AN: Yay! Nanami decided to help me (I so didn't beg -shifty eyes-). She wrote a lot of this chapter. I like how she writes and she usually has a good sense of what sounds good and what doesn't. Anyways, Thank you 'Nami, I love you! -glomp- So… I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, you can all have some cookies -offers plate of cookies- Here's chapter three, enjoy!


((NanamiGenji: Hello everyone! Rozetto and I will let you know who's written what in this chapter. I started it, so… enjoy!))

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For the next hour or so, Cloud worked while talking to Riku. Riku had decided his first choice for work was at the library; it would be quiet and give him time to think, (and he wouldn't have to interact with too many people). After Cloud got off work, they headed over to the library. When they arrived, Aerith was just closing up.

"Aerith! Hey" Cloud called to her, waving.

"Hi Cloud," she replied with a smile. "You must be Riku. Leon's mentioned you a few times."

Riku nodded.

"Listen Aer, Riku just lost his job 'cause Cid caught us fooling around. Do you think you could give him a job here?" Cloud asked.

"Actually, I was looking for an assistant. Does that sound alright?" Aerith said, turning to Riku.

"I'd like that," Riku replied.

"Great! You can start tomorrow. 9:30?"

"Sure, I'll be there."

"Now, don't let Cloud keep you up too late," she added with a wink.

Riku blushed slightly and Cloud stuck out his tongue at her.

"Heh, no wonder Le's always so pissy; you're not keeping him satisfied," Cloud said.

Aerith rolled her eyes. "Oh, Quiet you. You can't build a relationship on sex."

"You try going celibate for a year, then tell me that sex isn't important!"

The brunette rolled her eyes again. "Sex addict."

"Sticks and stones, Aer, sticks and stones," Cloud replied.

Riku couldn't hide the blush that was burning across his cheeks. How do they talk about sex so openly! I get embarrassed just talking to Cloud about it!

"I was thinking we'd go over to the diner tonight, eat some food, annoy Leon, you know? Wanna come with us?" Cloud asked.

"Sure, you buying?" Aerith questioned in reply.

Cloud grinned mischievously. "No… we can put it on Leon's tab."

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"Riku, did Cloud tell you anything about this place?"

Riku shook his head.

"It's a '50s style diner."

"Oh… so?"

"They have uniforms…" – at this, Cloud burst out laughing – "Try not to laugh," Aerith finished, glaring at Cloud.

"What?" Cloud asked.

Aerith rolled her eyes. "Grow up. You know how much he hates that job. Why must you constantly irk him?"

"'Cause it's fun! Besides… I like the food there. Might as well enjoy myself as well."

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At the diner, a waitress dressed in a '50s style skirt and shirt (and roller skates), showed them to a booth. "Hi! I'm Yuffie, but I guess most of you guys know that already. I'll be serving you today… erm…Drinks?"

"I'll just have a glass of water," Aerith said.

"OMIGOD! I want a root-beer float!" Cloud said excitedly.

"Do you have orange pop?" – Yuffie nodded – "I'll have that, then," Riku said, laughing at Cloud's hyperness.

"Alrighty, I'll be right back with all that," Yuffie said cheerfully, and headed for the kitchen.

"I'll be back in a minute… I'm gonna go find Leon," Cloud said as he stood up.

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"Hey Squall!" Yuffie yelled as she skated into the kitchen. "Aerith, Cloud and some kid are here."

"Dammit, Yuffie, my name is Leon!"

Yuffie giggled. "Whatever… Hey, is Cloud still single?"

Leon rolled his eyes, she asks me that every time they come in here. "No, that "kid," Riku, is his boyfriend."

"What? That can't be legal!"

"He's the same age as you. Maybe a little younger."

"Neh… My birthday's next week… so I must be older!"

"Whatever… just don't let him put it all on my tab."

"Whatever you say, Squally," Yuffie said, leaving the kitchen.

"Leon! My name is Leon!"

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"Hey, where'd Cloud go?" Yuffie asked when she brought the drinks out to the table.

"To bug Leon," Aerith replied with a sigh.

"OUT!" came a shout from the kitchen. Shortly after, Cloud ran out of the kitchen, laughing. He rushed past Yuffie and sat next to Riku.

"What did you do now?" asked a very exasperated Aerith.

At that moment, Leon stormed over to their table to yell at Cloud. "You idiot! That could have gotten me fired!"

Cloud cowered behind Riku. "Sorry Le… it was pretty funny though."

"No, it wasn't!"

Aerith rolled her eyes and Yuffie stifled a laugh. They'd heard this argument enough times. Riku wasn't really sure what to do and did not like being between Cloud and Leon.

"Aw, come on, Le, your boss was laughing too. Relax a little."

"Relax? You know how much I hate working here yet you still annoying me to no end! Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Aerith stood up and grabbed Leon's arm, ready to pull him away. "Leon, calm down. If you want to, we can go somewhere more private o talk finish this," she said.

"Yeah, and if you hadn't noticed, everyone here is staring at us," Yuffie added.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is over. I'll stop by the apartment tomorrow to get my stuff," Leon said, then turned and walked back towards the kitchen. Aerith went with him, leaving an awkward silence behind.

"Um… you guys ready to order?" Yuffie asked.

Riku looked over to Cloud.

Cloud shook his head. "No, I think we'll just go," he said, reaching for his wallet. "How much for the drinks?"

"Don't worry about it," Yuffie said.

"Thanks Yuf, I think we'll just head home."

Yuffie nodded and began to clear the table.

