Hey! Just a heads up for anyone who may not have noticed - I posted two chapters today, so you may wanna swing back and check out Chapter Two if you missed that. Thanks so much for the support!


Chapter Three

Cloud watched as Angeal diligently boxed up yet another of his masterpieces, smirking when his newest boyfriend was finally content with the packaging. So focused…it never got old seeing how invested Angeal was in every single aspect of his job. Finally he looked up, smiling back at Cloud.

"You know," Angeal said, taking a step away from the counter before tugging Cloud in close, "I've thought about this before."

"About what?"

"Reaching out and grabbing you just like this—right here. It finally occurred to me that nothing's stopping me anymore."

He raised both brows. They'd been very careful about treading this path since their relationship had started six months prior…mixing business with pleasure. Work had, for the most part, remained just that—work.

But there was no denying Cloud liked where this conversation was going. "Is that all?"

"Well, I've thought about much more. But this is a cake shop even if we're not set up for customers like a regular bakery. We have to keep things sanitary back here."

"Maybe we can head up to my office and you can tell me more about what you had in mind."

"Mm, I'd like that," Angeal agreed, kissing Cloud's neck so sweetly. "After you take this though. The buyer won't be pleased if we miss the drop off time. It came out perfectly too—I'm excited to hear about their reaction when they see it."

"Right," Cloud muttered, both frazzled and disappointed when Angeal pulled back. He reached out, cupping Angeal's face and drawing him back in for one quick kiss before brushing his thumb gently over the man's right cheek. "You had some flour there."

"Thank you. You'd better get going before we get too distracted."

"Yeah. You have another order to get started on, right?"

"Three more this week," Angeal confirmed.

Cloud frowned—it was already Thursday. Three more cakes this week meant Angeal would be pulling some extra hours, again.

These weren't simple, round cakes with a coat of frosting and a sloppy happy birthday iced on top.

These were custom cakes, shaped and decorated to suit each individual client's need. Every single one was its own extended project for Angeal—from baking the cakes, making the fondant and icings, and creating the homemade toppings (candies, cupcakes, and a full assortment of other edible delights) to crafting the materials into the image the buyer had in mind for their event (in this case, a two foot tall cactaur cake, one arm up and one arm down. Its body was covered in 1,000 edible 'needles', as per the client's original request.)

…It was a time consuming process, to say the least.

More so than Cloud had initially realized, and he was a 50/50 partner in the business. He just handled designing the cakes though—sketching out the orders as they were received, confirming details with their clients, and ultimately delivering them upon completion (sometimes out of the city even, if they were being paid enough). On top of all that, he had to handle their schedules, making sure not to overbook any given day or week since they were a two man show at the moment.

It was actually a lot of work on most days, but it was the easy job comparatively. They both handled meetings with suppliers as they could, though with their business on the rise, Cloud was doing as much as he could on the business end to free up Angeal's time for more orders.

"We need to hire a baking assistant," Cloud insisted, something that was becoming a repetitive suggestion now.

"We need to think about getting a company van to transport these safely, too," Angeal countered.

"They're safe on the back of my bike. I made that custom cooler myself just for these cakes, and I always turn slow enough that nothing shifts or falls apart."

"It's not just about that, it's about your own safety. Some of the designs are getting more and more detailed—they're bigger and heavier. The extra weight could—"

"Even with everything I have back there to secure it, it's not like a cake'll ever be heavier than having a person back there."

"But a cake doesn't lean with you when you turn."

Cloud frowned. Maybe Angeal had a point there. "I guess. Profits are high enough to warrant both, so we can talk about that later. For now, I think the priority needs to be getting a baking assistant in here as soon as we can. We could even hire two and open that front section up for regular customers, like a real shop. Do some pre-made cakes for people who can't afford to special order like this."

"I would like my cakes to be more accessible to the average person. I think we could still do some unique designs still, even if they aren't as customized. Maybe some other baked goods for people who want something small."

