Lavenders.
Purple flowers with an aroma that will make your head feel a little woozy after just a couple of inhalations. They're great for those who want to relax and have a good night's sleep.
Among the long lines of home fragrances produced by Midgar manufacturers, Crescent Ltd's lavender-scented candles sell like hotcakes, regardless of the changes in season.
What distinguishes their lavender-scented candles from the rest in the market is their quality.
While other manufacturers blended different ingredients to create the artificial smell of lavenders, Crescent Ltd's lavender-scented candles are made from actual lavenders harvested from the fields of Gongaga, the only place where these plants are found.
Zack keeps these lavender-scented candles alight in his bedroom every night.
Because it makes him sleep better and that it reminds him of 'home'.
Apparently, Gongaga's his hometown… that's until his parents decided to abandon him in Midgar at the age of 2. He has never been to that small town again ever since but preserving his connection to it keeps him 'afloat' somehow.
Cloud's enjoying the smell again tonight, like every other night, as he lays on the bed with the blanket barely covering his bottom.
After an entire evening of uninterrupted sex, he's sweating from head to toe and he doesn't like the clammy feel of cotton on his skin.
He's lying on his right side, just staring at Zack who has his back leaning against the headboard as he's drawing on his roll of cigarette.
The other man appears to be particularly agitated. It doesn't show on his manners and their sex (he has, thankfully, learned to channel his emotions differently) but Cloud can tell from the spacey look in his eyes and his unsmiling lips.
Cloud inches closer to Zack, then runs his fingers gently along the other man's pecs.
"Something's bothering you," he mumbles, watching his fingers as they glide through the lines of well-defined muscles.
A brief silence passes before Zack replies, "Aerith just admitted to me that she's into your girl."
The smell of menthol continues to drift into the air, fusing with the fragrance of lavender as Zack puffs several more times.
"And she wants out," the other man adds, almost through gritted teeth.
The revelation doesn't surprise Cloud.
Tifa has been going out more often than ever and coming home smelling like someone else for him to know that whatever she has with that other woman isn't just some casual fling.
That other woman's also no longer hiding the fact that she has been frequenting the apartment that he shares with Tifa, going as far as kicking him out once.
It has been a long time coming.
If only Zack would stop mulling over it.
Especially when he's right here by the man's side.
"Hey… we've never talked about why you've decided on taking up boudoir photography," he remarks, going off-topic.
He just wants to steer the conversation away.
He places his head onto Zack's chest, hoping to spread his warmth onto the other man.
"I know it's not because of the 'beauty of intimacy'. It's got to be something else," he says, eyes still on his fingers as he moves them across Zack's firm stomach.
"It's easy. I like looking at people's bodies."
He feels Zack slipping a hand onto the back of his neck and kneading it lightly.
"The colours. The lines. The curves. The perfections and imperfections. There's also something about looking at these things that people don't generally show to others which gets me a little trippy," the other man explains.
"Speaking like a true human physiology major."
Zack softly laughs as he crushes his cigarette onto a nearby ashtray.
The other man's hands soon roam downward to Cloud's hips.
Cloud lifts his head up to find Zack smiling at him.
"You don't know how much I love these hips," Zack murmurs, his hands stroking Cloud's hips like they're fabrics he's trying to check.
"Just my hips?"
Zack's hands travel upwards, caressing him from the area around his navel to his neck until they stop at his jaw. "Everywhere on you, actually. You should let me take photos of you someday."
"And let you scrutinize me like you do our clients? Not a chance."
"Oh, so you would rather I look at you one-on-one like this?"
Colour rises to Cloud's cheeks. "Shut up."
Zack's giggling and still does when he pushes the other man back onto the bed.
He angles himself accordingly on top of Zack, then leans down to press his open lips somewhere on the other man's neck. He teases the spot with a little nibbling before he starts sucking on it.
"What are you doing?" Zack asks, burying a hand into his hair.
"You know what I'm doing."
Nibble and suck. Nibble and suck. Nibble and suck.
Cloud repeats his actions continuously, reducing Zack into moans, just like how he wants it for the other man.
By the time he's done with Zack's neck, it's nothing but a totem full of his bite marks.
But it's not enough.
There can never be enough marks.
So he trails his lips down to Zack's chest, only to halt when he sees the tattooed word on the other man's left breast. He has always been curious about what it stands for.
"What's this?" he asks, touching the permanent stain.
"It's… Aerith's name. In Cetran language."
Cloud stares at the stain, keeping his face as straight as possible.
Without a moment's thought, he starts nibbling and sucking on Zack again, this time with the aim of leaving his marks around the tattoo.
Zack chuckles. "You really hate that tattoo, huh."
Why wouldn't he?
Not only does that woman occupy most of Zack's headspace, a part of him is also forever marked with her name.
The tattoo of yellow and white flowers on Zack's lower right stomach? Cloud knows that they are her favourites.
What part of Zack isn't touched by her?
He almost wishes that he can disassemble Zack and find parts of the other man to claim as entirely his own.
The only thing he can do now is be content with leaving his marks on Zack – proof that there are moments when the other man is entirely his.