On the Road to SOLDIER

by Aska Rain

Becoming a part of SOLDIER is no easy path, like Cloud expected, but the road was a little rougher and stranger than he had anticipated. Maybe “lesson number one, expect the unexpected” was more relevant than he had first taken it to be. Warning:yaoi

2. Ch 2: Elimination Round One

A/N: Hahaha. You can't say I never gave you anything because I have just now! I am giving you chapter 2 along with more leaps and strides towards the yaoi we all know and love!

Of course…you probably would have like it if I got it to you on time…Sorry EvilChinchila. I would have had it posted by Monday, Tuesday at the latest, if I hadn't caught this horrendous virus. You see this virus wasn't the flue or strep throat, I know this for sure because I went to the doctor, but I'll tell you now the stupid thing made me feel like I had some sick combination of both. (I hurt so much by noon when my painkillers wore off that I started crying. It was so bad I ended up calling the doctor that very first day because I didn't think I could wait to see how I felt the next day.)

So yea…I was so muddle headed I couldn't write all weekend even though I wanted to. And if I had tried, I'm pretty sure it would have amounted to this… "Duck"…

Aren't you glad I waited XD? Anyway, on to the story

Disclaimer: Sadly, Final Fantasy 7 and Crisis Core are not mine. This sadly means no good yaoi scenes in the amazing graphics of Crisis Core T_T.

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Ch. 2. Elimination, Round One

Zack and Cloud entered the building that had been on Cloud's left when he had been somewhat mindlessly wandering in the general direction of the meeting only an hour earlier. The pair was greeted by a crazed jumble of voices belonging to the close to hundreds of candidates lingering in the front hall of the barracks that had been fitted to double as a common room and lounge. Off to the right was a pair of double doors leading to a better suited sitting area and the intended location for any mass gatherings on this level. If one didn't enter the room, they could walk down a large hallway reaching further back into the building. To the left, the entry hall narrowed into a broad hallway spotted with chairs, couches, and low tables allowing for more sitting space, and, as Zack had learned over the years, the passageway created an excellent spot for various groups and people to meet up for assignments and what not.

Directly across the entry way was a small alcove containing two metallic elevator doors, the black screens above them indicating that both elevators were in use by flashing the elevators current floor location in bright red numbers. Two or three small groups of candidates lingered in the alcove waiting patently for the elevators to return for the next load of people. These men were some of the few that were more intent on finding their rooms than standing around socializing, which Zack thought was the wiser thing to be doing.

The majority of the loitering candidates packed the entryway, turning the place into a living maze that was constantly shifting and changing. Determined to make good on his offer to get the blond to his room, Zack plunged into the maze working as hard as possible to start making his way in the direction of the large hallway to the right of the elevator alcove and along the wall with the doors leading into the lounge.

While finding their way through the mess of bodies, Zack was unable to maintain his idle conversation with the blond in is wake because of the insane noise level the groups of candidates were able to generate. The dark haired soldier cringed in pain as a candidate within feet of him burst out in unrestrained laughter.

Growing desperate to get out of the sea of men, Zack picked up the pace, slowing down only when he realized he was leaving the blond behind. He paused and looked back searching for any sign of the blond spiky hair that helped set Cloud apart from the others.

'This is a pain. It looks like the majority of these guys are standing around for fun. Why don't they do this in one of the common rooms? Oh, wait. They probably don't know where those are quite yet…well, they could at least use the lounge instead of crowding the whole entryway', Zack whined more annoyed than anything, scratching the back of his head.

Within moments the SOLDIER operative spotted the particular candidate he was searching for. Cloud was only feet from him but struggling to make his way through the men. No matter what the young man tried, he just couldn't seem to get through. In fact, the young blond even began trying to force his way through two other candidates immersed in meaningless conversation.

Cloud pushed shoulder first into the smaller of the two men most immediately blocking his way, attempting to break through the living barricade, but to no avail. As the blond began to squeeze by the men, another candidate took a step backwards bumping directly into the extremely light weight blond and sent him stumbling backwards.

The SOLDIER operative watched for a few moments with an amused smile. Something about the blond was just too cute right then. His face was set and determined, but a careful analysis of his actions revealed his fear of using too much force. 'Determined and ready to do what it takes, but is too scared to force his way through a crowd huh? That or maybe he really is the embodiment of the light weight body type', Zack mused to him self with a smile.

Feeling guilty that he hadn't tried to help Cloud sooner, Zack reached through the crowd and grabbed hold of Cloud's wrist. "Excuse me", Zack half apologized at the last second as he tugged the blond man through the crowd.

With Cloud now literally in tow, Zack continued to make his way through the sea of candidates. Unlike the small blond man, he had no trouble making his way through the crowd. Candidates would look up, register that the dark haired man was wearing a SOLDIER uniform, and would quickly grant him passage.

At first, the candidates' eyes fell on the SOLDIER operative alone. But as the SOLDIER passed, eyes fell on both the operative and the candidate he was pulling along. Quickly, many of the looks turned from investigative to confusion, while others gained a far darker expression. Why was a SOLDIER second class leading a boy, who was probably the baby of the group, by the wrist through the crowds?

As the pair passed, eyes trailed after them. Some of the owners of these trailing eyes watched rather openly with no attempts to hide the fact that they were technically staring, while others followed the two more covertly through careful glances out of the corners of their eyes. Voices died off as some allowed their confusion at the odd sight get the better of them.

Out of the blue, a tall muscular candidate made it a point to "accidently" step back and ram right into Cloud. The man hadn't taken notice Zack or the fact that there was a SOLDIER operative at all. All he had seen was the petite frail looking boy he had seen slumped against the back wall during the meeting earlier, and he had determined that it would be fun to kick the little brat around a bit. Besides, the brat didn't look like he could make it so why not help it in its decision to leave sooner rather than later.

Sudden impact with a hard solid object brought Cloud to a hard stop. His sudden stop and Zack's perpetual motion wrenched Cloud's shoulder painfully.

