Ink of Wolf
Summary: Moves like a dancer and has a tattoo of a wolf on hip, how hard can he be to find? Zack comes to regret those words as people and paperwork keep him and lovers from the cadet of their dreams, marked by the black on his skin.
0
Lunchtime was never a particularly interesting affair for the four greatest men in ShinRa. Lunch break was a saviour to the four men for the simple reason that it was a break from work. Not that Zack did much work anyway, he spent most of his time planning and pranking with Reno and foisting his work onto one of the other three. However, lunchtime was a generally boring period for them. They all had offices stationed on the same floor– four offices stationed across from each other– so they already knew about every visit that they others had had during the day. The weather was an exhausted topic of conversation and they wouldn't touch any relationship issues they might be having until the workday was over.
They ate in absolute silence.
Today was destined to be another day of staring listlessly at food and hoping that something would happen so they could talk.
However, as luck would have it, they didn't go to lunch.
0
Zack both dreaded and rejoiced this part of the day. The silence killed him slowly, minute by minute. But work also killed him, even more slowly and in more torturous ways. So lunch, despite the silence, was a reprieve.
With a slight bounce in his step, he waltzed his way into his lovers' offices one by one and dragged them out to join him. Well, he only dragged Seph out. Angeal and Genesis were just as happy to run from the inescapable piles of paperwork– which Zack only added too– while Sephiroth was content to continue working all through lunch and straight through till dinner and only leaving then because he wouldn't get dinner for a month if he didn't show up and he wasn't that content.
Together the four men wandered slowly to lunch. They didn't have any reason to rush, more time taken getting there the less silence they had to endure.
Sephiroth was walking at a leisurely pace behind his three best friends/lovers and then something caught his eye. A cadet class had run into lunch break, not unusual, and yet something was catching his attention for some reason.
His lovers stopped and backtracked to stare through the glass with him.
"Well ain't that interesting," Zack remarked with a low whistle.
This was far more interesting than eating in silence.
The four men made their way up to the Soldier lounge that looked out onto the training field. They watched and studied.
He moved with grace and agility. His body flowed into his movements, his sword and him one and the same. The comparison between warrior and dancer had never been clearer.
"He's the most talented cadet I've seen in this intake," Angeal said, surprise colouring his voice, "Why hasn't he been recommended yet?"
"You mean for mentorship? No one's recommended him, really?" Zack was almost as surprised as Angeal.
"It hasn't crossed my desk if he has," Sephiroth answered, despite not being asked.
This was currently the best lunch break they'd had in four months and they weren't even having lunch.
Curious about answers that Seph didn't seem to have, Genesis pulled out his PHS and started scanning through the database.
Genesis 'hmm'd' in puzzlement. He didn't manage to the find the cadet's profile because they lacked his name and searching through the pictures would take to long, but he did find a record of all recommendations for mentorship.
"It seems that multiple recommendations have been made for a particular cadet but all were withdrawn for unspecified reasons before they crossed the General's desk. I'm guessing they would concern our little blonde down there."
The little blonde in question had finished his class and was completing a cool down routine. He reached down and touched his toes in one movement and then snapped back up. Spreading his legs apart he swung his hands across to either foot and then repeated. He closed his sparkling blue eyes and repeated a slow speed martial arts kata to finish. With a final stretch towards the ceiling he was done, but it was in that final stretch that the engrossed onlookers above found a very memorable new development in their little oblivious cadet.
It was very obvious once the shirt lifted above his hip. Black ink on that snowy skin drew the eye and the image branded itself in the watcher's eye because of the complex design and the unique sort of personality it held.
"I think we just found the reason the recommendations were withdrawn," Zack commented, eyes glued to that coloured patch on skin to the side of the boy's hip.
A wolf's head was inked onto the kid's skin. In its mouth it held a ring, such as the ones put through a bull's nostrils, and it's eyes glared out from the boy's skin– half disapproving and half protective. It almost seemed alive.
The kid's shirt slipped down again in an instant and the tattoo was gone from sight, but not from the elder men's minds. Oh, the delicious things they could do to that unblemished skin. How would the inked skin feel when compared to the rest of his snowy coat? The boy was obviously talented and very pretty; they needn't waste such an opportunity for stimulating company.