"I better get this secured to the bike and head out," Cloud said, eyeing the clock quickly. "We'll talk more about all this later?"

"I'll be gone by the time you're back from that one. Zack said something about a surprise night on the town, just the two of us."

Cloud smiled warmly—Zack had mentioned that to him earlier. Angeal was definitely in for a treat. "No problem. I guess we'll just have to find time to have that office meeting we talked about tomorrow—then we can work out those other details after."

"Sounds good. Let me know how they like the cake?"

"Of course," Cloud replied, letting Angeal steal one last kiss. "Have fun tonight."

"You too."

"I will. I haven't had the place to myself in ages—I might be able to get some stuff done without being interrupted for a change."

Like comb through their schedules to see about freeing up time to do some employee interviews. There was also a cracked cabinet door that had become something of an eyesore, and he knew it was only a matter of time before Angeal took it upon himself to fix it if he didn't get to it first…

That or maybe he could read his newest book—LOVELESS, the highly anticipated sequel to To Be Loved. Zack had surprised him with a copy of the book that very morning, and the gesture seemed a lot more thoughtful now that he remembered both his boyfriends would be out that evening.

The dramatic new title and use of capital letters definitely sparked Cloud's interest already, and he was more than a little curious to see how it would factor into the story. To Be Loved had been such an uplifting romance, he was actually a bit worried to think about what might be in store for the characters this time around.

Yeah, the more he thought it over, the more he needed to find out. Some alone time to read sounded relaxing, too. He'd just need to check the work calendar before headed home, and the pesky cabinet could wait a few more days.


Page 263.

"My friend, the fates are cruel," Ignis said, so whimsically as he eyed Gladiolus. He reached out, tracing his fingers delicately along Gladiolus' muscled arms.

"We knew this day would come."

An understatement given the circumstances. It hurt to say more though—to think about what it meant now that this day had finally arrived.

"I'm happy for you," Gladiolus insisted. It would have been soothing if not for the crack in his voice. "I always knew you'd succeed."

A long pause lingered in the air, unpleasant and unbefitting two men who had known each other for so many years. At the end of it, Ignis reached out, offering the book in his hand to the larger man.

"For you," he muttered, his smile looking a bit forced as well. "You know, it's not too late to change your mind, Gladiolus. You can come with me."

Cloud could feel his heart breaking, too invested in their relationship to sit idly by while they…broke up? But there wasn't much else he could do other than keep going—keep reading and see them through to the end. There were still a hundred pages at least, which meant there was time for them to work it out.

He kept scanning the pages, eager yet tense—but even as focused as he was, there was no mistaking the sound of Zack's car pulling up into their driveway.

"You know I can't, Ignis. We've been over this a dozen times now."

"And you were wrong each time. I love you—I want you to join me."

"I love you too," Gladiolus responded, a severe frown on his face as he eyed his lover. "That doesn't change anything. My life is here."

"Am I not an important part of your life?"

"Of course you are! Don't say it like that, it's not—"

"I've offered to pay. I can take care of us, Gladiolus, if you'd just let me."

"…You know I can't let you do that. It's not…it's just not who I am, Ig. I need to work—to pitch in and do things for myself."

"Yes, you've always been that way. Stubbornly so."

"You say it like I'm the only one being stubborn. We can make this work—it's only a few months."

"The first leg of the tour is a few months. It's a two year contract. Unless something goes terribly awry, we both know I'll be gone for the duration."

"I can wait for you."

"That's not how I want to live my life," Ignis said, and not for the first time. "I can handle time apart, but two years? We both know that won't work for me. I'm not ashamed to say I'm too needy for that."

"If you're going to go, then go."

"It's so easy to send me away after all this time?"

"Stop doing that—acting like this doesn't matter to me. It matters, Ignis, and I'm not happy about it."

