Cloud doesn't like nightclubs.
Scrap that.
He hates nightclubs.
The crowd. The lack of air. The overpowering stench of sweat and rancid breaths. The loud music. The blinding lights.
They do nothing but give him sensory overload.
Out of all places in this beautiful seaside town of Costa Del Sol, why would anyone choose to spend their best days in the nightclub?
He would rather be by the sea, feeling the sand below his feet or his skin warming up under the searing sun.
He's only here in this shit hole because he has no other choice but to be here.
Around him, people buzz but their words slip in and out of him like sand blowing at side roads because he's not interested in listening.
His already foul mood rots even more when he catches Aerith creeping into the place via the backdoor, carrying a birthday cake as if she wasn't making threats on him just 2 weeks ago.
Waiting at the end of the line is the person who everyone's here for: Zack.
Everyone's singing the birthday song.
But not Cloud.
How could he when all he can think about is the bitchy bitch's words against him?
Scenes unfold before him and he quietly observes them.
Zack blowing the candles. Someone taking the cake away from the bitchy bitch. Zack scooping her into one of his arms.
Zack looks like he's in seventh heaven.
And now they're locking lips.
Everything else blurs while the pair has become more acute in Cloud's eyes. He can almost see the pores on their skin from afar.
He wants to look away but he can't.
Even if it feels like his chest's sinking and closing in on his lungs.
"It's nice to see them corny once in a while, huh?"
The remark hits him like those mating call noises that cicadas make during summers.
Unwanted and fucking annoying.
"They're always corny," he curtly replies.
The other person, who turns out to be Kunsel, flashes him a sardonic smile. "Come on, Cloud. You know they aren't. He's a chronic asshole to her."
He knows what he's saying is bullshit.
But if it stops Kunsel from mentioning that Zack's behaving differently than usual towards the bitchy bitch today, then that's all he wants.
Cloud checks on Zack again and spots him at the table where the cake is. The other man appears to be gesturing at someone to come over.
Curiosity spurs him to find out who it is.
At the corner where Zack's looking, there's Tifa. She looks confused and out of place.
Cloud stiffens.
"What did I tell you? He's already making moves on your girl," Kunsel says as their eyes follow Tifa who's walking over to the table where Zack is.
Zack's feeding Tifa a slice of the cake and she's just taking it without making a fuss.
Cloud doesn't understand what the fuck's going on.
Until he realizes that Aerith's also there, seeing the same thing that's happening between Zack and Tifa.
Without any reaction.
It's funny. For someone who typically gets immediate hissy fits by the mere sight of Zack hanging around other women.
Techno beats start banging from the stereos and Zack's off to the dance floor with Aerith, leaving behind Tifa who isn't moving away at all from where she is.
She's just there, staring dismally at the dancing pair.
It hurts Cloud to see the hurt in Tifa's eyes.
He refuses to stay around and do nothing about it.
He wades through the crowd of dancers, intending to get closer to where Zack and Aerith are. When he manages to put himself right behind Zack, he grabs and tugs the other man down by the arm.
"What are you trying to do?" he probes, mouth near Zack's ear so the other man can hear him despite the deafening music.
Zack smirks, never stopping from wiggling his limbs. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm having fun with my girlfriend. As you should with yours too."
"Stop it, Zack."
"Stop what? I'm not doing anything. Stop fucking up the mood, Cloud."
He can hardly hide the rage on his face.
Zack though, isn't one to be daunted.
The other man's inching closer before he feels hands probing his hips.
"Do you want me to dance with you instead?" he hears Zack mumble, hot breath teasing the arches of his ear.
"Don't Zack… everyone's watching."
"We've been caught too many times already. This is nothing."
His head's all a jumble and yet, it's not entirely making him unreasonable.
"Aerith… she's here."
"No, she's not."
Cloud pulls away, only to see Zack grinning down at him.
With a turn of the head, the other man guides him to where he should be looking.
Strobe lights are spinning around the room and he can barely see what's ahead of him.
Oh. There's one thing he does notice.
Aerith's prancing in front of Tifa who seems all too mesmerized.
Whatever's going on afterwards happens all too fast for him to fully process.
One minute he's seeing his girlfriend almost making out with the woman he despises. The next he's seeing Zack kissing that same woman while his girlfriend freezes nearby.
Now he finds himself loitering close to Tifa, feeling pissed that he nearly blasts her.
Nearly.
He chooses not to because there's something else that consumes most of his anger: the malice behind Zack's eyes as they move from Tifa to him, while his lips remain on Aerith.