Cloud's short stop brought Zack to an unexpected and jerky halt. The black haired man glanced back over his shoulder to investigate the hold up. Cloud had bounced off a rather large looking candidate that clearly wasn't lacking muscle. Guilt momentarily crept over Zack, and he released Cloud's wrist, wondering if it was his fault the youth had collided with large man.

The large candidate looked back over his shoulder with a growl. "Watch it pip-squeak or you'll get hurt", the muscular man snarled at Cloud making it a point to give him a callous shove with his elbow.

The men standing around him sniggered as Cloud stumbled back and bounced off the back of another candidate. No, it had most certainly not been Zack's fault, and that had been made painfully obvious as he watched the large ass.

Friend's still jeering; the jerky candidate turned half way to look at the tiny youth. The small blond was giving him a cold stare, his expression severe with a hint of anger. "What? You got somethin to say brat? If you do, let's hear it. Come on brat, speak", the jerk barked at Cloud holding his arms out tauntingly.

Cloud didn't respond verbally. Instead he narrowed his pale blue eyes and straitened his stance. Zack originally felt compelled to act, but now, for whatever reason, he decided he would just sit back and watch how this went. The dark haired young man folded his arms over his chest and settled back to watch the event unfold, prepared to intervene if it became necessary. 'This should be interesting. Cause, I get the feeling Cloud isn't as much of a doormat as all bronze is used to dealing with, or is expecting', Zack mused, cocking his head to the side and lips curling into an amused smirk.

The brute stepped forward expecting Cloud to balk away. Cloud stood his grown, tightening his pale hands into fists in preparation to defend himself from the larger man. Harsh black eyes looked him up and down taking in the new posture. Black eyes narrowed, furry burning in the deep orbs. "What's the matter punk, don't speak? You too good to talk to anyone? Come on, tell us", the muscular candidate demanded, stepping forward and shoving Cloud back with the tips of his fingers on one hand.

Cloud lurched backwards, and the other candidates scurried out of the way allowing him to stumble into the wall. For moments and moments only, Cloud looked down and away from his aggressor.

The brut stalked up to his pray ready to pounce, but stopped short, a malicious grin covering his face. "I get it; you're just a little punk ass coward. You wanna be big and brave but you don't got it in ya", the brute announced with a harsh laugh, continuing, "Well, if you wanna right the situation all ya have to do is apologize for bumping into me and promise you'll keep your pathetic ass out of my way from now on. Do those things and this all ends."

Hands held out like some sort of saint, the brute looked back at his friends chucking and nodding as if what he proposed was both reasonable and natural. After looking at some of the surrounding candidates, the brute returned his glare to Cloud. The blond had straitened back up and was returning a hardened glare.

Enraged, the brute latched a massive hand onto the collar of Cloud's infantrymen uniform, driving the youth back into the wall and up onto the tips of his toes. Face inches away, the brute spat, "Pipsqueak wants to be a tough guy and not apologize, then fine. But I'm warning you pipsqueak, I'll make you change your mind about that real quick."

"I suggest you let go of me and walk away from this", Cloud growled softly back at the brute making it a point to re-narrow his eyes.

The brute's face wrinkled up in rage at the blonde's refusal to submit. "Looks like I'm changing your mind", the brute hissed balling up a fist in preparation to strike.

The fist sped towards Cloud's face. At the last second Cloud, broke the brute's grip and slipped off to the side, setting him self up for a counter attack. The brute's fist crashed painfully into the wall instead of making contact with the soft flesh it had been intended to make impact with.

The brute whirled around on his heel, fist drawn back for a second attempt on striking the blond directly. Cloud dashed forward to close the distance and swung his back leg around to strike with a round house kick to the shoulder blades as the brute was still turning.

A tight grip closed around the brute's wrist as he began to swing aimlessly, attempting to slug Cloud before he could strike him, while Cloud's kick was stopped short by an open palm that transitioned into a firm grip about his ankle.

So there the two stood frozen, the brute with a pulled back punch and Cloud with his high aimed round house kick almost fully extended, held in place by a black haired operative. "I think it's a bout time we end this. Don't ya think? I mean, you'd ware yourselves out before the hard stuff even started", Zack explained with a toothy grin, carefully shooting Cloud a quick wink.

"Uh yea, we was just messing around sir, but I get your point. We wouldn't wanna ware ourselves out before training and all", the great brute chuckled, suddenly becoming as docile and obedient as a trained puppy.

Zack looked from the brute to Cloud, pausing until he received a nod of understanding from each. Satisfied that the two would "quit their roughhousing", Zack released them from his strong hold. The brute continued to give Zack a deceivingly charming smile and backed up slowly to rejoin his group of friends, turning his back only once he was safely in their presence once more. Cloud, on the other hand, remained frozen, kick still held high with exceedingly good posture, gazing in amassment at the operative's speed.

Cloud knew Zack had been hovering just inside the first ring of people forming the fight circle around him and the larger candidate, but the speed at which the black haired youth intervened had been incredible. No, the speed had been the most amazing thing Cloud him self had ever had the chance to behold. This black haired youth was definitely something, and the blond couldn't have felt better about getting, as far as he could tell, on the black haired operative's good side.

Initial shock wearing off, though the new found admiration remained; Cloud lowered his leg to stand with both feet planted firmly on the ground blushing lightly. He must have looked like an idiot holding the kick up like that so long after being let go of.

Slowly, conversations picked back up where they had left off around the almost full blown fight. Candidates wandered back to their original spaces they had occupied, some being from within the fight zone and others being else where in the hall, and reformed their original groupings.

Slowly, Cloud was able to meld back into his surroundings, disappearing in the many larger figures, with his eyes downcast and posture lax once more. Keeping his eyes down, Cloud quickly sought out his bag and threw it back over his shoulder.

A quick glance showed Zack a few feet away, back towards the blond, watching the candidates to make sure everything was back under control. With Zack still distracted, the blond youth began to slip away down the hallway. There wasn't any need for someone like that operative to get involved with someone like him. In fact, the operative probably had better things to do than baby sitting the smallest of the pack.