The men watched as the blonde's instructor called him over. The man said something with a stern look directed at the kid. The blonde spoke back, using his hands and arms to convey his message more clearly. The instructor spoke again and the blonde pouted cutely and left.
The four men sat and stared as the next class filtered in before silently moving back to their offices. This time the silence was welcomed because none of them were sure what to do now they'd discovered the boy.
Later, in a four-way phone chat, Zack came up with the idea that they should just find the blonde tattooed cadet and get to know him, mentor him and date him. All at the same time.
It sounded like a great plan for the other three. Now at lunch they could discuss their plans and go hunting for…'Spiky' as Zack had called the blonde cadet.
0
Soon lunch became the best part of the day for the four men. They planned and schemed and threw those plans and schemes out of the window, some of them literally, and then planned and schemed again. They may be the smartest, toughest and most handsome men in ShinRa but when faced with actually devising a plan to see this one cadet again they failed spectacularly. They'd devised ways to infiltrate and dismantle the scariest places in Gaia, such as Hojo's lab and they'd been the ones to bring Wutai to its knees. Where was that talent, skill and charisma now?
'Probably out the window with most of their ideas,' Zack thought, taking another bite of his lasagne and thanking Gaia that he was a First and therefore didn't have to eat the crap they served the cadets and that Angeal was an amazing cook who wouldn't let them eat what the cafeteria served anyway.
Cafeteria–Cafe-teria–YES CAFETERIA!
Zack had it. Cafeteria = cadet and cadet = finding out about that tattoo and many other things about the… the… crap, what was his hair colour again? Well, finding out more about Spiky.
"Everybody stop!" Zack yelled, and was surprised when they all did. To be fair the three others at the apartment dining table were waiting for the big idea that no one had come up with yet, they just didn't expect it would come from Zack.
"The cafeteria!" Zack exclaimed, looking at the others for confirmation on his idea, they gave him blanks looks of confusion.
"No?" Zack asked, deflating a bit and looking back down at his food.
"Well, I thought it was a good idea. We'd go to the cafeteria and see the cadet and ask him about his recommendations and go from there."
Genesis dived across the table and hugged Zack. "That's an amazing idea! If only you could explain it next time!" he exclaimed and hit Zack on the head.
"OW! Gen! Wait!" Zack struggled to push the red leather wearing man off him.
"Get off, Seph is leaving us behind!"
Genesis was off Zack and out the door in a flash, running down the hallway after Sephiroth and Angeal.
They all arrived at the cafeteria and were subjected to the awed gawking of everyone who wasn't a First or Second. Zack was looking at everything in the room for something Spiky. He couldn't remember much about the cadet– except for the tattoo– but he called him 'Spiky' for a reason, he knew that much.
Then he saw it. It was Spiky! There was blonde hair everywhere, so soft looking yet gravity defying that he had to be 'Spiky'.
"Guys, over there," Zack said, pointing to the cadet who was sitting alone in the corner.
They all turned and stared at the cadet.
"Are you sure?" Genesis asked, "He looks a lot more like a chocobo than before."
Sephiroth nodded for Zack, his memory impeccable, although Genesis' chocobo comment was true.
"It is indeed the same one."
Sephiroth began to make his way over to the cadet and with five of his long legged strides was standing across from the cadet.
"Is this really the best idea? Sephiroth can intimidate a Behemoth and he's just a tiny blonde cadet, by standing here we are throwing that poor boy to the wolves," Genesis said, looking at Zack and Angeal with a partially concerned look on his face.
"He's seems pretty friendly with wolves judging from the one taking permanent residence on his hip," Angeal remarked, "but I suppose your right."
The cadet they just happened to be talking about hadn't even looked up from his food when the giant shadow that Sephiroth created was cast over him.
Zack saved the poor cadet from a no doubt traumatising experience of looking up and finding the General staring down at him.
"Hi, I'm Zack!"
Zack appeared in front of the cadet's vision, the positive energy he emitted making him visually vibrate around the place like he was bouncing around on the balls of his feet every five seconds.