"You just told me you were happy—"

"I'm happy you're achieving your dreams! That you get to go have all the experiences you've imagined for all these years. I'm not happy you're leaving me behind in the process."

"Not by choice."

"…I think we've both made our choices here."

"Apparently we have. I'll see you in two years then—don't wait for me."

There was no way to tear his eyes away from the page as the door opened, two sets of footsteps ignored as he pressed onward.

"Hey, babe. How's the book?"

Cloud held up a finger, still scanning the page. His jaw dropped slightly, Ignis walking out the door and leaving Gladiolus there…neither looking back. Those idiots! It was infuriating to think about, especially after everything they had gone through—years of friendship leading to a well-deserved romance—how could either walk away so easily?

They were both too stubborn for their own good—too hurt to realize they were just hurting themselves more by letting this happen.

"No spoilers!" Zack exclaimed, a hand on his hip as he eyed Cloud. "I can tell by the look on your face something bad happened, and I don't wanna know. I'm planning to read it when you were done."

"I might stay up to finish it tonight," Cloud admitted, reluctantly closing the book and leaving it on the arm rest as he hopped up to properly greet both of his boyfriends. The nagging voice in his head was still dying to keep reading, but damn it felt good to wrap his arms around these two. "Did you guys have a good time?"

"It was the best date I've had in years. Other than our date nights altogether, of course," Angeal answered, chuckling softly as Zack's smirk grew. "What're you reading? I thought you said you had things to do tonight."

"Uh, I did, but this sounded more fun," he explained with a shrug. He snatched the book and offered it to Angeal to take a look, his boyfriend eyeing it over curiously. "Zack got it for me—it just came out a few days ago. It's actually the sequel to—"

"To Be Loved," Angeal finished, his smile faltering. "I hadn't realized there was a sequel."

"I don't think it was planned originally. The book really took off though, and so many people wanted more—I guess the author couldn't say no. It's really good so far, but totally heartbreaking."

"No spoilers!" Zack warned again, completely serious as he pointed a finger at Cloud.

Of course, Cloud just rolled his eyes in response to that. "You know," he started, turning his attention to Angeal. Something about what he was going to say felt…right, but he still felt weird saying it out loud after thinking it for so long. Angeal just looked so patient as he paused though, his eyes giving Cloud the courage to continue, "You kinda look like how I imagine one of the main characters. Before we were together even, I always had you in mind when I read the first book."

"Hey, me too!" Zack admitted eagerly. "All that's missing are the tattoos."

"It's not that surprising," Angeal said, letting out a short sigh. "The character is…"

"You read the first book?"

"You could say that. I basically had it recited to me from start to finish," Angeal explained carefully.

"Your ex was a fan?" Cloud guessed, not super surprised—it was a pretty popular book. What was more surprising was Angeal's beet red face and the way he was struggling to hold eye contact with either of them now. "Ang, are you okay?"

"Remember how I told you my ex-boyfriend was a writer?"

"Yeah—the guy you were with before us. You said he took off to pursue his…" Zack paused, eyes lighting up with realization. It took a minute before Cloud caught on, not quite sure if he believed it. "No way. You actually are Gladiolus?"

"No, he's a fictional character," Angeal said sternly. "He's just…based off me. Genesis had added some extra details like the different hairstyle and the tattoos because I felt awkward about the whole thing. He made Ignis look different from himself too, something about how he didn't want to seem pompous by blatantly having the lead man match his description."

"How'd he pick your name? Was it like…a kinky codename?"

"No! I have a cousin named Gladiolus, and Gen liked to tease about—" Angeal shook his head, cutting himself off. "It doesn't matter. The point is, I had no idea he was writing a follow up piece."

"Well, I guess I can kinda assume they break up, huh?" Zack realized, pouting a bit.

"Maybe not," Cloud said slowly. "I've got a hundred pages still—it could be he changed things for the sake of fiction. People like happy endings."

