Why

Cloud snuck back into his room the next morning. He had attempted to be as quiet as a mouse, but his bed decided to creak and cause the other four to wake. They were not happy to see him, "Hi...?" Cloud squeaked out while removing his shoes.
Dante sat up glaring, "So, what did Tseng want with you?" Cloud swallowed, "Nothing important..." he became more unsettled when Dante got up and took a seat next to him on the bed, "Jeez, Cloud... What happened to you?" he was so angry when he got a closer look at the boy's lips and throat.

Joel had gotten up to turn on the light, "Wow... You a bitch now or something?" Cloud glared, "No! At least, I don't think I am..." he sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Tseng took me to see Zack-" he was cut of by Dante who howled, "Who? That Second Class?" he nodded, "Yes, him. Next thing I knew, Tseng left, the door was locked, and Zack..." he paused, biting his lip, "Look, I don't want to talk about it... It's nothing to get angry at me over, in fact this whole platoon should just forget about it." he knew that the others had saw him and Tseng leave yesterday, so he knew there'd be trouble later.

Marcus, who slept above Dante, jumped down from his bunk, "So you're saying that Zack raped you?" he laughed, causing Cloud to snap back, "I have the injuries to prove it!" Marcus smirked, "Then prove it."
And prove it he did. Cloud showed his body to the four guys, not really caring at the moment as he really didn't like to be called a liar, "So then Shinra like to pick out the pretty boys and make them their toys?" Joel asked as Cloud redressed himself, "Looks like it..." he mumbled, "Whatever... it's almost six... It's our turn to cook, right?" he asked, not needing to take a shower since Zack had offered him one already.


Knowing the truth, Cloud's roommates defended him for the rest of the day. He appreciated it, though he told them they didn't have to. Cloud was pulled aside by the Commander during training, he wanted to congratulate him on his work well done, "Strife, I heard good news from Tseng. Looks like you're a new favorite of Fair... Oh! Speak of the devil!" Cloud looked behind him and paled.
Zack was making his way toward the blond, a smirk on his lips, "Hey there Spike!" he patted him on the head, ruffling his spikes. Cloud glared and knocked Zack's hand away, "Piss off..." he spat before walking back to his squad.
Mohan was shocked at Cloud's behavior just then, "I beg your pardon, Zack... Cloud is not usually like that..." he paused when Zack held up a hand, "Nah, it's fine. He was pretty pissed last night... punched me real good in the chest." he chuckled, his eyes on the blond the entire time


Later while Bandersnatch was sent on a twenty minute sprint around the training fields, Zack had perched himself atop a first aid shack. He watched in amusement as Cloud almost tripped, but snorted in anger when another platoon member pushed the blond over.
Zack made a mental note to severely punish that cadet later. For the moment he chose to appear next to Cloud who was dusting himself off, "Jeez, what's his problem?" the blond jumped, having not noticed Zack until he spoke, "What do you want?" he asked, though he knew he should have just ignored the SOLDIER.
"Wanna race?" Zack asked, wanting to lighten up the mood with the boy, "No..." was his reply along with the fleeing form of Cloud. He ignored Spike's response and joined him in running. "Stop following me!" he snarled at the SOLDIER, his face flushing suddenly.

Zack chuckled, "Are you sure you want me to leave?" he poked fun, "You're not still made at me for last night, are you?" he struck a nerve within Cloud. He didn't even have a chance to duck before an angry fist collided with his face, "Fuck you!" Cloud hissed, standing his ground.
The SOLDIER wiped his mouth while getting back onto his feet, he smirked at the boy, "Didn't think you'd hit me!" he held up his hands in defense and tensed when Cloud clenched his fists and held a look that said 'I'll do it again...', "Whoa! Chill out, Choco!" his rump met the ground again as Cloud socked him once more, "Shit, man!" he swore as he got his wits about him again.
Cloud softened up, "How did a wimp like you get to be in SOLDIER?" Zack looked up at him with a hurt expression. He stood and grinned, "Wimp, huh? You couldn't even defend yourself from me!" he took a threatening step toward the blond, who only looked at him with a frightened look, "Deer... in... headlights..." Zack said his words slowly as he filled a fist full of shirt, pulling the cadet up off the ground.


