CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Pointing to the balcony above them, Zack waited for Cloud to turn his sapphire gaze from the crowds and towards the newly opened restaurant in Midgar's sector two. Having dragged the blonde out with him from Lazard's office after they had received their promotions, they had spent a few hours up on the plate of Midgar, far above the slums, the stark contrast of the areas upon the skyline overlooking the depths of misery below making them just realise how much they wanted to change the world. Yet that could wait; for now they were catching up on their familiarities, with Zack pulling Cloud towards a stand of gold chocobos and grinning, pointing at his hair and chuckling. Cloud simply rolled his eyes at this, a chocobo pecking at his arm and demanding to be fed. As soon as he handed the ovarian a gysahl green, the bird had near trampled him in a mad stampede to show it's gratitude. Zack saved him, pulling him out of the pen before the two landed on the floor amongst the crowd, laughing loudly. After this, they had made their way through the huge market place, Cloud stopping when he noticed a ear piercing stall. Zack noticed his friend halting and turned, watching as Cloud approached the stand and stared at the wolf earring sat upon the stand, the woman hurrying over to greet him. When Cloud smiled, explaining he didn't have enough gil on him, the raven head SOLDIER swooped in behind him, dropping an arm around his shoulders and telling Cloud he could have whatever he wanted, as long as the piercing was on the same ear as his. Smiling, the blonde informed him he wanted the earring to symbolise their friendship. Zack held onto Cloud's hand tightly as he sat down, as though he was the one being pierced rather than the second class, who just chortled softly when Zack visibly flinched as the gun penetrating his ear lobe, leaving a hole for the wolf head earring to be pushed in. Cleaning up the small amount of blood, the stall owner commented that they made a lovely couple. Blushing profusely, Cloud near ran as Zack simply chuckled, handing over the due amount of gil before following his friend, who had near disappeared in the crowd if it were not for his blonde spikes.

Now they stood a few feet away from the entrance to the expensive restaurant Zack had chosen, having remembered Genesis commenting that the recently new establishment made brilliant cakes. It seemed the crimson commander had been useful during his time with ShinRa after all, the raven head mused as he pulled Cloud along behind him, holding onto his hand. At first the doorman stared at them with a raised eyebrow, as they were still wearing their uniforms; Zack's still being covered in thick Gongagan mud. Yet Zack simply grinned, holding up his key card to confirm he was a second class, despite being recently promoted (he would have to pick up his new identifications later) and was permitted to pass. Cloud blinked, slouching down and near limbo-ing beneath the doorman's arm as he held the door open for them, but moved his arm down when the blonde approached. Zack chuckled and gestured for him to follow him up the red carpet stairs onto the top floor, to which Cloud did, ignoring the look of interest he received from the doorman and from the groups of women gathered around the stairs, dressed in head to toe with expensive fabrics and jewellery. Cloud felt extremely out of place. Yet Zack was undeterred and only stopped when he was pointed to a table by a waitress overlooking the plate by the ledge of the balcony, staring out at the lit up streets, powered by ShinRa electrical company. Zack pulled out a chair for Cloud, who was receiving many strange looks from the diners around them, wondering why two SOLDIER men were having dinner together in such a romantic feeling setting. Cloud sat awkwardly, his chair pushed closer to the table by his raven headed friend before Zack bounced over to his own chair, leaning towards him and grinning.

"Well?"

Cloud blinked, tilting his head to the side slightly, unsure what he was supposed to say.

"Do you like it or not?" Zack queried, picking out the rose from in front of them, "bit…fancy, but never the less!" he put the rose stalk into his mouth, holding it in his teeth and winking to the blonde.

Cloud near burst into laughter, stifling his voice when they were disgruntled shot looks from the groups around them.

"It's…nice?" the blonde murmured simply, glancing as the waitress made her way over to them, wearing a basic black dress with a white apron.

"Oh, well, we can go somewhere else if you like." Zack tossed the crimson flower over the balcony, which nearly landed on the doorman below.

"No, it's fine." Cloud smiled softly, the waitress stopping by their table and handing them the menus.

"Hello gentlemen," she stopped abruptly, looking them up and down, "SOLDIERS." she decided on that word instead, before smiling widely, "we would like to welcome you to the Weeping Rose. Would you like something to drink before placing your orders?"

"Wine sound good, Cloud?" Zack questioned, turning his cerulean gaze to the second class who was staring out across the plate beyond, his lips parted slightly, as though he was remembering his past, "Cloud?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure." the blonde jolted back to the conversation, nodding a couple of times.

"What variety, sir?"

"Hmm. How about the special, Half Moon?" when the waitress noted this down, Zack grinned at Cloud, who stared at him as though he was supposed to know what the wine was. When his friend continued to seem oblivious, the waitress giving them a moment to look at the menus, he scoffed, "Cloud. Even you must know what Half Moon wine is!"