Now there was a thought Cloud hadn't bothered with previously. Zack probably only offered to show him to his room because he had identified Cloud as the smallest and, therefore, probably the weakest. Zack was escorting him because he pitied him. That had to be the real explanation behind all this.

Mind made up that this was the case, Cloud squeezed his way through the masses, traveling further and further down the passage, putting more and more distance between him and Zack. 'Zack doesn't need to waste his time on me and I don't need his charity', Cloud thought bitterly.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alright, everything was back to normal and it was like nothing had ever happened. Pleased that he had successfully defused a situation on his own, Zack turned to find Cloud and continue on their mission to locate the stairs and then eventually Cloud's room. The only problem was…the blond was no where to be found.

Zack stood up on the tips of his toes to look over the candidates, working feverishly to spot at least the tips of the blonde's spiky hair, which had worked so well earlier in this mess. After a few seconds of scanning, the operative had no luck at finding the candidate. Had he been swept away somehow by the crowd reforming or something? Though, that wouldn't really surprise Zack at this point since Cloud had already appeared to be such a light weight.

Agitated by the mess, the black haired operative began making his way down the passage. Maybe Cloud had continued on not realizing he was now by him self.

Meer seconds passed and tips of blond spiky hair began dancing in and out of Zack's sight, floating into vision for a few split seconds between candidates, vanishing for a moment or two, and reemerging just a little further over or just a bit further up than before.

Target fazing in and out of his sights, Zack started shouldering has way through the thinning, now that he though about it, crowd in the general direction of the blond candidate. Positive he had become within ear shot, the black haired youth called out after the blond. There was no response and the blond didn't even move to look around in confusion.

Zack called out again, but again Cloud didn't even turn. This was becoming a pain. Zack had been positive Cloud should have heard him that time, but maybe it was still louder than Zack thought it was. So once more, the black haired youth called out after the blond candidate.

This time the blond stopped dead in his tracks and looked back over his shoulders revealing a slight blush across his cheeks. Was he embarrassed? If so what about? Unable to riddle it out for him self, Zack closed the remaining space between them, finding that Cloud had stopped on what one could call the very outskirts of the sea of candidates.

"Geeze, you move quick. Nearly left behind there for a moment", Zack laughed hitting Cloud playfully in the arm.

Cloud couldn't find it in hem self to tell the operative that he had purposely been trying to leave him behind so he could cut the in-connivance of escorting him short. "Oh, and by the way", Zack tacked on with another grin, "nice posture back there. And good form. I also don't think I've ever seen a candidate who could hold a kick that high and that long now that I think about it."

Zack threw an arm around the blonde's shoulder and gave the youth a light shake. "What do you say we go find your room now? I bet you could really use some rest after all that excitement, and that you can't wait to flop down on one this place's many mass produced beds", the operative questioned his eyes shinning happily in the odd lighting of the passageway,

"You really don't have to", the blond mumbled almost inaudibly, pale eyes becoming fixed on the ground like it was the only safe place to look.

Dark eyebrows knit together and the normally fixed smile went flat. "Don't have to do what? Show you to your room? I know I don't have to do that. I'm helping you out cause I feel like it, and it really isn't a problem", Zack replied.

The blond only shook his head, eyes still fixed on the ground. "No it's not that", the small youth mumbled, "You don't have to baby sit me and all. I know I might be the target of some pranks and jokes. And I know I might get shoved around a bit, but I can take care of my self. I know I can."

The slightly older youth listened carefully to the smaller one's mumbled words and took a few moments to let them register. The operative shook his head in response, using his arm to urge the small youth forward. "If I'm hearing you correctly, and I'm reading in between the lines right, then I want to say you got the wrong idea. I'm not hanging around to baby sit you and no one told me to look after you either. Every candidate is here on their own, no special attention and no special treatment. And I only singled you out because I thought you would be worth getting to know, that's all", Zack explained carefully returning to his normal cheery self as he added, "And by the way, I believe you when you say you can take care of your self. I only jumped in so that jack ass didn't end up getting sent to the medical ward before training even started. Sort of a sorry way for anyone to start their candidacy if you ask me."

The older youth gave a reassuring squeeze to the younger one, making it a point to leave his arm draped over the younger one's shoulder. Cloud blushed deeply at the small sign of affection and gave a weak smile up at the older youth, fighting to raise his eyes to meet the insanely blue ones of the operative.

"And seriously", Zack continued using his free hand to slap mindlessly at the electronic panel for the door to the stair well, "relax a little. I wasn't kidding with lesson number two. Relaxing when you can is important, and around me you can relax. Save all the up tightness for when you're around those training nazis during elimination rounds and stuff. Besides, I hate it when things are all up tight. It ruins the mood of things. Relaxed and carefree is the way to go."

The blond youth nodded taking in the operatives words. Another quick squeeze of the shoulders got the blond to look up and give a second weak smile in appreciation to the older youth.

Thankfully, Cloud had already looked back down towards the ground, because this time Zack noticed the weak fleeting smile. Heat raced up the back up the older youth's neck, threatening to engulf the tips of his ears and his evenly colored cheeks. The heat wave wasn't the only thing that surged over Zack. The heat was accompanied by a strange sensation that forced a smile from the operative's lips unlike his normal grins and smirks. This smile was more subdued and gentler than any other he had given before.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"318…316… Ah, here we are", Zack called back, slowing to a gentle stop, "Room 314. Your home away from home, at least until you get cut or are promoted to SOLDIER third class."

Cloud slowly wandered up to the operative standing in front of one of the hundreds of identical metallic doors that were set apart only by the numbers carved into their surface and then painted black. He stared long and hard at the three numbers, 314, carved into the door directly next the operative who had just guided him up a back staircase and around the many hallways of the third floor. This was going to be his new home for the next who knew how long.

