out in his senior year, coming back to Radiant Garden and doing the odd job to get around. He'd run into his childhood friend Zack who had offered him a job at the ice cream store he owned, and Cloud was using the money to attend some classes Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday to finish his degree.

"Or what about the older crowd that will come through those frosted doors?" Zack continued, propping his chin on his palm. "Think about it Cloudy; the door slowly opens with a tinkle of bells and the most gorgeous brunette walks through. They'll have wide innocent eyes, a lithe body, pale skin, long legs and a megawatt smile that'll knock you off your feet. It'll be love at first sight, your eyes will meet and the sexual tension would be enough to kill an elephant." The man sighed with a sappy grin on his face while he toyed with the change jar.

Cloud snorted in amusement. "Are you sure you're not talking about Aerith?" the man asked, referring to Zack's wife. She was a kindergarten schoolteacher in the town and Zack was head over heels in love with her since he'd seen her pruning roses in her backyard ten years ago.

"Course not, she's lacking the necessary equipment that's to your liking," Zack teased. "I always knew little Cloudy was batting for the other team when he could resist my Aeri's charms." He grabbed Cloud around the neck and playfully ruffled blond spikes.

Cloud shoved Zack off the counter with an amused grin. "Right, Zack," he said sarcastically. "Why don't you go back to washing dishes now and let me work in peace?"

"Mark my words, it'll happen," Zack proclaimed as he headed towards the back. He turned up the dial on the radio as he went by and started screeching along to the tune.

The blond huffed and leaned his forearms against the marble counter. Right, as if the person he'd been looking for all his life was going to walk right-

The bells above the door tinkled and Cloud looked up, instantly feeling as if his whole world was yanked out from under him at the person who had just walked in. Inwardly, Cloud knew Zack was laughing at him but the blond didn't care at the gorgeous brunet who was looking around the shop. "Hello, I'm Cloud. Is there something I can help you with?" Cloud asked with a slight purr to his voice that he couldn't quite keep out.

The young man blushed and ducked his head. "Ah, no. I've just never come here before. I'm new in town."

No wonder Cloud had never seen the male walking around town before. If he had, the man would have definitely snatched up the innocent kitten. He was cute, and Cloud wanted to run his hands through choppy brown hair that fell into large stormy blue/gray eyes. And that ass encased in those tight leather pants, it just begged to be grabbed and fondled and fucked.

The blond cleared his throat, thankful that he was standing behind the counter so the brunet wouldn't see his growing problem. "Well you've come to the right place, beautiful. There's no better store in town than AVALANCHE Ice Cream." He grinned at the shy smile the young man offered and felt his heart beat faster. "What would you like?"

The other man shrugged with a sheepish half-smile. "I'm not really a sweets person," he said, voice low and smooth that seemed to roll over Cloud's skin like a light touch. "Just a vanilla cone." He gave a quirk of cherry red lips, looking up at him through a fringe of silky hair that Cloud found endearing.

"Nothing daring?" Cloud teased as he slid open the glass door to the ice cream bin and packed two scoops of vanilla ice cream on a waffle cone.

"Not today," he murmured with a small smile, and Cloud nearly dropped the cone when their fingers brushed together. It sent electricity sparking up his arm when he passed the cone over.

"On the house, kitten," Cloud offered when the brunet tried to hand him a crinkled five. "Just as long as you come back sometime to see me."

Amusement flashed through stormy eyes as the pale beauty gave a lick of his cone, focusing all of Cloud's attention on the pink tongue darting out between soft lips. "I will," he promised, and then with a tiny tinkle of bells, the love of Cloud's life was gone.

It was only after Cloud couldn't see his love's lovely ass walk down the road that he realized he hadn't gotten the person's name. The man groaned and banged his head down on the counter, his curses downed out as Zack was still singing pop songs in the back of the shop.

He hated Mondays.