Wow chapter 45, that is 5 away from 50. We have come so far, so thank you all for the support so far! It really helps so much!

Ch. 45

"So Cloud are you sure you're alright?"

Zack had to ask again seeing that Cloud kept spacing out on their walk back to the apartment. Finally, Cloud did seem to hear him as he turned and blinked a few times.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry. I guess today's mission was still far more tiring than I expected."

"Yeah I heard. But how crazy was it really? How big was the monster? And you really killed it all on your own?" Zack started to ask his rapid fire questions, growing more excited and curious.

"It really was something crazy. You should have seen the size of it!" Cloud said before going on to explain more about the mission. He tried to give as much detail as he could for each thing that went down, like first being placed in charge of the group, and then all the way to having to face the surprised mother monster. Though he did leave out the parts of him worrying over fighting and then what the captain had said. He didn't need his brother going after the captain since Sephiroth already did.

By the time he finished his story, they were back in the apartment. Zack was wide with eyes far more excited than they had been at the start. It was clear that the story had been more than what he expected but he enjoyed every moment of it.

However, before he started on that, he wanted to make sure Cloud was okay.

"Okay first things first. Let's get you in bed to rest. You need it after the day you've had. I'm just glad you're not really hurt," Zack said with conviction.

"Well, I think I'm okay. You don't have to go out of your way. I mean, I felt well enough to go out for the special ice cr-"

Cloud stopped suddenly and closed his mouth immediately. His brain was a bit slower processing currently and he had not thought clearly about what he was saying before he did it. "Oh crap I slipped up. Maybe Zack won't notice. I can't even let him know about the secret."

"Huh, what were you going to say? Ice what? Special?"

Zack had heard him clearly. It wasn't enough to panic Cloud, but he did start wondering what he should do though to try to avert the situation. After a moment of thought, he felt that complying with what Zack wanted beforehand would be the best way, even though he felt fine.

"Oh it's, um, it's nothing. Ya know, I actually think I might need to lay down some after all," Cloud said nervously, the feeling written on his face as well.

"It almost sounded like you were gonna say ice cream. Something special about it?" Zack trailed off. "Well, that can come later. You can rest up for now at least. You need it."

Cloud was relieved to hear that Zack had postponed his curiosity about the situation from earlier. But now he wondered how long it would be before his brother mentioned it again. Maybe he would just forget, but knowing Zack, that most likely would not happen.

He laid back on the couch after removing his work attire and slipping on a simple shirt and shorts before he would shower later. After he was comfortable, then Zack continued with his thoughts from before.

"Okay, so I had no idea that it would have been something like that. Your mission I mean. That was good to hear. Seems as though you really are learning well," he praised his brother with a grin.

"I tried my best. Thanks. You seem so excited about it though. You never been on missions like that?" Cloud asked with a chuckle.

"Oh no no, it's not that. I've been on plenty of course. But this was your first big mission, and leading no less. I'm just excited for you."

It made Cloud happy to know that Zack was proud of him. Not only that, but Sephiroth felt the same way. Even though he was still slightly physically hurting, it seemed like a non-issue with the other things that had happened that day.

"I appreciate it. Yeah, even Sephiroth said something about my doing well too. Can you believe it!?"

"Yeah! That is so amazing! I'm still completely jealous of you, but man hearing Sephiroth say that about you, my little brother, ah! It's awesome to have him say that!"

"You seem overly excited for some reason," Cloud chuckled, not being able to help but be infected by Zack's enthusiasm.

"Sorry, sorry. Sometimes I get pumped and can't control myself," Zack admitted as he raised up from the couch. "I have to try to channel that energy then."

After he said that, he began doing squats. Cloud almost facepalmed, but started to grin at his brother. Zack would do squats almost all the time, and never stopped making sure that he was in shape. Cloud had gotten used to it by now. He even tried doing them regularly as his brother did, but he never really had the desire for it.

A few more minutes passed until Zack finally decided to stop exercising. Cloud was continuing to rest, feeling much better after he had finally gotten comfortable. As he laid there, his stomach started to rumble a bit, which must have caught the attention of Zack, who drew closer to Cloud.

"Oh what was that now? Well, after such a long day I guess you're hungry right?" Zack asked towards Cloud.

"Uh, yeah I guess I am kinda." Cloud's reply was a drowsy one, his tiredness becoming more prevalent.

"Good! I am too. What do you want and I'll go and take care of it," Zack suggested.

"I don't know. Surprise me with something," Cloud replied.

"You got it!" Zack said before heading into the kitchen.

After Cloud had eaten he had gained back some energy, but it was still late into the night. So regardless he was still tired. He flopped back onto the couch before thanking Zack for the meal.

Zack smiled and sat down beside him. "You're welcome. But now I got another question for you if you aren't too tired."

"What is it?"

"What were you saying before about ice cream?"

