A/N: Not dead, I swear. Just busy. I'm in a new major in college; International Business and Logistics of all things. :)
...
"So, what do we do now, Mr Grumpypants?" Zack groaned, as he slumped on his bed.
There was no answer of course. Cloud had been even quieter and more sullen than usual on the long ride back from their impromptu visit with Sephiroth. Not that Zack could blame him, though. It wasn't every day that royalty was denied something, let alone being told that they couldn't have their own body back.
Or maybe stuff like this was common for fairies. Zack cautioned a glance at the prince, who was slumped dejectedly on his side. The cat looked to be dozing peacefully but the dull glint of glazed blue eyes told a different story. Saying that Cloud was upset would be an understatement. Still, it had been a few hours since their little excursion to find Sephiroth and Zack had hurriedly ushered them back to the city before his uncle could return from wherever he'd been and scold Zack for abandoning the shop.
The young man let his head thump onto the bed's covers with a dramatic sigh. God, the shit he got into without even trying! How was he going to explain all of this to Angeal when he got back?! This really sucked. Help a cat in need, and end up getting a bratty prince with an attitude problem in return.
A low sound from the end of the bed made Zack look over. The dark haired male caught sight of the little kitten's sprawled form and gave a brief snort. "Now that I think about it," he mused aloud, "what in the hell did you even do to deserve something like this, Sir Prissypants?"
The unfriendly glare he received in return was entirely expected. Zack merely ignored it as he thought of what Cloud's possible misconduct could have been.
"Maybe you were demanding the first born children of humans or making hordes of slaves lick your boots and call you 'His Royal Sexiness'?" There was a low grumble at that as Zack teasingly nudged at the sullen prince with his foot. "Or maybe you were just an asshole to the wrong person," he suddenly decided.
The high pitched mewl of disagreement made Zack wince in discomfort. "Ok, ok," he soothed as he pulled his foot back. The look in Cloud's eyes said that pain was imminent if Zack didn't back off.
A smile crossed the black haired man's face. Before Cloud could act upon the sudden suspicion he felt, he found his small, furry body hoisted up and dangling above Zack, who held him straight up with his powerful arms. The deep, playful rumble of his host's laughter made Cloud's eyes widen in wonder—it wasn't often that people were so happy around him, after all.
"You know, you're actually kind of cute when you're not trying to claw my face off," Zack half-joked.
Then the reality of his situation struck. The prince's ears immediately settled flat upon his skull and he began to hiss and twist in Zack's hold, trying his best to loosen the human's already relaxed grip. Unfortunately, a squirmy kitten was no match for a fully grown human male and all too soon, Cloud was reduced to glaring, his small lungs huffing in exertion.
Zack twisted his lips up into a sarcastic smile. "Gee, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you weren't too happy with me or something," he said.
Cloud growled in response, his gaze distinctly unamused as he dangled helplessly in Zack's grasp. After a moment though, he drooped in defeat, his stance entirely pathetic as he gave in to his body's lack of threat. Zack's face softened as he stared upward at the distressed prince. It was sort of mean of him to do this, but the prince was so uptight, there was no other way to get through to him than to have personal contact. Sephiroth had been subtle about it, but it was very clear that he expected Zack to help his royal bratiness.
"You can't be all that bad," the human murmured, his blue eyes oddly sympathetic. Outside his window, the barest hint of the moon began to surface from behind clouds. "Everyone has something about them that's redeemable," he added. "You just have to find what yours is. If you let me...I'll help you. I promise."
Moonlight shone through the window, painting both man and cat in its silvery glow. There was a sudden stillness in the air as both Cloud and Zack stared at one another, one with absolute sincerity, the other with hopeful suspicion. Both human and cat felt their breaths catch at the intensity of the moment.
A spark traveled up Zack's hands, making him jump at the sudden flash of light. A loud popping sound broke the silence and then what had once been light weight balanced in his hands was suddenly much heavier as a two pound kitten became a hundred and twenty pounds of surprised man. Zack's arms buckled and he left out a soft whump as all the air was driven from his lungs.