Zack hit the panel next to the door mentioning something about meeting five other roommates. At the reminder of the hefty number of roommates, Cloud clenched his eyes shut and released a groan. He was willing to put up with anything, fight through anything, but the last thing he really wanted to deal with was roommates, because so far he had always drawn the short end of the stick when it came to this kind of thing.

In seconds, the door to the room slid open granting entry to the chamber beyond the door frame. It was an extremely simplistic room with minimal furnishing, which Cloud had expected. Unfortunately, though Cloud had wished against all odds this would not be the case, the room was also very confined, furniture packed in with the smallest necessary room needed to move about available except for down the center idle where a little extra room had been granted.

Three beds lined the right and left hand walls, their headboards against the wall. Each bed was teamed up with a plain dark metal nightstand without a drawer of any kind to the left it and a dark gray trunk at its foot. On the far wall were two built in desks, one on either side of a tall built in closet like structure that took up a third of the back wall space. Above each desk was a simple window with heavy navy blue blinds that had already been pulled up to allow light into the cramped living space.

Based on wrinkled covers and a few miscellaneous items, such as books or shirts, Cloud was able to deduce that the three beds on the right were already taken along with the third bed on the left. With a heavy sigh Cloud dropped his bag down on the first bed of the left row. He would have preferred to be further in but the best choices were already taken, and choosing the least desired bed out of the two possibilities would result in the least amount of argument.

"Right next to the door? You sure you don't want to move further in?" Zack questioned from his position leaning in the doorway.

Cloud only nodded to the other youth getting the feeling that if he tried to explain his choice, the other youth would only talk him into changing his mind.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Slightly depressed, Zack felt his smile weaken and eventually break. It looked like the time he was going to get to spend with the blond was drawing to a close. After all, how many more excuses to hang around the blond did the operative have? None, at least there were no excuses that were coming to the operative's mind.

Zack watched in silence, leaning on the door frame, as Cloud wandered into the room. He watched as the other youth gave the room a quick once over and then watched as the youth sorted through the availability of beds.

Eventually the other youth picked the closest bed on the left and dropped the stuffed bag on to the dark covers of the bed. When Zack asked if the blond really wanted to have the bed next to the door, his only answer had been a gentle nodding of the head.

A small smile was temporarily resurrected on Zack's gently tanned face. The blond would be right next to the door making it much easier to steal the younger youth away without anyone else in the room noticing. It would also make it easier for Zack to give the younger youth wake up calls as well as conduct random "check inns".

The temporary happiness quickly faded and Zack felt the slight depression setting back in. It really was odd. Zack had met so many people before, some being people he had taken a strong liking to rather quickly, but never had he felt depressed over not getting to spend more time with a person after knowing them for such a short time.

He had to find away to spend more time with the blond youth. There were no questions about it and Zack was prepared to sacrifice his time to be a demonstration dummy for the candidate training sessions if that's what it took…but hopefully it wouldn't have to come to that.

He had to be absolutely certain he had exhausted all other possibilities and his mind for any other options before he resorted to that. Commander Guile made such experiences less the pleasurable and the man him self made many things no longer worth while. Zack didn't want Cloud to become "no longer worth it". No, Guile could not ruin this, so he had to think of some other way first.

A light bulb went off in the recently dark idea portion of Zack's brain. "You know, they don't plan on showing you guys around ever, so why don't I give you a quick tour of the place along with some pointers? Then afterwards I can show you to the dinning hall and we can grab a quick bite to eat", Zack asked, holding his breath for the correct response.

"Uh sure, I'd like that…I mean, it would help…a lot", Cloud stuttered cheeks turning red for reasons beyond his comprehension.

"Alright lets get started then", Zack exclaimed with his classic grin returning to its rightful place.

"But first", Cloud interjected weakly, "do you mind answering a few question? I wanted to ask you them before I forget."

"Yea sure, ask away. No problems answering questions here", the operative agreed still grinning.

"First, by chance do you know when training starts for us tomorrow? Commander Guile never gave a time."

"Course the bastard didn't. He's probably trying to use that as a way to 'weed out' some of the candidates. You see, I remember posting a flyer, or whatever, on some of the notice boards for the hallways that were going to be used by candidates. The information on where and when you're supposed to meet should be on there. If not, I'll just ask Angeal, he might know."

"You already technically answered my second so onto the third. Which I guess you could say is a more out of curiosity then necessity…"

Zack nodded, urging the blond youth to continue with the question anyway. "What…what is exposure to mako energy like? I mean…you know…what does it feel like? What happens to you?"

The operative closed his eyes for a moment, face contorting in concentration before answering, "Well, each person handles it differently. Some people take it rather well while others…don't. Unfortunately everyone will find it less the comfortable…well, painful to some extent. Cold sweats are common. Minor fevers, headaches, and blacking out are also rather common. There are other responses to the injection but I wouldn't worry your self about all that now. And yes, I said injection. You aren't just simply exposed to mako energy like Commander stick-up-his –you-know-what makes it out to be. You are injected with specially processed and treated mako energy, but that's all the details I know about that."

Cloud shied away at the answer and seemed to be drawing back into himself. Afraid he might loose the youth, Zack cut into the silence with, "If that's all you wanted to know, why don't we get started? We have a little bit of ground to cover and a short time before the mess hall opens."

Zack reached out and took the blond by the wrist for the second time that day and began leading him out of the room. Just before making it out the door, the blond pulled back lightly and waited patiently for the older youth to come to a stop and look back. "Why…why are you being so nice to me?" the blond stuttered out before he could stop him self.

A blush crept over the small youths pale delicate face, eyes racing to find the floor. Zack's grin only grew at the question. "Because I feel like it, and I get the feeling your worth befriending", the dark haired youth answered casually brushing his bangs from his eyes.

After Cloud showed acceptance of the answer, Zack proceeded to lead to smaller youth out of the room and down the hall by the wrist to give a grand mini tour of the compound before dinner.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Before returning to his room that evening Cloud learned the locations of the shower room, baths, notice board for his hallway, nearest stairwell, and the main two elevators. Cloud also learned that the building directly across from the barracks, which had been on his right as he was heading to the meeting earlier that day, contained what he could call the gym as well as a few other things that Zack would spell out in detail later if Cloud didn't learn it on his own. One of the last bits Cloud learned was that the training fields and the out door ranges were all on the far side of the building he had entered for the meeting.

