Zack rolled over and grabbed his cellphone from his bedside table when its ringing woke him up.

"Hello?" Zack answered, groggily.

"Sleeping in? How unprofessional," Tseng said, jokingly, on the other end.

"Ugh, what do you want?"

"Hmm, someone's cranky in the morning. Just reminding you about the report regarding your mission in Junon. You never gave me one."

"Oh, right," Zack said, running a hand through his hair. "I've just... had a lot on my mind."

"I understand that," Tseng answered. Zack highly doubted that he could understand the extent of things going wrong.

"However, when you get the chance, could you please write up that report? Shinra values its information, as I'm sure you know."

"Yeah, I'll get it done," Zack said, sitting up and throwing the covers off himself, knowing he wouldn't get back to sleep anyway now that he had been awoken. He was used to the loss of sleep, though. First because of Angeal, and then because of Cloud. The boy had been missing from his training sessions all week, and Zack didn't need to be a scientist to know why.

"And, Zack?"

"Yeah?"

"When you're ready, I'll need the report on the Modeoheim mission as well." Tseng listened to nothing but a momentary silence on the other end. Zack's grasp on the phone became looser as his fingers began to tremble. The recent events with Cloud were enough to distract him some from Angeal, but not completely. He wasn't ready to write about Angeal's death. Not yet, at least. It would still hurt too much.

Talking with Cloud had eased the pain some, but the lies felt like they had come back to kick him in the gut. He knew he could get over the incident if people would just give him enough time to come around. Being pushed for information was not helping him, nor the company, in the least. It would just take longer for the report to be written.

"I know," Zack finally said, then hung up. He had other things to do besides write reports; They could wait. Right now, he had to settle his nerves with some breakfast and a training session. He hoped he would be more at ease by the afternoon. Whether Cloud showed up at training or not would determine one thing; whether or not Cloud was planning to talk to him anymore.

Cloud sat on his bed with his face buried in his hands. He was having trouble—for the umpteenth time this week—deciding whether or not to skip his morning training session or not. Normally, he would never have neglected any of his responsibilities, but after what had happened with Zack, following orders had become a lot more complicated.

Luxiere was quite aware of Cloud's peculiar behaviour, and didn't feel like playing oblivious anymore. He especially didn't want to leave Cloud in this state when he wouldn't be there for a few days to look out for him. Luxiere had been given an assignment in Kalm with some other infantrymen, and would be away for a while.

"What's up, Cloud?" he asked, staring down at the being that was curled up on the bed.

"Not feeling well," Cloud replied without hesitation. It wasn't a complete lie. His nervousness was making him queasy.

"You thinking about missing today's class?" Luxiere asked.

"What?" Cloud looked up at his friend slowly.

"You've missed three already this week."

"What if I was?" Cloud asked, defensively, something that was out of the ordinary for him.

"It's not like you, that's all. Did you and Mr. Fair have an argument?"

"What makes you think this has anything to do with Zack?" Luxiere took note of the first name basis he and the SOLDIER were obviously on. And again with the defensiveness; Something was definitely up.

"I was just asking. If you're going, you should probably get some breakfast into you. Wouldn't want to train on an empty stomach," Luxiere smiled, ignoring Cloud's sensitive attitude. He gave the blond a quick pat on the back, then proceeded out the door. He stopped after a minute, though, and poked his head back inside.

"If you're this upset, maybe you should just talk to him. Better to get it done now than to have it hanging over you." He closed the door quickly after him and hurried away so he could only faintly hear Cloud arguing with him again that he hadn't said anything about Zack causing his distress!

They both knew, however, that Luxiere was right. The easiest thing to do would be to talk to Zack, but even after almost an entire week of mulling everything over, Cloud still hadn't come up with anything to say. He hardly knew what his options were, let alone know what the right one was. Sure, he had spent his time thinking about Zack ever since Modeoheim, and he found the man attractive. Hell, he even liked having Zack's arms around him and... Zack's lips on his. But to start a real relationship seemed a lot more complicated than just having a crush on him.

Cloud wasn't stupid. He knew what all the signs meant, still he couldn't understand why. Until Zack, Cloud had thought he only liked girls, but that SOLDIER was getting the better of him. He was all Cloud thought about; He had been for weeks.