"No…" he shook his head slightly, "we didn't have wine in Nibelheim, only beer." which he had never even taken a sip of before leaving the mountainous village in his past life, he mused.

"Seriously?" Zack let out a soft sigh, still keeping his characteristic grin, "it's only like, the best drink ever." he stared at his key card, grinning, "also, Lazard basically said we could treat ourselves…"

Cloud turned his gaze back to the menu. One bottle of Half Moon wine was six hundred gil. He coughed loudly, distracting nearby diners again.

"Zack! That costs a fortune!"

"So?" he chuckled softly at Cloud's aghast stare, "look. I think we both know how much we deserve it. Plus, it's a special day tomorrow."

"…Huh?" Cloud raked through his brain. The annual march in Junon was not for another four months, while the President's birthday would be unlikely to be celebrated by the raven head. What could he mean?

Realising Cloud had forgotten, Zack simply ran a hand across the table, stopping by Cloud's fingers.

"It's my birthday, of course!" the chocobo head's eyes widened to saucers at this, knowing he had forgotten, Zack laughed quietly, "it's alright. No one celebrates birthdays in the army anymore, I get it." he smiled, relaxed for the first time in many months, "just…Angeal promised he'd take me here, some time. Genesis, too. Now they're gone…" he closed his eyes, still grinning, "I wanted to share this time with you. Who knows what tomorrow brings anymore? Cetras here, monsters there…"

"Zack. I wont let anyone hurt you."

Zack laughed openly at this; a heart warming, husky tone which near vibrated the table, Cloud's gaze softening ever so slightly from it's usual hardened stance, running a hand over to his newly pierced ear and twisting the earring.

"Aren't I the one who's supposed to say that to you?" he picked up a fork, pretending to stab through the air as the waitress began to shuffle over to the two again, "besides, I told you! No one can hurt me! I'm invincible!" grinning at the waitress to tell her it was safe to come over, he placed his order, "I'll have the roast griffin, with all the extras, what about you, Cloud?"

"…You can eat griffins?"

"Of course! You can eat anything!" Zack waited for one of the blonde's naïve responses, then found himself struggling to breath at Cloud's response, the shining clean glasses being handed to them before the woman poured in the thick red wine, Cloud taking a sip before replying.

"…Even tonberries?"

The waitress giggled softly at the pair, Zack slouching back in the chair.

"He'll have the same."

"I figured as much." the waitress smiled softly at the SOLDIER'S response, scribbling down the orders on her small notepad, "but I must say, you boys are absolutely adorable. Definitely the cutest couple I've ever served! You must have quite the tale to tell!"

Cloud spluttered on his wine, waving a hand in the air to protest his innocence when Zack simply continued to laugh.

"We really do," he watched as Cloud stared at him, bewildered and cheeks burning in crimson flames, "I met the little cutie when he was just an itsy bitsy cadet, spilling his food all over me in the cafeteria hall…"

"For the last time! that was an accident!" Cloud found that despite his embarassment, he could not hold back laughter, retorting Zack's comment while the raven head simply grinned at him, the waitress giggling quietly.

"I'll be back with your food soon." she nodded, "I'll add desert for free, on the house." she waved a hand to them over her shoulder as she turned, skipping towards the kitchens to hand in the order.

Zack turned back to Cloud, who was glowering at him playfully.

"You're such a bastard, Zack."

"You love it." Zack countered with ease, picking up the wine glass in his hand with three pinched fingers and taking a small sip, the bottle having been left by the side.

Cloud stared back out at the plate beyond, lit up by ShinRa's electricity, directly drained from the lifestream itself, murmuring something quietly. Zack's imaginary puppy ears perked up at this; he slid a foot under the table and ran it across Cloud's leg, the blonde turning to him, immediately flustering from his touch.

"What's up?"

The blonde simply sighed near inaudibly, lowering his gaze towards the glass in front of him.

"When meteor struck, the plate… the entire city of Midgar was destroyed…" he shook his head, "I had never been up on the plate before now. I always thought it was some miraculous place, filled with wonderful people and a city to admire. But, aside from the difference in appearance, it's exactly like the slums below…" he smiled slightly, "different setting. Same scenario. While the people below us suffer and sleep in their own piss, those up here live comfortably, ignorant, unconcerned with the pain so close to them, yet so far…" he sighed, "humans are truly a terrible species."

"Hey, I'm human, y'know." Zack poked his foot into Cloud's leg, "so were you at one point. Don't categorise an entire race just because of a few dickheads."

"A few?" Cloud scoffed, "look at these people, they don't give a damn. It took the entire planet nearly being destroyed for them to open their eyes and witness the suffering for themselves to do something about it."