"I can't believe he wrote another book and didn't even tell me," Angeal grumbled, running a hand through his hair. "I would've…warned you or something. I didn't think it was a big enough deal to mention before."

"Hey, don't worry about that," Zack told him, rubbing smooth, calming circles into Angeal's back. "I'm sure Cloud and I have exes we haven't been that specific about too. I mean, who cares now?"

"Yeah, we all have crap in our pasts. It's not like it's a secret, but sometimes it's just not work talking about."

"Thank you. Both of you," Angeal said, his smile slowly returning. "It's definitely just that—crap from my past. We broke up nearly two years ago, and I'm happier now than I can remember being in…I don't even know how long. Between having a new career, and having both of you—I couldn't ask for more."

"So, wait. Did you really meet when you were just kids?"

"Yes."

"And so you grew up together?"

"…Yes."

"And you had a crush on him and thought it was unrequited all that time? Until the boat scene when you were in college?"

Angeal chuckled quietly. "Yes. Nearly everything that happened in the first book was accurate. A few scenes got a little exaggerated, and Genesis obviously enjoyed being able to phrase Ignis' lines perfectly even when it wasn't always how he phrased things, but in terms of the events the characters went through, yeah."

"Whoa. So why'd you…" Zack frowned, unable to finish his question. "This is gonna be another spoiler, isn't it?"

"I haven't read the sequel, but probably," Angeal confirmed solemnly.

"Ignis finally lands his dream job then?" Zack guessed, not waiting for either to nod in confirmation. "And…so what? That's great news, isn't it?"

"I was happy for him," Angeal said with a sigh. "I still am, even after everything. It just so happened his dream job included a lengthy long book tour. Between travel and doing workshops and conferences, the contract was set to take up to two years. And that was before he had a sequel."

"You couldn't go along or visit?"

"It's more complicated than that. I didn't want to stop working just to go with him—it's not who I am. Visiting would've been fine for me, but Genesis has always been…needy. I'm sure we could've worked something out, but he made it clear he didn't want to feel tied down to someone who wouldn't be around regularly."

"Ohh," Cloud muttered, nodding in sudden understanding. "That sounds just like Ignis."

"We both…we said a lot of things the day he left, and that was that. We haven't spoken since."

"I just read the argument," the blond said, wincing at the thought. It hurt even more to think about in this new context. "It was harsh—pretty obvious neither of them wanted it to end that way."

"I'm sure parts were dramatized to keep things interesting," Angeal reasoned with a shrug. "I honestly don't care either way. I have no interest in reading the book, or talking about him at all—unless you have more questions."

"Nah, I mean—we already know tons more about your old relationship than you do ours just from reading the book," Zack rationalized. "It's not fair to grill you about it more. Why don't you ask us questions instead? If there's anything left we haven't talked about."

"Reading that book doesn't mean you owe me a detailed report on your previous relationships. I like how things are—how I get to learn more about you both as things come up naturally. Unless there's something on your mind that you want to discuss now, I'd rather keep doing what we've been doing."

"I do have just one more question then, if that's okay," Cloud said slowly. Angeal nodded in silent permission. "How come we never met him? You must've been with him back when we first met—you didn't bring him around to the company get-togethers like Zack did with me?"

Angeal chuckled. "Genesis actually worked for ShinRa back then. He always saw it as temporary though, so he thought he was above company gatherings. I guess he was right."

Zack didn't hide his surprise. "Wait, he worked there too?"

"Yes. I'm sure I introduced you back when you were still an intern—he used to come by my office for lunch most days."

"Oh yeah…I remember, he was the good looking guy who worked in marketing before my promotion, right? Weird taste in red jackets?"

"Yes."

"I didn't realize it was the same dude," Zack admitted. "You'd said your ex was a writer, so I figured you and that guy broke up ages ago—that it was someone else since then."

"No, it was always him. We were together for about eight years," Angeal explained. "And you have to remember, the three of us didn't really start spending so much time together until a few months after he'd already left me. In a way he was the reason this all happened—I had a lot more free time, and any opportunity to go out was better than going back to an empty apartment."

