Author: vulgar shudder

Warnings: yaoi, AU, super-uke Cloud, lime

Rating: M – sexual themes (nothing explicit)

Pairings: ZackxCloud

Disclaimer: Do not own, no profit.

Notes: A bit shorter than I'd usually like, but it seemed a natural place to leave it ;)

Part 2 – My baby don't mean maybe now

It became a regular occurrence for Zack to come over and slowly but surely he managed to coax Cloud out of his shell somewhat. He had even ventured into Zack's apartment, where he had a big screen HDTV. Like most men their age he liked DVDs and computer games, things which Cloud hadn't gotten around to. It was nice watching DVDs with Zack, but he relished the times Zack would knock when he was playing and would come in to listen. Sometimes beside him watching his hands move along the keys, sometimes relaxing on the sofa with his eyes closed.

It turned out Zack had just moved to the city for a new job, and had left friends and family behind; probably why he was looking for a new friend.

It had dawned on Cloud that he really wanted to…impress Zack. It left him with a warm feeling he had trouble pinning down. Cloud considered himself un-remarkable as a pianist, but if that's what it took to draw Zack over…

But today he was over at Zack's place, sharing the couch with him as they watched a movie together, a Bond film. The darker haired man had a beer, and he made comments through out. "Man death by thighs…" He supped on his beer. "I mean…woah."

Cloud nodded. Zack was so much more…masculine than her was. Physically and otherwise, it was difficult to believe that he'd shown such an interest in Cloud's music.

Zack made more comments about Bond girls, to which Cloud nodded to in feigned understanding. But the other man talking had stopped at some point, and when Cloud looked over to him he was asleep. They'd both had a long day, this was supposed to be a wind down before the weekend. Zack had obviously wound down enough to fall asleep sprawled over his side of the couch.

"Zack?" Cloud asked, but no response. He leaned over taking the glass bottle from Zack's grasp. "Zack?" he asked again, studying his face closely. The dark haired man was out for the night it seemed.

This should have been Cloud's cue to leave, but he hesitated. Zack's face was slack and peaceful in sleep, and the blond haired man reached out impulsively to touch his cheek with the back of his fingers.

He could feel the day's growth of stubble on his cheek, and smell the beer he's been drinking that night.

But Cloud realised what he was doing, and the way the proximity made his heart race. He pulled away as if burnt.

It couldn't possibly mean that could it? He'd never had a girlfriend, but he'd always assumed that was because he was busy with music. Sure, an embarrassing fact but he'd always assumed the 'right one' would come along, one day.

Was this why Zack's approval had become so important to him?

No, no way. He couldn't possibly like Zack in that way. Being so isolated over the years had just made him other think things, see things that weren't there. The warm feeling in his stomach was a natural reaction to the praise Zack liked to heap on.

God what are you thinking. You're just drunk, he told himself.

Cloud withdrew from the sofa, throwing what was left of the beer away and leaving the bottle with the others for recycling. Before he left he got a blanket from Zack's bed, He resisted the urge to take a deep breath of the heady scent that lingered on it before throwing it over his sleeping friend then left for his own apartment.

~*~

"You seem different." His student told him, as she picked about on the keys towards the end of their lesson.

"I do?" Cloud asked from his stool at the teacher's piano. This was out of the blue.

Tifa was one of his few adult students whom stuck with Cloud as a teacher. She had taken up piano again after a long break from child hood lessons. It was one of the students he suspected had 'ulterior motives'.

"Yeah, you close your eyes and listen more closely to what I'm playing, you seem to even enjoy it sometimes."

"I…" How did he come back to that without admitting he was completely disinterested in teaching.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily she didn't let him answer, "Got a girlfriend?"

"What?" Cloud asked in shock.

"You know, people get up beat when they're dating." Tifa told him.

"No, no I don't." Cloud told her but he was surely going bright red. He looked at the clock. "Time to finish for this week," He told her, closing up his files. "Practice that for next week." He wanted to get out of here ASAP.

"Really…" She didn't sound convinced, and maybe a little disappointed. Cloud had seemed impervious to her attempts to flirt over the year.