"You sound so much like…" Zack stopped. He knew exactly who he was going to say, and so did Cloud, from the look of understanding he gave him.

Sephiroth.

They waited around ten minutes until their dinner was brought out to them by the same waitress, who giggled softly when Zack kicked Cloud under the table to draw back his attentions from staring out into the darkness beyond and to the plates provided before them. Once she had left them to their meal, Zack stabbed his fork into the meat, holding the entire chunk up and grinning. Cloud rolled his eyes, the diners around them shooting them more disgusted looks before gossiping amongst each other. Zack simply tore into the cooked griffin meat with ease, figuring he didn't need to use a knife to cut through the brown flesh. Cloud on the other hand used his cutlery and cut the food into sizeable bites, the raven headed SOLDIER swallowing down the food as though he'd never been fed before in his life. The blonde second class sat straight as he ate, while Zack was slouched over his plate like a wolf defending it's kill, eventually finishing within minutes of receiving the dinner. Cloud ran a hand through his blonde locks, Zack grinning at him and pointing at his plate with his knife.

"You gonna eat that?"

Cloud slid the plate to his friend who dived upon it instantly, near devouring the table along with it. Sipping the wine, Cloud noted the strange tastes. At first the liquid had tasted bitter to his tongue, but as his taste buds got used to it, the wine began to take the shape of a bouquet of exotic fruit within his mouth before melting into a charred wood like taste, as though an explosion of flavours had began to tango beyond his lips. Feeling the vibration in his uniform pocket by his hip, he glanced down, pulling out the cell phone and examining the caller ID. He cancelled the call, slipping it back into the fabric of his uniform. The General could wait until later, whatever it was that he wanted. It wasn't as though he couldn't take down entire armies with that freakishly long sword of his. No, this was his time with Zack now. Not even Sephiroth would interrupt that.

Zack's own phone began to ring, distracting the diners around them. He muttered an apology to Cloud before pulling the contact device out and staring at it, also ending the call before it had began. The blonde frowned. Zack glanced at him, still eating.

"Just Cissnei." he murmured half to himself.

Cloud did not move his brows from where they had buried deep upon his features. Was Cissnei the girl Zack had been in bed with a few days ago, before his mission to Gongaga? It was common knowledge throughout the ShinRa facility, from the TURKS to SOLDIERS to even the lowest employees, that the TURK had strong feelings for the raven headed first class. Yet Zack seemed to not even bat an eyelid at the fact it had been her who called. Perhaps she was not the one to have given Zack the bite marks on his neck? But then who else could it have been? Zack had broken up with Aeris months before, so that left no ideas for Cloud to work on. He didn't even know if Zack was that close with any of the other females who worked at ShinRa; although he was known to be a tad of a flirt, though nothing compared to Genesis Rhapsodos standards. He figured he should ask his friend why he broke up with the cetra in sector five in the first place, but his common sense held him back. It was none of his business, and he should respect Zack's decision and privacy. Cloud was not petty nor a gossip seeker, yet he could not help but wonder why he had given Aeris up after it was so obvious that he had been in love with her, and she him - considering she had only fallen for Cloud in the old world as he had taken on Zack's personality traits.

"Gaia to Cloud…"

Cloud blinked, noticing Zack was grinning away at him. He smiled slightly, a foot landing on the space of his chair between his thighs, dangerously close to his crotch.

"So, you got anyone special in your life?" Zack questioned, still with his lips pulled up into his famous grin.

"Special?" Cloud questioned, truly confused. Did Zack mean a lover?

"You know. A girlfriend," he raised an eyebrow, "…boyfriend?"

Cloud was silent. What he had with Sephiroth…was that a relationship? They had sex, kissed and shared their thoughts, but neither had told the other they 'loved' each other. Though Cloud was sure his own feelings were painfully obvious, trying to read Sephiroth's emotions was like finding a pin in a haystack. Near. Impossible. Cloud was not gay, either. Well, he had not been. He had no attraction to men or, well, anyone really. It was not that he had personal issues holding him back from a love life anymore, other than being a champion of the lifestream and in charge of saving the planet, of course. Yet even before that, his only crush had been on Tifa, but even then, he had only sought to be accepted by her into the group of local teenagers back in Nibelheim, and so desiring Tifa Lockhart was near a rite in itself, a passage way to being 'normal'. But Cloud was not normal, nor did he want to be. For a long time he had wanted nothing more than to live a life without having to constantly fight for his life, for the lives of his friends, but now he accepted it was his destiny, he had been chosen to protect the world and it's people. And he would do so with honour, with or without a lover by his side. Yet…Sephiroth… could he give up everything to be with the silver hair, or was what they had just a mere fling?

"No." Cloud found himself murmuring his response quietly, Zack's eyebrow settling and the grin on his lips spreading.