"You did seem down back then," Zack said, nodding along. "That's why I kept bugging you about going out to catch up and all that. Then it was just fun, so I kept asking."

"Exactly. We're well beyond all that now. The time I spend with you has nothing to do with him, and it hasn't for a very long time."

"Relax, Ang," Cloud said, offering him a small smile. "We didn't think at all—I was just curious about him since you were with him so long and we've known you all this time. I guess it's easy to forget that just because we met so long ago doesn't mean we were really friends until the last couple years."

Angeal's stern look lightened just slightly. "Sometimes I wonder how I knew you all that time and didn't get this close to you right away."

"You were in a long term, committed relationship," Cloud said with a shrug.

"Annnnd I wasn't technically your intern, but I may as well have been. I'm pretty sure ShinRa frowns upon that kinda thing," Zack added with a wink.

"I'm just happy to have you both now."

Cloud and Zack both nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with the sentiment. It was weird to think how their relationship had never felt lacking in any way, yet now felt even more powerful than before with Angeal a part of it.

"Hey," Cloud mumbled, moving in close enough to wrap his arms around Angeal's waist. "I know it was supposed to be you guys' date night, but maybe I can join you in bed? I'm kinda ready to lay down."

"Of course," Angeal replied, bringing his thick arms around Cloud's body and holding him close.

"Where else would you sleep, the guest room?" Zack teased, laughing softly as Cloud shrugged into Angeal's arms.

"I dunno," he said indifferently. "I wouldn't mind if you wanted to get a bit more time alone."

"We woulda gone back to his place if that was what we wanted," Zack interjected smoothly. "And uh. I may want a preview of you guys' big meeting tomorrow, if you're up to it."

Cloud pulled back a bit. "You told him about that?"

"I may have mentioned it. I told him I didn't know how serious you were though," Angeal said, looking adorably bashful.

"Very serious. I'm honestly surprised it hasn't happened already."

"I'm not. Running your own business with no extra help is a lot of work," Zack said, hands on his hips. "You'll probably get there tomorrow and realize you don't have time."

"Let me guess—that's why you want a preview?"

"What kinda boyfriend would I be if I didn't help you guys out? If there's some kink or roleplay you wanna do, I'm gonna make it happen."

"So incredibly thoughtful of you," Cloud muttered, biting his lower lip to prevent himself from laughing at Zack's bright, goofy expression. Even with that ridiculous grin, he looked too damn handsome for his own good. Clearly he knew he was about to get his way…he almost always did. "What do you think, Ang? You wanna put on your apron and show him your sexy baker look?"

Angeal raised both brows. "That depends. Are you going to dress up too?"

"Uh, I thought we were just having office sex when we were talking earlier, I didn't know it was a scene or whatever. It's not like I have a delivery uniform."

"I might have something fun in the closet for you," Zack said casually. "Wait till you see the shorts!"

He was already headed toward the bedroom, leaving a flustered Cloud and bemused Angeal in each other's arms.


It wasn't that he hadn't had an amazing night with Zack and Angeal…it was just that the book was really good. He'd been fully distracted straight through till the moment he closed his eyes and drifted off, but now that he was awake again, he had to know…

"Seriously? You don't feel awkward reading that now?"

Cloud lowered the book just enough to glare as a sleepy Zack settled into the chair beside him at the kitchen table. "Don't act like you're not planning to read it still."

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"It's not that I want to pry," Cloud added quickly, feeling apologetic as his eyes shifted to Angeal—he was only a step behind Zack, looking just as tired. "If it makes you even a little bit uncomfortable, I'll stop."

"Please, it's fine," Angeal insisted with a drowsy chuckle. "There's a big difference between a true story and based on a true story. I would prefer if you stopped picturing me as Gladiolus though."