The final thing Cloud learned on Zack's tour was that the mess hall was what was located further back in the building with conference room one. It was at this point the two entered the mess hall to enjoy a basic yet slop free diner.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The door slid shut behind Cloud leaving him to stand alone in the darkness of his room. Instead of feeling for the light switch, the blond walked cautiously forwards searching for the bed with his knees and outstretched hands.

Finding the generic frame and mass produced mattress, Cloud crawled onto the bed feeling for the bag he had neglected to put away earlier before leaving his room with Zack. Instead of the bag he found a few small piles of clothes set out in a neat arrangement on his bed. Confused, and desperately wanting to find his bag so he could change into his night clothes, the blond edges his feet onto the floor and began grouping the wall for the light switch.

His fingers brushed gently over a slight bump in the smooth surface he was groping. Returning to the imperfection, h ran his fingers up and down its length trying to flip the supposed switch. A soft click rewarded his efforts and less then half of the rooms lights flickered on, the light becoming bright enough that he could see around the room but leaving the room dim enough that his quickly adjusting eyes wouldn't be hurt.

The blond turned back around to return to locating of his bag and the solving of what else was placed on his bed. His bag, he found, had been relocated to on top of his trunk at the foot of his bed. On his bed, were four neat piles of clothes, which Cloud guessed were different training outfits. The piles consisted of four dark blue pants, two black muscle shirts, two black t-shirts, and two jackets matching the pants in color, one with a hood and one without. Off to the side of the piles were two belts. The first was leather and easily determined as an average belt you used to keep up your pants. The second belt was thick and made from a sturdy fabric like material and had a canteen attached to it.

Cloud took this opportunity to unpack his bag, carefully stowing away its content in the chest at the foot of his bed. He taped the few pictures he had to the inside of the lid and stacked all his clothes from his bag neatly, by type of clothing, along the bottom of the trunk keeping mostly to the right. In the tray the lifted it self out of the trunk when he opened it, Cloud, placed his toiletries, books, and towel.

To finish off his settling in, Cloud reached back up onto his bed and carefully grabbed hold of each stack of clothes. First he placed the blue pants in and then next to them he placed all four black tops. Between these new tops and bottoms and all his old clothes, Cloud placed his jackets carefully into the trunk.

Satisfied with the arrangement, the blond stripped off his clothes, discarding them in a laundry bag that had been hung off the end of his bed, and pulled on a clean set of boxers and his baggy gray night pants. Snatching his towel from the chest shelf along with the small bag holding his soap and what not, Cloud closed the trunk and head off down the hall for a quick shower before turning in for the night.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cloud blinked the haze from his eyes bringing the monochrome ceiling of the dimly lit room into focus. He rubbed at his heavy eyes tiredly as he tried to remember why he had set is alarm to go off so god awful early.

Training or, more appropriately put, elimination for SOLDIER candidates started today, and showing up late was a sure fire way to get sent packing. Mind now functioning at the minimally required level, the blond candidate reached lazily over to his bedside table to hit the off button of his softly beeping alarm that worked at the current volume only because Cloud was a relatively light sleeper. Fingers slipping over the top of the buttons of the small clock, the blond smiled weakly to him self remembering how he had remembered to unpack the tiny thing from his bag and set only seconds before he turned in the night before.

If he had forgotten…Cloud shuddered at the thought. To say the least it would have been bad and he most likely would have been sent with his tail between his legs back to his old infantry position. Once back he would surly have had his sorry ass kicked thoroughly by his old commanding officer whom Cloud was not eager to return to the command of under any circumstance. But this was not going to be the case, at least not because he overslept today at least.

Now, more or less awake, the blond sat up lazily bringing his knees to his chest and looking around the room courtesy of the light from bright lamps on the outside of the building slipping in around the heavy cloth blinds. Each previously perfectly made bed was marred by a large bump under the covers, some consuming more of the area of the bed than others. The bumps gently expanded and shrunk to their own silent rhythm.

Cloud quietly kicked back the covers and slipped out of his bed glancing at the clock as he went. He had around an hour to get ready and make it down to the mess hall. He kneeled in front of his trunk and carefully pushed the lid back. Glancing around the room to ensure he wasn't disturbing any of his still slumbering roommates he wondered, 'Should I wake them up? Maybe I shouldn't in case they planned to get more sleep and take less time to get ready. But…what if they never figured out the time and guessed a later one? What if their alarms aren't going off or they forgot to set them? Or what if they realized mine was set and figured I would wake them up so they didn't set theirs?'

The blond knelt frozen on the floor by his trunk running through the different possibilities trying to determine of he should wake them all up or not. Muted beeping from another alarm besides his, which shouldn't be going off again anyway, interrupted his thought process.

Light gray sheets, and the washed out blue cover, on another bed rustled quietly in the silent room, and a soft click marked the end of the muted beeping. Sheets on the so far unidentified bed continued to rustle for a few more seconds. Then the figure of a sturdy tall figure with a slimmer build than some rose from the center bed on the opposite side from Cloud.

The other candidate rolled his shoulders, stretched his arms out in front of him, and flexed his fingers before making his way carefully around the bed to his trunk, throwing the lid back and catching it at the last second to keep it from crashing against the bed frame. But before kneeling or bending over to dig through the trunk, the tall candidate gave a swift kick to mattress of the bed furthest from Cloud along the right wall.

As the first roommate that Cloud had even seen, now that he thought about it, took a knee to dig for the things needed in the trunk, the inhabitant of the kicked bed stirred briefly before settling back into the sheets of his bed. Heaving a sigh, the first roommate stood dropping a pile of clothes on his own bed. Taking a few paces closer to the neighbor's bed, the first roommate bent over and gave the mattress a hard shove, jostling the inhabitant.

