BEFORE WE BEGIN:I just wanted to apologize for the short length of the first chapter. I know I probably disappointed a few of you, and I'll be sure to make them longer for you... Heh. Maybe more than one thing can be made longer in this story... Read on!
"... Love you too," Cloud gasped, drained of all energy. Staring into each other's eyes, Cloud realized they were both thinking about the same thing, that fateful first day.
It had started as a normal day for Zack, getting up, brushing his teeth, showering. As he was running a comb through his hair, admiring his perfect profile in the mirror, Angeal came up behind him, slapping him on the back playfully.
"Hey, Zack, did you hear? New recruits coming in today, getting the tour of the facility. Guess who's presenting?"
"Uh... You?" Zack asked hopefully.
"Nope! We figure you've learnt enough to teach some recruits the basics." Angeal grinned. "What do you think? You ready?"
"Ha. Ha. You're so funny. I can't hold back my laughter," Zack said, glowering at Angeal in the mirror, "What am I gonna be teaching? Anything interesting?"
"Sim room. What you can do with it. Limitations, handicaps, Cure breaks, you remember. Wasn't too long ago you went through that same tour. Remember?"
"Yeah, well..." Zack made a noise of disgust, "whatever."
Angeal walked off chuckling. Zack made a rude gesture after him, sticking out his tongue. Angeal appeared in front of him, seemingly from nowhere, pulling Zack's head back by his hair, his sword, still in its sheath, pressing against Zack's throat. "What was that?"
Zack coughed, swallowed, and straightened as best he could, trying as hard as he could to stand at attention without resisting Angeal too much. "Uh, nothing, sir. I was just... Clearing my throat?" It was almost a question.
Angeal released him, laughing and tussling his hair playfully. When Zack fell to his hands and knees, Angeal reached down to help him up. "You okay? You know that if you had done that to any other of your superiors, you wouldn't be here, right? Just... Be careful. Some people walk around with active Materia. Don't fuck up. Yeah?"
"Yeah, sure, sorry Ange- sir." Zack stuttered, looking down at his feet ashamedly.
"Hey," Angeal put his fingers under Zack's chin, lifting his head to force Zack to meet his gaze, "don't worry about it. Just don't do it to anyone else, yeah? You okay?"
Zack looked at the concerned, reassuring look in Angeal's eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine." He dropped and did a few push-ups to illustrate the point. "Don't worry about it. I'm good."
"Cool. Now get ready to present. It's a big day," Angeal said jokingly, meandering off with his hands in his pockets.
Zack rolled his eyes, pulling on his undershirt and fixing his mussed-up hair. He pulled on the rest of his uniform, checking the time as he tied his boots on. "Shit shit shit. Fuckin' time." He finished tying his boots and sprinted out of the room, grabbing a danish on his way to the training room. He took a bite of it, practically choking. "Fuck! Why do we never have blueberry? Always blackberry, always. Never any variety..." He continued to mutter to himself as he slowed his pace, dropping the remainder of the pastry into a trash can as he settled into lunges for the last few steps to the booth. Once he was standing next to it, he began doing crouches, settling into a slow rhythm. A few junior SOLDIERs walked by, greeting him on their way to their daily duties. He waved to some of them, and when a promising-looking pair went by, he pulled them aside. "Hey, you wanna help me do a presentation to some new recruits? I need someone to demonstrate how to use the Sim trainer." They nodded, and he made sure they knew how to use everything, and then went back to doing crouches, waiting for the tour group to come through.
After about thirty more crouches, he heard the group coming, the dull monotone of the guide boring even Zack. As the recruits rounded the corner, Zack's jaw dropped, his eyes widening as his gaydar went haywire. The recruit in front, bored though he may appear to most, was discreetly checking out all the SOLDIERs the group passed, seemingly rating their bodies and filing away the information for later... use. The recruit's eyes touched on Zack for a moment, then flicked back, widening almost imperceptibly. Zack was immediately transfixed by those bright blue orbs, and the bobbing golden frill above them.
The tour guide coughed, and Zack realized that he was practically sitting, his legs the only thing supporting him. He managed to stand up without falling over, tearing his eyes away from those beautiful circles of light. He cleared his throat, blushing slightly while trying to appear relaxed. Zack nodded to the tour guide and took the stage, managing to appear nonchalant through most of the little speech. He then motioned for the two SOLDIERs to step into the Sim room, pointing out the controls and time for each round in the battle. Despite the fact that both men were showing off, they still managed to beat the living shit out of one another long enough for Zack to get a good look at the small boy in front. The recruit also didn't seem to care much for the presentation, his eyes eating up every aspect of Zack's appearance, his hair, uniform, lips. Everything about him seemed to entertain the boy, draw him in.
The tour guide coughed again, and Zack realized everyone was staring at him. "Uh..." Zack looked around, trying to find some clue as to what had been going on around him. Everyone was staring raptly at him, and the SOLDIERs were looking in earnest at him, one with a bloody nose, the other with a black eye. They both looked worse for wear. "Cure breaks. Now, the Materia is stored over here," Zack pointed to a shelf with round depressions in it, each holding a Cure of higher and higher power, ascending to the right. "What you do is, once the time for a break comes, you analyze the damage done, choose the correct Cure level... I'll say, one," he said, assessing the damage done to the soldiers, "and I'll pick up this Cure," he picked up the orb with a "1" written over it, "activate it, and voila!" he waved a hand at the SOLDIERs, and their wounds disappeared, as if by... Well, actually, yes. By magic. Zack deactivated the Cure, replacing it in the appropriate slot. "Any questions?"