The blonde cadet glanced up from his food and then looked back down.
"Hi," the cadet said, he pushed his food around his plate and looked vaguely guilty.
Silence reigned and then the cadet propped his head up on his hand and gazed up at them. He sighed and blew his hair out of his eyes.
"Is this about the recommendations? My instructor said someone would come and talk to me about, but I can honestly say I didn't expect him to send the General down here to say 'Hi'."
The four men each took a step back in surprise at the casual attitude the cadet displayed towards the four strongest Soldiers in ShinRa.
The cadet waved his hand in a careless movement, although his eyes said he cared very much. "So, lay it on me. Am I being banned from Soldier because of a piece of body art? I'm also wondering that if I said it was part of my religion would I be able to keep it?"
The cadet's voice was rising and getting louder. People were beginning to stare and Angeal could see the rant the cadet was starting was steadily going down an ugly path that might potentially lead to insults that were uncalled for, that at this rate everyone int he cafeteria would hear.
"Whoa, calm down. We're here to extend an offer. For us to mentor you because once a mentor chooses you, body art doesn't matter. So, if you're done maybe we can meet for lunch sometime and sort this business out?"
The cadet's blue eyes widened comically and he seemed lost for words. Angeal smiled endearingly and ruffled the boy's hair.
"Meet us tomorrow at lunch to discuss the details, I'm sure you know where our offices are."
The four men left and walked in a happy daze back to their offices.
"Nice work Angeal, I figured Seph or Zack would've done the talking but I'm not sure what happened there?" Genesis said, casting a sideways glance at the other two.
Zack shrugged and Sephiroth looked away.
"I'd like to see you try and talk to a cadet that adorable with little to no social skills," Sephiroth said grumpily.
"Maybe if you hug and spoon him a little, you wouldn't have needed to talk to him," Zack remarked with a smile.
Sephiroth growled lowly, in no mood for jokes and thanked the poor sap that constructed the offices they resided in that they made sound proof.
No one would hear Zack screaming wildly for his life.
0
"You're paperwork for today, Mr. Fair," the receptionist on the floor below said with a wide smile, dropping a stack of papers on top of the other three stacks he already had.
"The President said he needs it completed by the end of the week, starting today."
"What?" Zack exclaimed and glared at the stack of paper hoping it would burst into flame and float away out his window.
He hurried next-door to Angeal's. The other two in their odd, five-man relationship were already there.
"Does anybody else have a pile of paperwork from hell stacking up in their office or is it just me, like last time?"
Angeal sighed. "No, we've all been swamped at the same time and believe me, we'll be stuck here for the rest of the week."
Genesis slammed his fist down on the table. "But we promised that cadet, Angeal. We promised him," he said, pouting and doing puppy eyes.
"We'll reschedule and I'm sure he'll understand. I'll make the call myself," Angeal said and shooed them out.
"Zack, you have to actually do your work this time. No side projects!" Sephiroth said sternly before entering his office.
It was going to be a long, long workday.
0
A young blonde cadet stood outside the General Angeal Hewley's office, adjusting the sea green scarf he wore about his neck.
He'd been waiting for twenty minutes already and was beginning to think it was another hoax set up by his friends. They found his constantly being recommended and then denied hilariously funny.
"Of course they weren't serious. What a joke!"
The cadet left, hands dug deep in his pockets, and head bent in disappointment.
0
The dinner table in the Generals and Zack's apartment was silent and held a tired atmosphere.
"So, how did the cadet take it?" Zack asked, shovelling another forkful of food into his mouth directly after.
Angeal glanced up. "I'm sorry?"
"The cadet. You know, lunch, mentorship? Ring any bells?'
Angeal eyes widened slightly and he slammed his fork down on the table. "Dammit!"
Genesis glanced up from his food. "Oh you didn't, 'Geal! How could you?"
"I'm sorry, I just got caught up in work and it slipped my mind."
Zack whistled loudly. "He hates us. I just know it."
"I'm sure we'll be able to make it up to him," Angeal said, looking guilty.
0
Angeal regretted his words the next day and the day after that. As the days flew past with the four men still buried in paperwork it became harder to believe they'd ever see the cadet again before they died from some obscure paper related death that would be very embarrassing for such skilled warriors as them.