In the stunned moments afterward, Zack found himself blinking as a familiar face with familiar blond hair and blue eyes was suddenly suspended above him staring at him with a surprising intensity.
"Do me a favor," Zack wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. "Next time you feel that coming on, give me a warning, okay?"
"Do you really mean that?" came the prince's voice. Despite its sharp tone, the barely detectable waver of...longing behind it made the hairs on Zack's arms stand at attention.
In his moment of distraction, Zack blinked at the question, his mind drawing a blank as to what the blond male was referring to. "Mean what?"
The intensity in Cloud's eyes never lightened; if anything, the flash of annoyance beginning to creep over Cloud's fine face only emphasized it. The way the naked blond was crouched over him was also making it slightly difficult to think.
"What you said about helping me," Cloud elaborated (which Zack thought was rather gracious of him since he'd expected the smarmy prince to fly off the handle).
"Ooh," he said feeling slightly stupid for not making the connection sooner. A smile overtook Zack's confused expression. "Of course I meant it, I'll do anything I can to help!"
For a second, Cloud merely stared at Zack, his piercing blue eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the other male. He seemed to be debating with himself about something, but after a long moment of deliberation, the tension in his posture seemed to drain and a faint smile spread across his aristocratic face.
Zack was stunned. This was the first genuine smile he'd gotten from Cloud and the feelings he got from having caused that smile to surface were beyond confusing.
A light brush of motion on his upper thigh broke his train of thought and Zack started a bit at the sensation. Cloud, who was perched on top of the dark haired man, felt the small jump and raised an elegant eyebrow in question.
A quick glance downward revealed his current source of agitation to be Cloud's tail, which in his happiness had languidly curled itself under Zack's knee and was lightly flicking against the sensitive skin underneath. A bright red flush spread across Zack's face at the awkward positioning of the fuzzy appendage his body's response to the ticklish sensation.
Cloud himself had developed a scowl at his tail's rogue movements and quickly jerked it away from Zack's body. His face was only slightly red as he glanced away from the other male and muttered, "That was not my intention; I apologize."
"No problem," Zack's voice came out in an embarrassingly high pitch. In the moment of awkward silence that followed, Zack pointedly cleared his throat. "As much as I'm enjoying this, don't you think it's a good time for you to get off me and get some clothes on?"
"Clothes?" Cloud asked in disbelief. "and where would I get these garments? You're an oaf compared to me," he accused, giving Zack's body a measuring look as he laid his hands upon Zack's chest. "You have but to roll over and you'd crush me," he said.
Wow. Wow. That was certainly unexpected, Zack thought as he felt his body jump to alertness at the prince's touch. The sudden awareness of their...situation made Zack clear his voice once more, this time with more force. "Don't worry. I've got some old stuff that you can fit in around here somewhere."
...
"These garments are not befitting of a prince," came the sulky response as Cloud walked at his host's side. He had donned the clothing that Zack had managed to dig up for him; unfortunately, he was in no way happy or appreciative of them.
"You look fine," Zack tried to sooth as he began to usher his guest down the street. And really, the sky blue hoody matched the prince's eyes, and those skinny jeans...damn, Zack had quite a time trying to ignore the oddly hypnotic sway of Cloud's cute little bu—erm, tail.
It was definitely the tail.
"Why are we even here," the prince continued petulantly, unknowingly breaking Zack's less than innocent train of thought.. "I don't see why you can't attend to me in the comfort of your home,"
Zack almost rolled his eyes. Almost. "Well, if we're going to help you, we need to let you see how people live and act around one another. What better way than to let you hang out with some of my friends?"
"Why should I care about how humans act together? I'm pretty sure none of you weak creatures have the power to curse anyone." Cloud protested with open disdain.
"And that, Goldilocks, is exactly why you're in the bind you're in," Zack muttered.
"What?" the prince asked sharply. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing!" Zack said defensively as he waved his hands before him.
Cloud kept his suspicious glare pinned to the side of Zack's face, even though he was certain the human was either mocking him or trying to get one over on him.