The door to room 702 flings open and out comes Aerith with eyes all red and face streaked with tears. Trails of smudged eyeliner and mascara stained her cheeks.
She lingers by the doorway just to scream, "Fuck you! Fuck you! FUCK YOU!"
Nosy heads peek out from other rooms along the corridor, intrigued by the commotion.
Cloud's standing several feet away, watching as Aerith finally storms away, leaving the door to room 702 open for others to pick up Zack's counter insults at her.
Cloud starts second-guessing his decision to be here.
He's not supposed to be around Zack.
He doesn't believe that he can keep his emotions in check around the other man now.
He feels too angry.
But it's because he's too angry that he thinks Zack needs to be confronted.
His entry into the room is met with Zack's heavy heave.
"What now? I'm not hearing another person yelling at my face about how I'm a shitty person for-" Zack air quotes as he continues, "'hurting' that whore."
"Don't call Tifa that."
"I'll call her what I want."
Cloud frowns. "Why are you doing this?"
Zack keeps his mouth shut.
"If you're going to hurt someone, don't hurt my girlfriend."
Zack clicks his tongue.
Cloud hears him mutter under his breath, "I fucking hate this…"
The other man presses his palm against his forehead for some time before he's speaking again, "Don't fucking lie, Cloud…"
"What are you saying?"
Zack looks up, eyes gazing at him intently. "You're not mad at me because I'm hurting Tifa. You're mad because I kissed Aerith in front of you."
Unbelievable.
The audacity of this man.
Cloud scoffs. "Stop putting words in my mouth, Zack."
"Tell me. Am I wrong?"
He doesn't know what to say.
Zack's looking at him with all that brashness and he hates it.
He hates how almost spot-on the other man is.
"We can't keep doing this, Zack," he returns instead, shifting gears.
"Do what?"
"These games."
Zack grimaces and jerks his head backwards as if he's hearing nonsense from Cloud.
"What game?" the other man asks, arms wide open to pose his question. "I'm not playing games. You're the one who came here trying to prove things are great between you and Tifa when I told you to come alone so we can spend time together. I've made it very clear that I wanted to be with you."
"I don't see what's the problem. Aerith's here with you too."
"We had an arrangement and you agreed to it, Cloud."
He feels his chest sinking again.
Is this how it's always going to be for him?
Always the second best. Always the second choice.
He doesn't think he can stomach any more of the conversation.
"So you're just going to leave? Walk away from me? From us?" Zack pesters as he makes his way to the door.
The other man has no intention to let him walk out.
He doesn't get the chance to because Zack's now towering in front of him, blocking his reach from the door.
"Move," he demands.
"No, I won't."
Zack edges forward and cups his face with both hands, urging him to look at the other man's grey blue eyes.
"I'm not letting you go… not when you're like this."
That's all that Zack needs to say for him to melt under the other man's touch.
His lips crash against Zack's, nipping every inch of the man for his warmth and tenderness. Their tongues collide and crawl around one another, spilling strings of spits from their mouths. It's sloppy but he doesn't want to let go. He wants to drink every essence of Zack as much as he can. Zack seems to want the same.
Their hands have been anything but idle.
Every moment of the kiss comes with the ripping away of buttons, zips pulling down and garments hurled away until there's not even a single fabric left on their bodies.
Pushed against the carpeted floors, Cloud doesn't care about climbing up the bed.
Zack pins his legs above his head before he feels the other man's cock buried deep inside him.
The loudest moans he has ever made tear at his throat as Zack pounds him relentlessly, prodding the most reactive parts inside him.
Cum spurts out of his own cock beyond his control and Zack slows down.
The other man unpins him and leans down to plant kisses along his neck.
Then he feels it.
Zack pressing his lips somewhere beneath his left collarbone and sucking it until he feels blood pooling underneath his skin.
He knows what the other man's doing.
He's going to leave the room with marks all over his body and the thought almost angers him.
But he wants more.
He just wants more.
And Zack grants him exactly that: more.
His chest. His shoulders. His arms. The area around his navel. His thighs – front and back. His ass. He knows Zack leaves marks wherever the man can.
Cloud tells himself that this is okay.
It's okay for Zack to mark him.
Because this will be the last time they're ever doing this.
A/N:
Ngl... this is the hardest chapter to write so far. There are so much (messy) emotions I want readers to be aware of without spelling them outright. I almost gave up because my brain wasn't working with me 😬
PS: I had another sex position planned (a conventional one?) because the one I wrote here... isn't gonna work for most folks. But Cloud and Zack are athletic people in this story so why the fuck not?!