Within seconds, the neighbor swatted back his and sat up in a half dazed stupor. After blinking a few times and stretching out his back, the second roommate awake crawled out of bed, nearly colliding with the wall as he did so, and made his way clumsily to his own trunk. There he dropped down in front of it and fidgeted with the lid for a few seconds before finally opening it.

Now finally climbing to his feet, Cloud pulled a stack of clothes that consisted of the pieces he needed to make the training uniform stated on the board the night before, and threw them down on top of his tussled bedding. He then reached back into the trunk to pull out the bag with his toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, gel, and soap and washcloth placing the things such as his shampoo back into the tray of the trunk.

The slight bit of noise these actions generated earned the blond a quick glance from the first roommate. With a nod, Cloud carefully closed the lid of his trunk, picked up his bag of morning essentials, and felt along the wall next to the door for the open button.

Cloud made his way down the hallway, which was blessed with the presence of a few other individuals besides him, to the bathroom which was only seven or eight doors down from his room. He was quickly joined by the tall candidate from his own room who, in a rough mid toned voice, hailed, "Morning, and a pleasure to finally meet you. The name's Kitami, Maru. And I really would have introduced myself to you sooner, but whenever I was in the room you weren't there, and when you finally were, you were asleep."

Kitami held out a tanned hand as he walked along side Cloud. "Strife, Cloud", the blond replied taking Kitami's hand for a friendly handshake, Kitami's tan skin in stark contrast with Cloud's pale skin.

Footsteps thudded up the hall after the two. After a quick glance back Kitami gestured over his shoulder stating, "Oh, and this is another one of our roommates, Shin."

Cloud looked back to find the other candidate was shorter than Kitami by a matter of inches and of a broader build. Shin had dark brown hair only an inch or two long, solid stone colored eyes, and a moderate skin tone. A bit of a contrast to Kitami's light sun kissed brown hair, light green eyes, and tanned skin.

'Two roommates down, and three to go', Cloud remarked in his head wondering if his luck would hold up and the other three would be as mild mannered and respectable as the first two, but he knew only time would tell.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

One roommate Cloud would never get the pleasure of formally meeting because, as pointed out by Kitami, the man was one of the ones eliminated first thing that morning for arriving on the training grounds a minute late according to the head officers watch, which Cloud quickly noted was a few minutes fast.

The second batch, technically speaking because there were those who never even learned the right time and didn't even know they were already done, of candidates to be eliminated already past, the head officer for that morning divided the remaining candidates into groups, assigning them an officer, and had the officer began them on stretches that rapidly morphed into strenuous exercises.

Some of the exercises consisted of basic exercises, such as the pushup, but the way the drill worked made the simple tasks increasingly difficult. One such exercise required them to start out doing twenty push ups, and on the last one they were to stop still in the down position and hold it until the whistle was blown, at which point they could return to the up position. The whistle would be blown again and this time they would add on five more pushups following the exact same instructions before. This sequence continued until they reached fifty to sixty pushups in one set, though Cloud couldn't remember the exact number because his mind had gone numb back at around forty or so.

As the morning drew to a close, and the blazing disk of light rose higher and higher into the sky, Cloud found himself praying there would be at least a half hour noon break. He collapsed as the officer assigned to his group called the end of the drill, and half crawled over to the side where his canteen had lay untouched for the past thirty minutes.

He wanted to down the contents of the canteen in one go but there were a few things that kept him from actually doing so. The first was that Cloud knew gulping down that much water that quickly would most certainly make him sick. Second of all, getting sick from drinking too much water too quickly was a great way to make him self look foolish and eventually causing him to be considered for elimination. After all, they wouldn't need anyone in SOLDIER that was stupid enough to, or lacked the self control to prevent, downing water and retching as a result.

The third and final reason was that he didn't know when or if they would allow the candidates to refill their canteens. One of the goals may also be to teach the candidates the importance of rationing and Cloud wasn't about the quench his thirst for this moment only to go thirsty for the rest of the day.

Over short controlled gulps of cool water, Cloud heard his training officer conversing with another man in a SOLDIER uniform, but he was unable to make out exact words at any point during the conversation. With his luck, the two were probably discussing which exercise would finish off some of the candidates.

Much to Cloud's and the other candidate's relief, their training officer turned and announced, "You have an hour and half break. Use it to eat lunch, refill your canteens, and retrieve your fighting gear, meaning whatever close range melee weapon you wield best along with any necessary gear to wield it, if any at all. Note that any sort of firearm does not meet requirements. Now get out of here, and don't be late getting back."

With a wave of his hand, the instructor finished dismissing the candidates from their morning training. Cloud remained on his back staring up the blue sky over head, framed on the outskirts of his vision by the walls of the training grounds. Lunch and a break sounded great, but the blond wasn't sure he had the energy left to get up, much less eat.

Pale eyes fluttering closed, Cloud began to drift off. A firm hand closed around each of his wrists and powerful muscles pulled at his body, using his wrists as the fulcrum, to lift him onto his numb legs.

Once upright, the blond almost fell forward, knees begging to give way, and eyes open half heartedly in a daze.

Light tapping on his cheek by a hand stirred the blond further and helped him to completely come back around. Eyes fully open, the blond could see a firm toned chest hidden beneath a form fitting navy blue shirt and two leather straps.

The figure holding him up by his shoulders gave him a slight shake, and Cloud found the strength to lift his head so he could take in the face of his supporter. There was a toned face wearing a wide grin formed by thin lips, surrounded by black spikes of hair, and completed with blazing blue eyes.

"Zack", Cloud managed to utter mindlessly.

"There we go", Zack half sung at the blonde's recognition.

The black haired operative threw an arm around the exhausted candidate's shoulders as he spun the petite youth to face the same direction he was with the opposite hand. For Cloud, the world spun dangerously out of control for a matter of seconds before settling to its normal state, only to find himself walking awkwardly towards the open gate of the training field. His feet stumbled one in front of the other at an erratic pace, each foot catching multiple times on the ground and his other foot.

