Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.

Summary: In which 1st class SOLDIER Zack pesters Shinra Guard Cloud about a "love" letter.

Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.

~Pen and Paper~

Dejected by the blank piece of paper staring back at him, Cloud had spent the better half of his day off in his single dorm room at the Shinra Military base, trying to accomplish one of the many things he had been holding off since he joined.

He held his pen tightly, concentrating hard on his penmanship to write the first few words of a personal letter, "Dear Tifa..."

"Oh, is that a love letter I see?" A familiar voice sounded unexpectedly behind him. He felt the person linger over his shoulder, curious of the contents of his handwritten letter.

Cloud jumped in his seat and scrambled to conceal his letter from his nosy 1st Class rank SOLDIER superior, Zack Fair. He had managed to sneak up on Cloud, for the fourth time since they met.

"It's not a love letter..." He replied sheepishly, before crumpling the letter up, throwing it to the side and letting it roll to a pile of other crumpled up papers that lay scattered around a metal waste bin.

With a grin, Zack picked up and unfurled one of the papers from the floor. The letter didn't have much written.

Only a few words sloppily written and then scratched out several times. This piqued Zack's interest about the person Cloud was having trouble writing to.

"So who's the lucky girl waiting for you at home? Is she a cutie?"

The young Shinra guard ripped the paper out of Zack's grasp, "It's not like that! I mean…it's complicated."

Cloud had only just joined Zack's unit a few weeks ago and they became fast friends.

He looked up to Zack and aspired to be like him, but there were times when the Gongana native got a little too up close and personal.

Zack was an energetic individual, always looking for ways to get to know people. He practically described himself as Cloud's mentor and was quite proud about all the 1st class SOLDIER wisdom he was passing down.

At this exact moment, Zack felt this was another mentoring lesson, an opportunity to bond with one of his best friends.

"Oh lighten up will you? I got someone waiting for me too. A beautiful down to earth girl from Sector 5 who loves to grow flowers. We write to each other all the time."

Here, Zack pulled out a pink envelope and brought it up to his nose, inhaling the sweet fragrance that came from it, "Smells just like her."

Cloud stared at Zack in disbelief, shocked to find that he actually found the one girl to capture his heart. He was a notorious playboy from all the rumors he heard.

Zack stashed his pink letter from the girl of his dreams away and sat at the edge of Cloud's makeshift bed, "So I take it you have not written to her yet?"

A slight shade of red colored Cloud's cheeks, "I...well…"

"Come on, it's just me. You know you can tell me anything if you ever want to get things off your chest." Zack placed his hands on Cloud's tense shoulders and gave a reassuring squeeze.

To be honest, Cloud wrote so many letters intending to send home but he never found the courage to do anything past that, let alone actually finish writing any of them.

He failed at becoming the one thing he came here for, to become someone she would admire, and be able to keep the promise they shared.

So it wasn't worth sending anything if there wasn't any good news to tell her...

Cloud really never confided with anyone at Shinra. He was an only child, so deep down, he also saw the man with the cross scar on his cheek before him like an older brother he never had.

Cloud did often seek out for his approval and advice.

Although his older brother tended to have the attention span of a puppy.

Zack wasn't going to be leaving anytime soon and he had always paid extra attention to Cloud, to which he was grateful for.

Taking a deep breath, Cloud finally cast away his shell and began telling Zack about her, "She's a neighbor of mine and we've known each other since our childhood..."

"Ah, so you're trying to impress her huh?" Zack rested his hands on his hips, "So why has it taken you so long to write to her?"

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck, "You know why." He pulled out his Shinra helmet and gazed at it with contempt, "I'm not a great 1st class soldier like you or Sephiroth. I'm just a Shinra guard."

What can a messily Shinra guard do to protect her? He probably could not even save her when she needed it.

Zack shook his head and waived his index finger around in a nagging manner, "Doesn't matter! You should never keep the lady of your heart waiting."

Now he was in romance expert mode.

"So, how do I become more like you?" Cloud asked eagerly, jumping to his feet, "How can I become a 1st class soldier quickly?"

Zack chuckled at Cloud's silly request, "Nah, you don't want to be like me. You gotta be your true self. That's what all the ladies like and I'm sure this girl would rather see the real you than someone like me."

Cloud scratched the back of his head and shrugged, "I mean, I guess that makes sense...but…"

Zack shook his head, "I'm already taken. We can't have another clone of me walking around now, right? Just be you. I guarantee it will win your girl's heart, I just know it."

Without hesitation, Zack pushed Cloud back down on his seat, "So get buckled down and finish that love letter already!"

He then placed the chocobo feather pen back in Cloud's right hand and pulled out a blank piece of paper, "Tell her that you made it halfway there. Just gotta work a bit harder to become the best of the best."

Zack genuinely believed in Cloud to work his way up the ranks and eventually become the hero that he sought out to be.

Cloud was grateful for Zack's persistence and managed to finish the letter that wasn't a love letter with his heart on his sleeve.

"Thank you, Zack."

"Better late than never. I'm the best wingman ever, am I right?" Zack joked while nudging Cloud in his rib with his elbow. He wriggled his eyebrows here, making Cloud laugh.

Cloud was going to do it. He would not hesitate to send the letter tomorrow when the post office opened in the morning.

He'll have to make it up to Zack one day, hoping he can return a similar favor. When Zack needed someone to lean on, Cloud would be there in an instant. He'll be that wingman too if Zack wanted it.

He began to feel proud that he made it this far in Shinra, thanks to Zack's encouragement.

Unfortunately, Cloud was never able to send the letter or get a chance to become Zack's wingman, as they were all called in to prepare for a special mission the next day.

It was the last time he was able to open up to anyone again in a long time, before he lost everything he held dear in Nibelheim to a sea of flames.

The finished letter he meant to send out that he kept in his pocket, fell out and burned to ashes. It was long forgotten as he raced after Sephiroth, Zack and Tifa up Mt. Nibel to the Mako Reactor.

~owari