So, even if it was a bit difficult for him, Cloud could accept the fact that he had fallen for the SOLDIER. He'd known it for a while, after all. The part that didn't seem to stick in his mind was the fact that Zack liked him too. It wasn't even that Cloud didn't like the idea, he just didn't understand how it could be true, even after Zack had reassured him of it.

Cloud had taken comfort, however, in one conclusion, which was that Zack had never seemed like the kind to mock people. He could be immature at times, but never mean. And that's what made Cloud realize that even though he couldn't come up with a reason why Zack liked him, he had at least come up with a reason to believe that he did. That was the only thing that finally pushed him to go to the training room that day.

The training session was simple: stamina and speed training in the form of relay races. Cloud figured Zack's mind must have been just as busy as his. Otherwise, he would have come up with something a little more challenging. Relay races were for school kids. This was the army.

Cloud did an extremely good job at keeping his focus on his training, rather than on the conversation that would most likely follow. He ran his hardest—running was one thing he was good at—and was satisfied with his results for once. If things hadn't been so awkward between them, Cloud probably would have received Zack's praise, but under the circumstances, the two were staying away from each other until everyone else had cleared out so they could talk privately.

Zack was a little on edge, even some of the infantrymen could see that. Zack would periodically glance up at the clock on the wall to count down the minutes; Not just the minutes until the session was over, but also till what he assumed would be the time when the dreaded conversation with Cloud would be over.

Finally, time was up. Zack dismissed the tired, yet unsatisfied troops, then looked around the training room to see that Cloud had thankfully stayed behind. Zack had half-expected him to take off with the others. Cloud stood near the back of the room with his head down, and Zack walked calmly towards him, or at least as calmly as he could manage. They were both panicking, but did a good job of hiding it.

"Hey," Zack greeted, softly.

"Hi," Cloud answered, rubbing his arm like he often did when he was nervous, and keeping his gaze fixated on the floor. Zack was unsure of how to proceed, so he did his best at guessing.

"So, what did you think about since I last saw you?" Cloud looked up at him fleetingly, then replied.

"J-just that I don't understand how any of this happened."

"Well, maybe you don't have to understand it," Zack said, rubbing the back of his head. "It's like I said before, things just happen sometimes. What you have to decide is whether or not you're okay with this."

Cloud nodded. What Zack had said made perfect sense to him, but to confess that he liked Zack right to his face would be a more nerve-wracking ordeal than he'd like to deal with.

"What did you think about?" Cloud asked, trying to buy himself some more time before he would have to make a decision between accepting Zack or running from him forever. For Cloud, there was no conceivable middle ground.

"Mostly what would happen if we were to pursue... whatever it is we're pursuing." Zack saw the corners of Cloud's lips turn up in a slight smile.

"I mean, sure, we were friends before, but I always felt a sort of... gravitational pull or something towards you. You're kind, and supportive, and hey, you're kinda cute, too," Zack grinned. Cloud blushed and tried to hide his face in his green Shinra scarf.

"I've just been really lonely lately, and... you've been there for me," Zack said, giving Cloud a kind smile.

"That kiss... I don't regret it." Zack paused, and waited for Cloud's eyes to meet his own. "Man, I sound like a total cheeseball, don't I?"

"It's okay," Cloud said, quietly. Even if Zack was being cheesy, Cloud knew he meant every word of what he was saying, and it was just what he needed to hear. He needed to be reassured that Zack really felt this way about him, even if it was strange and unexpected.

Cloud said nothing so Zack continued on.

"Cloud, I really like you. Now, I just need to know how you feel about me. I won't be hurt or offended by whatever your decision is, I promise," the SOLDIER said. He let his arms drop down to his sides—he had been moving them around as he talked—and waited patiently for Cloud to gather his thoughts.

Cloud stared down at the ground some more. This was it, this was the time. He needed to speak up. He pushed away all his thoughts of doubt and denial he'd had over the past few days because he knew what to do. At that moment, he knew what he wanted, and he knew he had to go with it before he changed his mind and regretted it forever. If Zack didn't regret his actions up till now, then he should have had no shame in feeling the same way.