Cloud bit his tongue. He had hoped Zack would have gotten that small bit of information by now. And now he couldn't think of a good enough explanation to get by it. He knew saying he wanted to go to bed would be to sudden and still leave Zack far too curious.

"Uh, ice cream? When did I mention that?" Cloud said nervously as he averted his eyes from Zack.

"Earlier before dinner. You said something about special ice cream. Or started to at least," Zack replied. "So tell me, what that was all about?"

"I mean, it's not really anything too special really. It's just ice cream. It's not that important is it Zack?" Cloud asked

"But then why did you say 'special' before? You seemed to make it like it was something big if you could go to it after a hard mission," Zack said continuing to press on the matter.

Cloud bit his lip. He grew more nervous about it all. He remembered what Sephiroth had told him before about being more confident in things, but this was different. Sephiroth had told him never to speak of this secret, yet Cloud was careless and started to let it slip. He wasn't really sure what to do or how to answer.

"Me and my big mouth…" Cloud allowed a heavy sigh to escape from his lips. He was too tired to have to deal with it all, and wanted it to be over. "But I can't just tell him though. I swore to Sephiroth that I would not tell anyone. I know Zack's my brother and I can trust him, but it's Sephiroth… I don't wanna make him mad… But I'm not sure how long I can hold out with Zack," he thought long and hard as his mind battled with itself.

"I'm not really supposed to say anything about it okay?" Cloud said, hoping that Zack would understand and move on from it.

Zack leaned in a bit closer, raising an eyebrow. "You're… not suppose to say anything about it? What does that mean? Come on Cloud, you know you can tell me whatever it is."

Cloud groaned, having fully expected Zack to press on it. "It's just that nobody else is supposed to know about that secret ice cream place… wait! No. Cloud what are you doing!?" he yelled at himself in frustration, knowing that he had just told what he said he couldn't.

"Wait what? Secret ice cream place?" Zack asked, sounding really confused now. "You went to a secret ice cream place… wait a minute… with Sephiroth!?"

Cloud had been caught. What was Sephiroth going to think now when he found out? Maybe he wouldn't find out. Cloud would hope that Zack would not say anything to anyone. He wasn't really sure what to do at the moment other than damage control.

"Yes…" Cloud said silently as he hung his head. "I wasn't supposed to say anything, but you kept pressing, and you're my brother, and I'm tired and wasn't paying attention to what I was saying. Just… please Zack. Don't tell anyone that you know," Cloud slowly said as he tried to gather his thoughts better. "Or even anyone you do know."

"Aw… but now I am really curious. Why is Sephiroth taking you out for ice cream. I mean it is Sephiroth of all people," Zack said. "Can you at least tell me that one last thing?"

"Fine. I'll tell you that much. But!" Cloud started as he sat up from the couch, looking Zack dead in the face. "You have to promise to not say a word to anyone."

Zack held up his hands. "All right, I get it. Whatever this is all about must be really something then. I won't tell anyone, okay?"

"Alright then I believe you. Just wanted to make sure. So the thing is, it's a special ice cream. Sea Salt. You can't get it anywhere else. Only at this one secret place that he knows of and his friends. He likes it a lot and rewarded me one day, trusting me with the information. He told me he just doesn't want people to find out. I'm not sure why though," Cloud explained, hoping that would be enough to sate Zacks' curiosity.

Zack had to purse his lips together to keep himself from laughing. "Sephiroth… likes ice cream? Serious? That is so funny to hear!"

"I mean, don't most people like ice cream? Though, I guess it is strange to hear that about him."

"It's the fact he makes it all secretive, and on top of that has a secret location to go for ice cream where no one will find him! I think that is rather amusing for sure. I'm trying to imagine Sephiroth eating ice cream and actually enjoying it, but it's just so silly," Zack said before laughing.

Cloud couldn't help but chuckle at those facts. "Yea I guess that's true. I never really thought about it before."

"And you said Sephiroth goes to his place as well as his friends." Zack's eyes then widened. "That means Angeal knows! Aww… why hasn't he told me about this supposedly great ice cream place, yet?" Zack slumped back on the couch, pouting heavily. "I'd like to have ice cream…"

"I know I know. But please don't mention anything even to him about it. They would know that I have said something. I don't wanna imagine what Sephiroth would put me through…" Cloud said as he looked nervous.

"Yeah yeah, I won't okay. But I'm still sad… I would like to go for ice cream sometime. Maybe I gotta work harder! Yeah, that's probably it! If i can impress Angeal enough surely he will reward me with ice cream!"

"Well, you could always try that," Cloud said with a laugh. "I mean, I kinda did the same thing and I didn't even know about the ice cream."

"Then I'll make sure to do that!" Zack said jumping to his feet.

Without a second word he went right back into doing squats again. Cloud ended up laughing at his brother's new motivation and energy for the ice cream. He decided that it was time for him to head to sleep, so he left his brother to do as many squats as he pleased.

Zack knows now the secret, but will Cloud get away with it? Will Sephiroth find out? Hmmm that is the question, heh.