"What a coincidence! Neither do I." Zack chuckled, "let's join a singles club. Find some ladies in similar desperate need as us."

Cloud realised he had nearly forgotten. How he had forgotten such an important event in his old friend's life escaped him, but now he knew he would never forget it again. Never.

"Happy Birthday, Zack." Cloud smiled softly, his eyes phased over with joy. Seeing Zack's large grin spreading over his lips, twitching at the corners when it could not grow any further. This was the Zack he remembered, the man he loved, would throw himself into the lifestream to save time and time again.

"Thanks, Spiky." Zack chuckled, "though I should tell you, now that i'm twenty one, i'm now legally allowed to have sex in Rocket Town, Gongaga, and Midgar. You're no longer safe from me." he grinned widely.

Cloud could have rolled his eyes had he not heard the soft chuckling behind him. Blinking, he stood up, leaning over the balcony, Zack staring at him in confusion. When Cloud noticed the dishevelled red hair poking out of the plant behind his chair, he glanced back at Zack. The raven head also stood, abandoning their table for just a moment, he examined the head attempting to stay hidden from them. Zack crouched down, staring into the plant, the goggles glistening beneath the restaurant light.

"You're a shit TURK, Reno."

Reno let out a cry and fell back, his fingers slipping from the balcony, he fell eight foot down and landed on his ass, landing on Riley below him, who had been holding him up by his feet on his shoulders. The two lay crippled below them as Zack stared down at them, glaring with burning distaste, irritated that his time with Cloud had been interrupted by the two idiots. Cloud near galloped down the stairs to reach the entrance to make sure his friends were ok, Reno sitting up and sneering as he arrived, Corporeal Riley still lying on his back and groaning when Reno shoved him off him.

"What're you two doing here?" Cloud was truly confused, "why were you spying on us?"

Reno pointed a finger to Zack who began to approach from behind the blonde, the doorman nodding to him as he passed by, leaving the required money on the silver platter he held in his left hand, the other arm crossed over his chest. The first class approached Reno and Riley, who were both dressed in casual clothing and grimacing at them.

"Yo, just a bit of fun." Reno sniggered, "and I may be a terrible TURK, Fair, but you are an even terribler lover!"

"That's not even a word." Zack muttered lowly, Cloud helping his roommate to his feet, Riley still groaning as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the gil, handing it to Reno.

"You win."

Reno cheered to himself, slipping the money into his pocket before noticing the two SOLDIERS still stood before them. Zack narrowed his eyes.

"What were you betting on?" he demanded, taking a step towards the red head, who simply skipped back, tongue protruding from his mouth.

"If you would make a move on Cloudy, of course!" Reno informed, watching as Cloud's face soon lit red, the smaller of the four visibly flustering at this, "you disappoint me, Fair! One minute you're all over Cissnei, next you have the adorable Cloud yet do nothing! And here I thought you were such a play boy!"

Zack growled lowly, his imaginary dog tail fluffing up and straightening out, while Cloud simply blinked.

"You and Cissnei…?" he tilted his head. So Zack had been with her? Why had he chosen not to tell him? It…hurt. But then again, Cloud was not mentioning the fact that he was allowing General Sephiroth of all people to take his dignity time and time again.

"It was nothing serious." Zack muttered, his reply brisk. He clearly did not want to talk about the TURK.

"Dude, that's harsh." Reno continued to jibe at the SOLDIER first class, defending his co-worker while Riley had began to shift back, not wanting to be anywhere near the two when Zack eventually snapped, "and after Cissnei spent so much time trying to woo you! Even if you don't, she clearly thinks it's serious."

Zack wished they were all back up on the balcony so he could throw Reno off again. However, Cloud simply chortled quietly by his side.

"So that's where those weird marks on your neck came from, huh?" he walked past the raven head, stopping behind Reno and smiling slightly, "come on. It's getting late. We should get back to the facility."

"Cloud-" Zack wanted to continue, but when Reno held him back, the blonde moving away with Riley by his side, Zack could not follow after him.

Reno waited until Cloud was out of earshot before turning his wicked gaze to the first class, his TURK loyalty burning within him.

"I don't know what the hell that was, Fair. But if you dare mess Cissnei around, I will break your legs and toss you to the fucking Midgar Zolom."

Zack simply pushed Reno aside, ignoring the bitter threat.

"Whatever. Stay out of my way, Reno." he began to head on forward, stopping only when Reno let draw a sharp sneer.

"You should watch what you say, Fair." his eyes narrowed, the TURK moved past him, stopping only to glance at the raven head's mako infused eyes, their glares locking, "you seem to forget, I was there when you let Commander Hewley escape. You say anything, do anything that pisses me off, and I will let your precious SOLDIER Director know exactly what you're hiding."