Once the presentation was over, Zack thanked the SOLDIERs, then quietly tailed the little group, following them back to the lobby. Once the recruits were sent outside to wait for their rides, or ride the train home, Zack quickly located the kid, following him to the subway station. He flashed his SOLDIER ID Badge and stepped aboard the train, ambushing the kid and foiling a pickpocket's attempt at quick cash on the way.
"Hi."
The kid spun around, eyes widening. "Uh... Hi."
"So you're thinking about becoming a SOLDIER, huh?"
"Uh, yeah." The kid blushed, obviously shy.
"Cool. What's your name? I'm Zack, Zack Faire." He stuck out his hand, his movements feeling awkward and jerky even to himself.
"Uh... Cloud?" It was almost a question.
"Well, I don't know, is it Cloud or isn't it?" Zack asked teasingly.
The kid blushed again, smiling hesitantly beneath the blonde tidal wave crowning his head. "Yeah. Cloud." He reach out and took Zack's hand, seemingly afraid of it.
"Don't worry. I don't bite... At least not on a first date." Zack winced as the hastily formed sentence slipped out, stuttering after saying it at a quick attempt at an apology. "Shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that, I'm not insinu-" His apology was cut short by a slap to the face. It wasn't exactly that it hurt, it just took him by surprise and shut him up for the moment.
"How dare you?" The kid looked totally pissed, ready to kill. "For all you know, I could be a perfectly straight, normal kid, a little bit shy, but yeah, normal, trying to get a steady job in the hopes of becoming a hero," he paused for breath, "and wanting to send money home to his poor family. Hmph." He turned away, arms crossed.
Zack looked down. Now it was his turn to blush. Maybe he had been wrong. The doors of the train opened, and Zack took a step forward, intending to get off. A small hand grabbed his arm. He looked up and met the eyes of the kid. "Luckily for you, I'm none of that." The kid smiled at him fluttering his eyelashes above those bright blue eyes.
Zack stared at him, then returned the favor of the slap, catching Cloud as he began to fall and administering a quick Cure as he helped him stand up straight. "There you go. Hey, but seriously. Sorry about that-" He was interrupted once more, this time not by an act of anger, but by a quick kiss to the lips. "It's okay," Cloud said, seeming to penetrate Zack's soul with just one glance from those beautiful eyes. "I understand. Just calm down. Stop being so jittery."
"Right. Jittery." Zack was enthralled by those eyes, and the fact that they could be his.
"You don't know how long I've been waiting, how long I've pretended-"
"I know. Trust me, I know. It took me a long time to figure out that... It doesn't matter. It really doesn't. I... Was still a closet case, though... It was just... Easier. I had been doing it for so long that it almost felt-"
"Like you were actually straight? That maybe you could-"
"Get over it, like a phase... But now..."
"It doesn't matter. I was thinking about just doing it today anyhow... It's good that I can do it... With some moral support. Heh."
"Yeah." Zack smiled down at him.
Cloud pulled his cell phone out of one of the back pockets of his baggy jeans and flipped it open. "Now, I need your number..." They exchanged numbers and promised to call one another later. As Zack was about to step off the train, he turned suddenly as a thought struck him.
"You're not from around here, are you? I can tell, by your accent and the fact that you keep your cell phone in your back pocket."
"What does that signify?"
"You're not used to the constant risk of having your belongings stolen. You should really keep it in a front pocket. Wear tighter pants, too. Don't be afraid to be... Fantabulous," Zack grinned, then pointedly looked at a guy standing next to Cloud with too-tight jeans and a tight shirt with a pool hall logo, stating in loud, puffy purple letters, "KEEP YOUR BALLS ON THE TABLE!"
Cloud giggled, and the guy looked at him oddly, then turned away, answering his phone. "See what I mean?" Zack asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"Yeah. Totally... Well... Talk to you later."
"Yeah. And don't lose that phone!"
"I won't. See ya."
"Bye." They turned away, each feeling that they had something to look forward to.
AUTHOR'S (NOT QUITE SO) MEANINGLESS RAMBLE
Hey everyone, sorry this took so long to put out, went on vacation and... forgot... there, I said it. I forgot I had a moral obligation to all of you... Oh, who am I kidding. I really like writing this, and I'm glad people are out there reading and enjoying too. Thanks all, and until next time... Stay Tuned For More News From Midgar. This is CloudLoverXXX reporting out from my own little world, and I hope you all enjoy. XP and goodnight.
PS: Drawings should be up for either chapter 1, chapters 1 and 2, or all 3, depending on how quickly I publish and how quickly RYF draws. Thanks for being patient ^_^ Bye!
PPS: Sorry about the eye confusion, it was 2 am when I was writing ^_^ won't happen again. Sorry!