"Yes, really." Cloud told her quickly leaving her to pack up. He hurried out the practice room to find his next student.

~*~

It was another late night for Cloud, and he found himself reading through his teaching notes. Zack had returned late tonight after doing an upgrade to his company's server. He'd emailed Cloud to explain he'd be coming back home and passing out, so he wouldn't be around for any beers or TV.

Cloud felt disappointed, he'd gotten used to…hanging out. Zack had some how wormed his way into his life, ignoring the younger man's coldness at the start.

Zack would be home now, and sleeping, Cloud thought. He was sitting at his laptop, positioned closest to the wall he shared with Zack's apartment. He stared at the wall, as if mere will power alone would create a window.

You're so stupid, he told himself looking back down at the screen. But a noise from beyond the thin wall made him snap his head back up. What was that?

Curiosity got the better of him, and he slipped off the chair and crawled on his knees along the wall. He stopped listening for more sounds. There it was again. He realised this was the part of the wall Zack's bed was against, and he leaned against it with his ear.

The sound was clearer now, and it was a low…moan of some kind. He pulled back in surprise…it was a sexual sound.

His first thought that Zack had brought a girl home…and he was… He was shocked, Zack had said he didn't have a girlfriend, and didn't seem like the type to pick someone up casually.

Putting his ear back against the wall he listened again, he realised he'd been wrong about Zack being with a girl, but not about the nature of the sounds. It was definitely the moans of a single male voice.

Oh god, Zack was…

He was blushing profusely at the mental image. Well of course Zack would…you know…most people did.

He skittered away back wards from the wall, utterly ashamed that he'd be eaves dropping on something so personal…

But the image was stuck, and the more he tried to clear it, the more his imagination added details. Not just the moans now, but panted breaths, Zack touching himself with his back arched off the bed and…

To his horror, Cloud felt himself responding. He had a low libido, he rarely felt the need to satisfy himself…and now, of all times with Zack…

He tried to rationalise it…it had just been too long. Seeing the random cover of a porn magazine would have had the same effect.

Cloud laid back on the hard wood floor, his will power was not strong enough to halt the thoughts… Well, maybe the best way to end them, was to deal with the problem, he thought as his hand slid down to the zipper of his fly.

He tried to think of something else, but it always came back to those sounds, the throaty moans. Cloud bit his lip to prevent any betrayal of his own actions.

It was over disappointingly quickly. Sitting up he was more than a little disgusted with himself. He realised the other apartment was silent now.

You are the lowest form of human there is Cloud, he told himself. If even the thought of Zack……….you definitely need to buy some decent porn in future.

~*~

Cloud had managed to rationalise his reactions to…THAT night. It was something he'd tried his best to forget. There had been no repeat, it was a one off. It was getting late on a Friday night and he was playing in his apartment, maybe Zack would be around. The knock on the door answered his prayers, and he jumped up in his eagerness to answer it, tripping over the piano stool in the process. That might have something to do with the empty wine glass atop the walnut piano.

Zack was leaning against the door, still in his work suit but the tie and collar had been loosened. "Yo Cloud, you still playing?"

The blond haired man nodded, "Just playing around…" Oh he had definitely not been waiting had he.

"I had to do after work drinks…I brought back presents." Zack held up a bag clinking with bottles. He came in, shrugging off his wool coat and bag by the entrance. "Damn cold tonight." He told him, reaching for some beers.

They ended up at the piano, sharing the stool. Cloud sucked from the bottle, trying to calm his nerves. With his free hand Zack picked out the first chords of Fur Elise Cloud had taught them all that time ago.

"Roll your wrist more…it should be smoother and lighter than that…" Cloud told him, taking a hold of Zack's wrist guiding it in its movements.

Zack laughed, "I don't think you can give me a piano lesson while I'm in this state." He took his hand away from the keys, "I'll leave it to the expert, play something if you want."

Cloud gulped some more beer. "What do you want?"

Zack shrugged. "Something fun."

The pianist thought for a moment, and got up to his book shelves to retrieve a score. He opened it and put it on the piano.