"How can I stop now? He described those chiseled biceps to the T, right up to that little scar you have!"

"…Well, if you could not picture it as me with him, at least, that would ideal."

"I don't even know what he looks like."

The light bulb turned on in his head at his own words, and he quickly had his bookmark in place as he flipped to the short author's biography…There hadn't been one in book one, and he'd been too excited to get started on this book to bother with it.

Sure enough, there was a small picture—an incredibly handsome man with red hair and a coy smile, eyes bright enough even in print to pierce him as he eyed the page.

"I see what you mean about weird red jackets," Cloud offered, shrugging off his other thoughts as both his boyfriends laughed softly. "But no, he looks nothing like Ignis—their hair is completely different, plus he's not even wearing glasses!"

"He wears contacts," Angeal revealed. "The glasses are based off the style he used to prefer."

Cloud had already flipped back to the page he'd left off on, taking one last bite of toast before continuing to read. Breakfast was never his favorite anyway. "Only one more chapter to go."

"Holy shit. I thought you said you had like a hundred pages last night?"

"I've been up for a while now."

Zack blinked in surprise. "You never voluntarily wake up early. Maybe I'll take it to work with me then, if it's that good. I think one of my meetings got canceled, so I can probably swing a long lunch."

"I could stop by with some take out if you want instead," Angeal offered. "It's a busy day for us, but we'll have to take a break to eat too."

"Holy crap," Cloud muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"Fictitious make up in the end?" Zack guessed eagerly, Angeal scoffing in response.

"Uh, not exactly. I shouldn't say, it's a big spoiler."

"Nah, it's fine. I'm gonna read it no matter what, so you may as well just tell me."

"Ignis goes off and spends the last hundred pages after that fight basically realizing his dream isn't what he'd imagined, not without Gladiolus in his life…But he's too proud to call. Too stubborn to apologize," Cloud explained slowly. "At one point he just accepts that's how it's going to be, and it just ends there, out of the blue."

"Not entirely shocking," Angeal mumbled.

"Yeah, but then after two blank pages, there's a super short epilogue. I don't even know if you can call it that, it's only a few lines. I guess it's more like a teaser for the next book."

"What's it say?"

"It took months of denial, weeks of self-doubt, and days of pacing…but at the end of it all, there was really only one conclusion, Ignis realized. He took one last deep breath, finally ready to share that conclusion with the only person who truly mattered," Cloud read carefully, "And then he knocked."

"…That's all?" Angeal asked skeptically.

"Well, he probably doesn't know how the story continues yet—he hasn't shown up at your door like this," Cloud concluded with a frown. "I think it means he will though."

"No. Genesis knows how to write a dramatic story—it's who he is. None of that means he'll literally turn up at my door."

"But what if it does?"

Angeal considered it. "I would hear what he had to say, be as amicable as possible in response, and send him on his way. He's just not someone I'm ready to have back in my life right now, even as a friend."

"But what if whatever conclusion he reached is heartfelt, and—"

"Cloud," Angeal interjected, shaking his head sternly. "What do you want me to say here?"

"I, uh…I guess I don't know. It probably sounds weird, but I really want things to work out with Ignis and Gladiolus. They deserve to be happy, and if they'd just communicated a little better in the end there—"

"And you'd still want that even if, hypothetically speaking, you found out Gladiolus had spent months and months soul searching before finding love again?"

"He found love again?"

"Didn't he?" Angeal asked, like it was the simplest thing. He looked from Cloud to Zack, the certainty on his face bringing a smile to both of theirs. "When you first suggested dating, I wanted it to work, but I was sure I'd just end up being a third wheel. Now though…I can see I was wrong. What we have works. I can say without a single doubt that I love you both."

"I feel the same," Cloud told him.

Zack smiled his best smile, looking from one boyfriend to the next. "Me too. I love you both."

"Then forget about Ignis—let's just hope he found his own happiness, and focus on our story from now on."