"Zack?" Cloud addressed him as he slowly brought his head up. His heart was pounding, but he pushed past his fear as he announced, "I-I like you, too."

Zack's face lit up with excitement and Cloud couldn't help but flash a small smile.

"Cloud, can I hug you?" Zack asked after a minute. Cloud let out a light laugh and he felt like his heart might burst from a mix of confusing emotions, but he was happy.

"Sure," Cloud answered. Zack moved in closer and pulled the younger boy in against his chest. Cloud was tense, but not uncomfortable. He'd felt instant relief the minute he'd let the words out. He inhaled the scent of Zack's shirt and closed his eyes as he felt himself start to relax. He just hoped he'd made the right decision, though in that moment he was quite sure he had.

Zack took in the feel of the boy in his arms, and loved it. This time was better than the first, since this time qualified as an actual embrace.

Cloud pulled away after a minute and looked up, worriedly, at Zack.

"Zack, what if people find out? What are they going to think?" he asked.

"Hey, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. This is for us. It can be our little secret. I thought you'd want it that way anyway," Zack answered. Cloud looked up at him and smiled.

Cloud went back to his room not long after their discussion since Zack had to train the other group of cadets. With Luxiere gone, Cloud had time to simply lie down and let the events of the afternoon sink in. That was when he started to realize what he had gotten himself into. He was stepping into a relationship which was unknown territory for him, and what was worse was that he was about to start dating one of his commanding officers.

He put a hand to his head. If only his mother knew of the trouble he was getting into at Shinra, he thought. He wondered why he wasn't scolding himself for being so careless and for walking into this whole ordeal with Zack without thinking about what was best for...well, Zack. Cloud pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them. Maybe he just didn't want to be alone anymore, and that's why he gave in to his feelings. After all, who wouldn't?

Zack made his way to Cloud's room after training, thrilled that he could finally go and see the boy who had made him so happy that afternoon. He sped up his pace as his excitement got stronger. He needed to see Cloud.

Finally, he made it to his door, and gave a quiet knock.

"Hello?" Cloud's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Hey, it's me. Zack." The SOLDIER listened as feet scuttled across the room to open the door. Both men smiled as they lay eyes on each other.

"Hi, Zack," Cloud said, shyly, as he took in the man in front of him, realizing all over again why he'd found him so attractive. Those eyes, that smile. Cloud suddenly knew there was no going back now that he'd gotten himself into this.

"Hey, bud. How are you holding up?" Zack asked, the grin not fading from his face one bit.

"I'm fine."

"Not regretting it, are you?"

"N-no, not regretting. I'm kind of nervous about this, and I.. I don't know," Cloud stuttered.

"I'm nervous, too, believe it or not," Zack chuckled.

Cloud paused for a minute.

"Zack, why me?" Zack stared at the younger boy for a minute, his expression softening.

"You're still concerned about why I like you? What I told you before isn't enough?" Zack asked. Cloud shook his head. His expression had become somber.

"Then, please, believe this," Zack said, as he placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're special to me, okay? You've been special to me since I met you, and that feeling just kept growing stronger. You can understand that, right? Isn't it the same way for you?"

Cloud looked up at the SOLDIER and nodded, a hint of a smile returning to his face.

"I'll tell you what. I'm busy tomorrow night, but how about the night after that we go out for a while? You don't have to think of it as a date or anything, we can just go out and talk," Zack said, putting his hand back down at his side.

"Okay," Cloud answered, even though he figured his mind would turn the situation into a date.

"Great. How about six o'clock? We'll have dinner. After all, I promised you when we were in Junon that I'd take you out to eat."

"That's right," Cloud said, suddenly remembering that promise. "Sounds good."

The two smiled at each other once more. There was a slight awkward silence, but neither one of them minded.

"Alright. Meet me in the lobby then," Zack said.

"Okay." Zack was unsure of how he should show his affection before parting, but opted for a grin, and ruffled the boy's hair, causing Cloud to blush. Then he started back down the hallway. Cloud watched as the SOLDIER walked away from him, and only one question was going through his mind. What was he going to wear to dinner?

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. You guys are great! Don't forget to check weekly for updates:D