But when the day finally came that they had been released from their cages, it was for festival on the plate. They were required to attend and make speeches and have photos taken, they then had free time but it was doubtful they'd see the cadet among the throng of people.
They passed through the speeches and monotonous shaking of hands and small talk on autopilot and where then released from their duties for the rest of the night.
"So, are we going to go look for little blonde cadet with tattoo?" Zack asked, bouncing around with hopeful sparkles in his eyes.
The other three shook their heads.
"We'd never find him," Genesis said, gesturing to the large amount of people in the streets.
"What? He moves like a dancer and has a tattoo of a wolf on his hip, how hard can he be to find?" Zack protested, his pitch levels rising the longer he talked.
A hand clamped over Zack's mouth. "Shut up, and look over there."
Genesis released Zack and pointed to a swaying set of hips that were waltzing along the path before seating themselves at a fountain.
"Oh, it's him. I'm gonna go say hello," Zack announced, before running towards the small blonde eating his dinner on the rim of the fountain.
"HEY SPIKY!"
The blonde looked up and jumped to feet on the rim of the fountain, ready for battle as his training dictated.
"Oh, it's you," the cadet said and relaxed. He didn't look happy to see them.
"Hey, we're sorry about that other da–"
The cadet cut Zack off. "It's fine. I wasn't expecting much anyway. I guess it was funny for you, it always is. Something new to laugh at when all conversation is exhausted because you're all in the same classes and all you can do is complain to each other and that gets old quickly–"
His rant was interrupted by a yell of 'CLOUD' before he was thrown into the fountain by a group of cadets.
He surfaced and glared at the young boys who toppled him off the rim.
"Don't look like that, Cloud. It's just some fun," one of the plainer boys said.
Although to the four men, they were all very plain compared to Cloud.
Cloud climbed out of the fountain and grabbed his dinner of Wutainese take-out, all the while glaring at the cadets.
"Fuck off, would you? This is why I don't hang out with you anymore. You're all such children."
The boys stopped grinning. "But Cloud, we're your friends."
"No, you're not," Cloud said and turned to walk away. Genesis grabbed him before he could.
"Hey, you're soaking wet and its chilly out here. Why don't you finish your dinner in our apartment, where you can shower and get a change of clothes?"
Cloud nodded, already feeling the chill Genesis was talking about settle in. The four men lead Cloud back to their apartment and went riffling through Zack's draws to find something small enough to fit the blonde.
They left the clothes on the bed and settled down on the couch to watch a movie. Cloud appeared not long after, Zack's clothes hanging off him, and quietly sat in the only armchair and finished his dinner.
At the conclusion of the movie, Cloud was half asleep, curled into a ball where he was sitting. Zack gently picked the blonde up and tried to move him from the armchair to the spare bed.
"What're you doing?" Cloud asked, yawning. His eyelids fluttered in an attempt to remain open.
"There's lots of training to be done tomorrow. You need a comfier bed than the armchair. I'm just transporting you there."
"Oh, okay. 'Night Zack."
Cloud turned into Zack's chest and fell asleep again. Zack smiled at Cloud's adorably peaceful face and placed him under the covers of the spare bed. Tomorrow there was training to be done but there was also a lot of getting to know Cloud and wooing. It was going to be a busy day for all, with absolutely no paperwork and if there was, he'd give it to Reno to burn.
Zack stood and left the room. He joined his lovers on the couch again, when what Cloud said finally caught up with him.
He frowned and asked, "How did he know my name?"
Genesis frowned at Zack and ripped a piece of paper of his knitted vest. "Puppy, you're wearing a name tag."
0
So this is probably the most romantically empty story so far, however, I think you'll appreciate it because of that, a change of scenery and all that. It's just a sweet story, with little to no plot. Just like all the others but with less romantic substance.
This was an idea I got from my recent holidays where I got an airbrush tattoo on my hip and I thought Cloud would look really sexy with one and that Angeal, Seph, Gen and Zack would agree and that's where the idea for this came from.
I hope you enjoyed it and let me know of any mistakes.
Tawnyeyes