It was an old Jazz tune, and after the first bars he started singing. A good singing voice he did not have, let alone a jazz one. But the words were half the fun.

"folk's here's the story 'bout Minnie the Moocher
she was a red hot hoochie coocher
she was the roughest, toughest frail
but Minnie had a heart a big as a whale."

He threw a glance to Zack who looked definitely amused. He laughed when Cloud started the 'ho-di-ho-di-ho, hi-de-hi-de-hi' chorus.

Cloud stopped, amused with himself as well. "You know it's much better if you sing the chorus after me, it's what is known as a called response."

Zack sloppily saluted. "Will do." Cloud resumed playing.

"She messed around with a bloke named Smokey
she loved him, though he was coke-y
he took her down to Chinatown
and he showed her how to kick the gong around"

He looked at Zack giving his cue. "Hey-di-hey-di-hey."

"Hey-di-hey-di-hey." Zack repeated.

"Oi-yoi-yoi-yoi-yoi-yoi."

"Oi-yoi-yoi-yoi-yoi….yo?" Neither of them could keep a straight face and burst out into laughter. Cloud tried to carry on with the song.

"She had a dream about the King of Sweden
he gave her things that she was needin'
gave her a home built of gold and steel
a diamond car, with the platinum wheels."

"I don't think I can do the fast hi-di-his." Cloud admitted to Zack as he played through it.

"I was just thinking the King of Sweden had some awesome bling."

Cloud laughed, he couldn't remember the last time he'd smiled like this. Zack was smiling back when suddenly his face fell. Cloud's own followed suit as he played on, wondering in horror if he'd done something wrong.

"You should smile more, you're so damn cute when you do." Zack told him.

"Huh?" Cloud asked in shock and confusion, Minnie the moocher being played on autopilot.

But the playing stopped, and the last chords rang out through the room when Zack pulled him closer and took his lips in a kiss. Cloud felt dizzy from the sensations, the heat from Zack's body, the taste of beer and cigarettes, the faint smell of the bar Zack had come from and his aftershave.

Cloud soon closed his eyes and responded, feeling more drunk from the kiss than the wine and beer.

Zack's arms were around his waist, and the blond's smaller body was easily pulled so he was now straddling his lap. Their kisses deepened, with Cloud's nimble fingers coming up to cup the dark haired man's face.

Zack kissed him earnestly, pushing forward with his eagerness. That caused Cloud's lower back to hit the keyboard, and random notes created startled them both to pull away.

The older man looked up at Cloud, his hands coming up to take a hold of his wrists. "I'm sorry…" he began, dragging the other man's hands from his face.

Cloud's brows drew together in confusion. "What?"

"I'm…drunk. So are you. I didn't mean for this to happen." Zack apologized trying to gently push Cloud off.

The other man wasn't sure how to respond, he wasn't even sure what he was feeling. Disappointment? Anger? Embarrassment? Relief?

"Like I know you're depressed and stuff, I'd just be taking advantage of you…" Zack tried to explain, but he had no way of knowing just how hard Cloud had taken those words.

Depressed? Was Zack just doing this because he felt sorry for him? Cloud thought, quickly becoming numb. He slipped slowly onto the floor, feeling utterly powerless.

Zack extracted himself from under Cloud, placing his hands on the piano stool. "Hey I'm really sorry…" He said again, and seemed hesitant. But there was a sigh, and he left Cloud leaning on the stool. The blond man listened to the foot steps over the hard floors, the shuffle of a bag and coat, and the door closing.

The room was left in complete silence. Cloud's chest was tight, he had concentrate on his breathing. Devastated might be the word, or crushed. He could hear movements from next door, and he had to block them out someway.

Pulling himself up to sit on the stool, he flicked through some of the pages of the score, stopping on an old rag time number. He started playing the merry tune, a juxtaposition to his own feelings.

He started singing the lyrics, "When the preacher questions me, I say yes sir yes sir-ee, because my baby don't mean maybe now…"

To be continued.

Pieces mentioned:

Minnie the Moocher – Cab Calloway

Because my baby don't mean maybe now – Words and Song by Donaldson, Recorded by Ruth Etting