Still dazed, Cloud was escorted through the gates, into the courtyard, and through a series of two sets of sliding glass doors. Through the first set of doors the air surrounding Cloud became far less heated. Through the second door, the surrounding air became cool and pleasant, hitting the blond as a bit of a shock after being out in the heat all morning.

Revitalized and reanimated by the cool air, the blond straitened up and forced his feet to work in a more predictable and reliable manner. Although the air around him was now cool, the blond still felt a slight heat crawling up the back of his exposed neck. "Hey, you might want to invest in some suntan lotion cause it looks like the back of your neck is starting to turn a little pink there", Zack pointed out with a smile after glancing over at the smaller youth.

At the hint of possible sunburn, Cloud's hand flew up to the back of his neck to test the exposed skin. Running his fingers over the spot he discovered that it wasn't tender and it wasn't excessively warm like a sunburn would be. That alone offered some relief. There was a good chance he wasn't completely burned after all.

With another glance Zack amended, "Oops, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you with that. And…it looks like there isn't a forming burn there after all. Must have been the lighting."

Cloud's eyes widened and his fingers froze over the skin of his neck. So there wasn't even the slightest sign of forming sunburn anymore? Did that mean he had been blushing? But…why? Why would he be blushing? It wasn't like he was being carried in.

A shy glance up and over at the operative with his arm around him coaxed another warm sensation to ride up the back of his neck, this time spreading to the tips of his ears. Could it be Zack? Was Zack the reason behind Cloud's blushing?

Suddenly becoming aware of an increased heart rate, Cloud ducked out from under Zack's arm to walk backwards in front of the dark haired youth. "So, why did you make it a point to find me and march me here to the mess hall?" the younger youth questioned with his head tilted to one side.

The older youth gave an exaggerated shrug. "Felt like it that's why…I guess", Zack laughed in response adding on, "That and I was over there for some training myself. I saw all the candidates start flocking for the mess and I thought 'Why not look for Cloud'. So I looked for you and found you…looking rather dead I might add. But I don't blame you. The first day's pretty tough."

"Yea, it sure is. To make it worse I don't think I've had such a hard work out in a while, or at least a workout any where close to this in a while", Cloud muttered turning on his heel, deciding he was lucky he hadn't run into anybody or anything yet.

With a huge grin, Zack pulled up even with Cloud giving the smaller youth a hard hit square in the center of his back. "You seem tough though. I bet you'll make it, so just hang in there. And since you made it this far I'm gunna fill you in on a little secret", the operative announced casually to the younger youth, signaling for him to lean in closer.

Cloud leaned in towards the operative, practically resting his head on his shoulder, which he just about wound up doing anyway when Zack pulled him a little closer with another arm around the shoulders. "Secret is", Zack whispered energetically, "that the hardest days are practically the first week or so. Things will even out down the road and the work out level will become a hell of a lot easier to deal with because these first few weeks are gunna build you up. So push yourself to make it through the first few weeks, and you shouldn't have a problem later on."

The operative gave Cloud another grin and loosened his grip. Cloud straitened back up, allowing the operative's arm to slide over his shoulder, down his bare arm, and across his hand. A light shiver shot through the blonde's body, and he scrunched up his shoulders and closed his eyes momentarily in response.

Weak and faint, a smile teased across Cloud's lips which caused the operative's smile to broaden and his eyes to brighten considerably. In a brighter mood, Zack grabbed hold of Cloud's arm, delighting in the smooth sensation of the smaller one's skin, and towed him in the direction of a line that seemed far shorter than the others.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sitting alone on a long wooden bench, pulled out far enough so that he could lean against the cold hard wall, Zack watched as Cloud disappeared through the doors of the mess hall, enveloped by the bright daylight outside, which made the smaller youth look almost angelic.

Though Cloud was already gone from sight, Zack's eyes remained fixed on the point at which he could last see the smaller youth. He had been wishing the younger man could stick around a while longer, but he knew that wasn't possible. Being late to anything when you were a candidate for SOLDIER was asking for your death warrant to be signed. Being late meant packing your bags and leaving the compound without question. You just didn't show up late.

Zack wanted to be many things, but one of the things he most certainly did not want to be was the reason a candidate he liked was late to training. At this early stage of the game, not even a current SOLDIER member vouching for a candidate could save them, so Zack had let the younger man go…reluctantly.

Placing his arms folded atop the hard surface of the table, Zack leaned forward and carefully rested his head on top of his arms. Brilliant blue eyes still fixed on the last spot Cloud had been in sight, he released a deep sigh. He was bored…already. On top of that he was already missing his newest friend.

"Don't get too attached Zack", Kunsel warned sliding in on the bench next to the zoned out operative.

Zack jumped in his seat and bolted upright at the disembodied voice. The operatives blundering movements bumped the bench back in towards the table which led to his center of balance no longer being fully supported. Now off center and off balance, the event was completed by Zack practically following backwards off the bench, smacking his head against the wall as he went.

Kunsel fought back a barrage of laughter but the strangled sounds still remained audible. Still fighting to suppress the fit, Kunsel asked, "Startle much?"

"No, not really", came Zack's care free reply. The dark haired operative's legs were still half draped over the bench, and his torso and lower legs practically formed a ninety degree angle. His back was pressed up against the wall along with his neck and shoulders, and his face was about even with his knees, that were more on top of the bench than anything else.

"Right", Kunsel drawled taking a long slurp from the drink he was finishing, "So as I was saying, don't get too attached to him Zack. The guy's a candidate, and we both know any candidate could get cut at any time for any number of reasons."

"I know, I know", Zack grunted as he struggled to return to an upright sitting position.

The operative's friend simply nodded and continued to slurp the last of his drink. Dramatic, and loud, slurps erupted from the straw marking the cups dying moments and Kunsel sucked the container dry. With one last dry slurp, the friend put his empty cup down on the table and looked over at the operative now finally sitting properly upon the bench.