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Cloud and Riku walked home in silence. They playful look in Cloud's eyes had faded with Leon's final words, words echoing in his head.

"I'll stop by the apartment tomorrow to get my stuff."

"Cloud? You okay?"

Cloud looked down at Riku. "Eh?"

"You're being really… quiet."

"Oh… I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

"'Bout Leon moving out."

"You think he meant that? Maybe he was just angry."

"No, ever since he and Aerith started dating seriously, I knew he'd eventually move out. Why'd I have to push him towards it faster? I'm such an idiot."

"No you're not… besides, now we'll have the apartment all to ourselves."

Cloud shook his head. "He paid more than half the rent… and he's always bought the food… he knew I had problems with the money thing. Even with you working at the library, we're still not gonna have enough to make rent and eat… and everything else we need."

"So… what you're saying is…"

"We, Riku, are royally screwed. We'll have to find an even shittier place to live, there's no way we can keep the one we have."

By that point, they had reached the apartment and Cloud was unlocking the door. When they walked in, there was a raven-haired man sitting on the couch, reading Cloud's book.

"How the hell did you get in here?" Cloud demanded, knowing exactly who it was.

The man chuckled and turned to look at Cloud and Riku. "You didn't change the lock after I left… Nice book, by the way, guess you still can't afford this shit-hole."

"Out."

"That's not a very nice way to treat your guest. Who's the kid?"

Cloud sighed in defeat. "Riku, this is Zack. Zack, Riku. Now get out of our apartment."

"The kid's your roommate? He – you are a he, right?" – Riku nodded – "He can afford this dump and you can't?"

"No, he's my boyfriend. My roommate, Leon, is actually coming by tomorrow to get his stuff, he's moving in with Aerith."

"Boyfriend? Kinda young, don't ya think? And that Leon guy is dating Aerith? Wow, seems I've missed al lot."

"Get out."

"Nah, I think I'll stay. So, Riku, is Cloud still any good in bed?"

"OUT!" Cloud yelled.

Riku blushed and mumbled something about leaving them to sort out something, then walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Zack laughed and walked over to Cloud. "Come on, you know you want me to stay," he said, wrapping an arm around the younger man's waist.

"Let me go!" Cloud replied, struggling to pull away.

Zack was stronger and managed to push Cloud over to the couch, tackle him onto it, then pin him down.

"Come on Cloud, remember what fun we had?" Zack whispered seductively.

"Zack," Cloud growled, "Get off."

"Aw, am I making you uncomfortable?"

Cloud glared up at Zack in silence.

"Heh, I know you're loving this."

"Get off of m– "

Zack cut Cloud off with a rather forceful kiss. Cloud struggled to pull away for a bit then realized Zack wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted. In this case, he seemed to want Cloud.

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Riku had been sitting on the bed, trying to ignore the arguing men in the living room. After a few minutes of silence, he decided to check if they had stopped fighting. When he peaked out the door of the bedroom, what he saw caught him completely off guard.

What? A minute ago Cloud was yelling at him to leave… now they're making out on the couch! That jerk! He's cheating on me and I'm just in the next room. How dare he! Oh god, I sound like a woman.

Riku shook his head and closed the door again. He walked back over to the bed and lay down.

There's got to be a logical explanation for this. Cloud wouldn't hurt me on purpose… would he? Whatever, I'm sure there's an explanation… I'll ask him later.

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((NanamiGenji: And so ends my part of this chapter. There rest is by Rozetto 'cause I told her I wasn't going to write the whole chapter for her.))

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After a few minutes, Zack got bored. He wasn't just there to make out with his ex-boyfriend. The reason he was there… didn't really matter right now. Right now, he could only think about how hot Cloud looked now. Deciding to deal with his real reason for being here later, he began to kiss down Cloud's neck.

"Zack, stop… we're not together anymore. We can't do this, I'm with Riku now," Cloud managed to get out.

Zack sat up, straddling the other man's hips. "You talk to much, just relax and enjoy this," he said, beginning to take off the blonde's shirt.

Cloud crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm with Riku, not you."

Zack sighed. "Jesus, Cloud, the kid's not gonna care… and if he does, wouldn't he have come out by now to see what we're up to?"

"Yeah, and knowing him, he wouldn't say anything. He's quiet."

"I got that… why don't you just ask him to join in."

"I'm gonna say this one more time: get out."

Zack leaned back down to whisper in Cloud's ear. "Why would I want to leave?" he asked, then ground down into the other man. He smirked when he heard Cloud groan. "So, Cloud, you ready to just give in yet?"


Rozetto: Well, there it is. I know I didn't write most of this chapter, but I love 'Nami. She's awesome for doing this. Anyway, I thought I'd leave it here. Why, you ask. 'Cause I feel like it.

Nanami: Your fans are gonna hate that.

Rozetto: What fans? Besides, this'll get them to come back and read what happens next.

Nanami: -rolls eyes- Sure… ten bucks says her fiancée is looking over her shoulder and he doesn't want her to write some hard-core yaoi.

D: You'd win that bet.

Rozetto: OMFG, I didn't know you were there! –freaks out-

D: Sure…

Nanami: Hey, D, can you leave so Rozetto can write a lemon for this fic?

D: No.

Rozetto and Nanami: Meanie!

D: Whatever… don't forget to remind the readers to review…

Rozetto: Oh yeah!

Nanami: Yep, could you all please review… I'll give you a cookie!

Rozetto: Yay! Virtual cookies!

D: Oh dear god, save me from these two!