Cloud couldn't sleep particularly well that night. Zack hadn't hurt him earlier, so that wasn't what was bothering him. What kept him up was the sound of a platoon member leaving the house.
He didn't like hearing the pounding on the door, and then the slight tussle before the door slam. No one else seemed to have been bothered by it, so Cloud tried to ignore it.

"Why didn't I just stay in bed?" Cloud mumbled to himself as he roamed the campus. The yellow lights that illuminated the grounds caused Cloud to feel as though he were in a dream. And in that dream he stumbled upon a bloodied body, "What?" Cloud stiffened as he stared down at his platoon mate.
He turned the body over with his foot. No response, "fuck, is he dead?" he looked at the body a little more closely, jumping away from it and moving for the shadows when the sound of boots reached his ears.

A man in red was walking the grounds next to, "Sephiroth?" the name ghosted past Cloud's lips as he stared on from the shadows. When the two men took notice of the dead cadet, Cloud attempted to sneak off without getting caught.
"Hold it!" he froze when Sephiroth called out to him. "Genesis, apprehend the suspect, would you?" the man in red smirked as he grabbed for Cloud, throwing him to the ground, "It's just a kid..." he said it with a laugh, a smirk still painted on his lips, "pretty little thing too..." he looked Cloud over, "..very..."
Sephiroth looked the boy up and down, suddenly remembering something, "This is Cloud..." the blond's heart twitched and head spun when his idol identified him, "Zack never shuts up about him..." then Cloud's heart sunk, "What are you doing here?"


After telling the two first class men his story, they chose to punish Cloud by sending him to his second class nightmare... Zack. The aforementioned horndog was currently tending to his sword, his hormones oblivious to the piece of ass sitting across from him.
"You look depressed... What's up Spike?" Cloud ignored the name, "One of my platoon mates is dead and I met my idol in the worst possible of ways..." he groaned. Zack looked up at him, "Who? Seph? Ha! What better way than to meet him under suspicion?" he chuckled at the glare he got, "That way you get more attention from the freak."
"As for your platoon mate... Why should you care? He was being an ass to you anyways... Just think of it as training... You can't wimp out and sob every time you see a dead body-" Cloud cut in, "I did not cry! And what are you saying? That he was killed because of me?" Zack shrugged and that's when it donned on the blond, "...You? You killed him? For me?" Zack laughed, "Hell, I would've killed him for a Klondike Bar!" he set his sword aside, "But... Yes, I did. I didn't like him. Shinra didn't like him..."

Cloud sat and thought for a while, "That doesn't seem like you, Zack..." the other snorted, "And you know me? ha ha, ah... but you're right. I wouldn't normally do that. I didn't plan on killing him anyways... He just sorta... died..." he said the word rather bluntly and received a small chuckle from Cloud, "Thanks... I didn't like him either..." he confessed, smiling shyly at the dark haired male.
He scratched the back of his head, taken aback by Cloud's sudden show of positive emotion toward him. He stood, picking up his blade to put it safely away. Zack retreated into his room, emerging seconds later with a guitar that looked as though it had seen better days. He flashed a smile back at Cloud who was giving him an odd look as he wandered back over to the couch.

"You play guitar?" Cloud asked, looking the old acoustic up and down. Zack shrugged, "Some times. I brought this here with me... All the way from Gongaga..." after tuning it up, the calloused fingers of his left hand found their place on the neck while his right tickled the belly of the instrument.
The music that came from the instrument made Cloud loosen up. He sat on the edge of his seat, closely listening to the tune, "wow..."

It wasn't long before Cloud found himself staring at Zack. He had such a pretty face that just said "stare at me". Even as Zack looked up, Cloud's gaze didn't falter. They stared into one another's eyes for the longest time and Zack just kept playing.
Cloud moved so swiftly that Zack almost didn't notice. He placed his hands around the SOLDIER's neck and kissed him gently.