"But I get a feeling Cloud isn't about to get booted any time soon. I think he's gunna stick around a while", Zack explained in an airy breath as he stretched his arms back behind him, popping his back and pulling his chest tight.

"A little early for those kinds of observations. Besides, the last time you bothered to say that about someone they ended up lasting for about a week longer before Commander Guile personally eliminated him", Kunsel retorted with a shrug.

Zack snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well I hadn't really talked to that guy at all. I just said that after watching one of his practice matches, one! And I never said it with complete conviction or anything", the black haired youth continued defending his words, "Besides, this time I have actually been talking to the person I'm saying it about and I had the opportunity to watch him a little earlier."

"Watch him a little", Kunsel repeated with a raised eyebrow, "These candidates have been around for less than twenty four hours. All you could have seen him do is pushups, jumping jacks, stretches, and suicides."

"Yea, so? He looks like he has a lot of resolve and conviction. A lot of drive, and I can see it in his eyes. And eyes don't lie, Kunsel. Eyes don't lie", the dark haired youth exclaimed pointing at one of his own bright blue eyes.

"I'm sure they don't Zack, but the point is these candidates are just getting started. Anything can happen at this point. Your precious new little blond friend could get cut at any second at this point. And not to be a damper, it looks like he's the runt of the pack. The runts never do well, at least not normally. Yea on occasion one makes it but that's rare. Rare, Zack, and that's another way of saying highly unlikely", Kunsel explained pushing Zack away from him a bit since the youth had ended up leaning in.

"I know that, but I still honestly think he might have what it takes. And, by the way, the way you're talking its like I'll get hurt if I get too close to him and he gets cut. It's not like I'd never be able to find him again after he got cut or something", Zack argued, placing an elbow on the table so he could use his hand as an elevated head rest.

"That's not exactly how I meant it to come across", the friend began informing the youth while scratching the side of his face, "What I am getting at is that you are already really use to having the blond around and it's been less than twenty four hours. If you completely befriend him and get used to hanging out with him for an hour a two a day, and then all the sudden he gets the boot…I get the feeling you'll get at least a little depressed. Admit it, when you get used to something it just doesn't feel right when it's gone all of the sudden. And that not feeling right turns into the feeling of something's missing, and when it feels like something's missing any normal human being gets a little depressed."

The youth winced at his friend's words. They were true…all of them, but that didn't mean he was ready to give up on befriending Cloud. There was just something about the blond, and Zack wasn't going to let him get away. "I just don't think he's going anywhere any time soon, at least not as long as I can do anything for him", the youth mumbled entering another daze when his eyes happen to take in the spot he had previously been fixed on.

"What? You going to become the kid's guardian angel or something?"

"No", Zack spluttered coming back to reality, almost falling sideways, "I didn't say anything like that. If Guile or any of those other jerks try to cut him for stupid reasons I'll step in and say something", muttering as an after thought, "…or ask Angel to anyway…"

"So now your getting Angeal involved", Kunsel smirked, rolling his eyes and smacking his hand over his forehead, "Geeze. Well, just watch it ok? And by that I mean don't get too attached and you know I mean well."

Kunsel ruffled Zack's hair and leapt as the youth swatted at him playfully. The older man raised a hand in a quick wave and trotted off to engage in some idle conversation for the sake of learning something no doubt.

The black haired operative wistfully returned the wave and laid his head down on the table. Resting peacefully, he thought about everything and nothing at the same time. But regardless of the vast train of though, his thoughts soon came back to Cloud.

Cloud strode slowly, as if being played in slow motion, through open doors. Light bathed his body, slowly engulfing it, and emphasizing each and every one of his pale features. His hair glowed softly and his pale skin gave a warm gentle glow.

Before the light engulfed him completely, he looked back. His pale eyes were clear and delicate like fine glass beads. This skin over his face appeared so soft and gentle, and his lips looked smooth as flower petals. Golden, sun crested feathery bangs swayed back and forth over his face and eyes.

The angel closed his eyes slowly, slowly reopened them, turned his head away, and then Zack could see him complete his graceful stride through the door. Fingers of white light, like on a hand, reached in around his fragile figure eventually closing in around him, obscuring him from view. With each stride his figure grew fainter and fainter until nothing but the light flowing in through the door remained.

A soft warm sensation crept up Zack's neck, and flooded over the tips of his ears. Still searching for more flesh to claim, the sensation trickled over his cheeks. Heat, flooded up from under his collar, sending heat waves licking at his chin and cheek bones.

Eyes pleasantly vacant, Zack reached a steady hand up to his own cheek. It was warm to the touch. The operative straitened up, staring at his own hand which he had pulled away from his warm face. He was blushing, and he knew it.

Zack shook his head. The account he replayed in his head seemed so right but at the same time he wanted to say that it was different that what had actually happened. Cloud was a friend. He had walked out of the mess hall, into the sunlight, looking and had looked back once in a sort of "see you later" kind of way".

The operative could have sworn, that when Cloud had actually walked out the door it had seemed normal, but when he recalled it…Zack closed his eyes again letting the memory begin to replay. The memory seemed so much more unreal. And what about the blushing?

The blond was a friend…and a guy, though Zack had to admit that he was a rather cute guy. The thought caused Zack to shake his head again. His thoughts were getting a little too weird. Perhaps his boredom was getting the better of him.

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A/N: The yaoi draws ever closer. You can just feel it can't you? Though maybe I should make it clear that I may not be able to give you more than lime. In fact, I think I know I like writing some good lime and fluff and stuff. (But don't be disappointed my level of lime is good and strong. It aint weak^^) However, I don't think I have what it takes to give you lemon, and I feel my kind of writing gears more towards the, dare I say it,…cutesy stuff? (Nah, cutesy doesn't cut it but I'll think of a better word later) Whatever, later down the road I'll start asking for more input about that kind of stuff.

Anyway, chapters over so click the button below, you know that one that mentions "review" and tell me what you think. Until we meet again, Happy Reading!