Title: The Panic Café

Authors: Ainahim Twilightbait and RainbowSerenity

Pairings: Zack/Cloud, Sephiroth/Genesis

Rating: M eventually, but T right now

A/N: Ainahim's Notes – Sorry for the long wait…I was supposed to translate this one into story format, but I've been so busy that all my free time is spent being brain dead. So RS did it, bless her soul. I'm a horrible, horrible person. I'm sorry!

RS's Notes – WHOO CLACK!

DISCLAIMER: We do not claim to own anything Final Fantasy related. This monstrosity proves our point further, being as it has nothing to do with the FFVII universe.

The minute night had fallen, Tifa had shoved Cloud into her car and driven him to the Panic Café, chattering about nothing the whole way there. But now that she had parked in front of the dark building, she was beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea – Cloud just looked so against being here.

She sighed. "Look, I'm going to go in, tell Sephiroth I can't have the job for whatever reason, maybe have a drink, dance a little, and go home. That's it."

Cloud hesitated for a moment before answering. "I can't leave you alone in there, so I guess I'll come with you. I'll dance with you if I have to."

She didn't bother wondering why she couldn't be left alone and patted his arm. "That's the spirit."

The two got out of the car and walked inside without any trouble as they had the previous night. Cloud followed Tifa protectively, so closely that he was practically touching her as he glanced around at all the patrons, wondering who were the humans and who were the nightwalkers. It was rather daunting, to say the least.

Tifa rolled her eyes at Cloud's paranoia, managing to shake him off as they sat on some barstools. She was about to ask for Sephiroth, but he mysteriously appeared in front of her, as though out of thin air, taking in her appearance with a slight smirk. "Ah, Tifa. Right on time."

She bit her lip and glanced at Cloud, wishing he would magically change his mind in the next second. When he showed no signs of thinking such a thing, she sighed a little. "Actually..."

"Yes?"

"I...don't think I'll be able to take the position. I'm sorry."

If Sephiroth was surprised at her job refusal, he didn't appear so. In fact, he actually looked rather amused for some reason. "I see." He suddenly gestured out towards the dance floor. "Well, why don't you stay and mingle for a bit, dance for awhile, and then tell me what you think?"

She had no intention of doing so, especially if the wide-eyed look that suddenly crossed Cloud's face was any indication, but she stood up anyway, as though in a trance. "...Sure."

Cloud turned his glare to Sephiroth, his eyes then noticing the glow in Sephiroth's green ones. Hadn't Zack's glowed the same way? His were much more...passionate, though...

He blinked and shook his head. Whoa, okay, he was not going down that road.

Sephiroth didn't seem to notice Cloud's unease, even when he glanced at his neck for a brief moment. "Why don't you dance as well?" He paused. "Ah, unless you'd rather have last night's partner. I believe I hear him coming," he added with a smirk.

Cloud tensed visibly. "I'd prefer to leave as soon as..." He looked around, noting in aggravation that Tifa had mysteriously vanished onto the dance floor. "Augh, Tifaaa..."

He didn't notice when Zack suddenly appeared next to them out of thin air, his eyes wide and his face even paler than normal. "Oh, Cloud," he said, getting the blond's attention. He nodded, trying not to stare at those 'perfect veins' Genesis had oh-so-nicely mentioned earlier. "Good to see you again."

Cloud jumped a little in his seat at Zack's appearance, taking in a shaky breath as he scanned the dark-haired man, trying his best not to sound nervous. "Y-Yeah. I was just accompanying Tifa to make sure she didn't get sucked back into the dance...and alas...I have failed."

Zack chuckled nervously, still staring at Cloud. Something about that look completely unnerved the blond, even more so when Zack suddenly stood up and glared at Sephiroth. "Stay out of this." He grabbed Cloud's wrist without another explanation except for, "Come with me, please."

Cloud could only reply with a noise that sounded both intrigued and not, hardly daring to tear away from Zack's inhuman grip. They disappeared out back. Sephiroth watched them leave with a smirk, knowing it would be little time before Zack's bloodlust caused history inevitably repeated itself.

"How long will we be able to resist?"

--

Oddly enough, outside the club, the music had almost softened completely, leaving only an eerily silent night besides the wind and Zack's voice. "Why did you come back?"

Cloud sighed and glanced around, more than a little nervous, although he tried to keep it out of his tone. "Tifa wouldn't stand for staying away without properly declining the job. I didn't want to leave her alone there," he said, conveniently leaving out how he also wanted to confirm what he'd felt on his neck the night before. But that could wait.

"And yet she's not the one I told not to come back," Zack replied, running a hand through his hair. His expression had gotten a lot more panicked, and he was pacing around like a caged animal, talking to himself. "Why? Why did you have to come back?"

The panicked feeling seemed to be projecting somehow, since Cloud started to feel a bit unnerved himself, although he felt he had more of a reason to be, especially since he couldn't help himself and finally blurted out, "You're all vampires, aren't you?"

Zack stopped pacing, his gaze snapping up towards Cloud, where he stared with his eyes burning. "Wha...what?"

"I'm right, aren't I?" Cloud's breath was coming in ragged gasps, making it hard enough to talk without realizing just who – or what – he was alone in a dark alley with. "That's why this place is dangerous for mortals. That's why your eyes glow. That's why..." His hand flew to his neck, covering it in an almost defensive gesture. "...That's why you almost fed off of me last night."

There was silence for a moment when Zack tore at his hair again, his eyes darting around like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Before he could reply or even stop himself from doing so, he'd rushed forward and pinned Cloud to the wall by his shoulders with such a grip that it would only take just the slightest bit more force to crush the bones under there.

"Fine," he snarled, sounding a little more angry than panicked now. "Yes. Yes, I am. I am a vampire. Sephiroth is, Genesis is, half of the people in there are bloodsucking monsters like myself that are feeding on defenseless humans who have no idea that their lives are being drained away. Is that what you wanted to hear!?"

Cloud winced in pain, both at practically being hurled at the wall and from the strength of the hands gripping his shoulders. "I...I'm sorry," he stammered. "I...only wanted the truth."

Zack gave an insane, bone-chilling laugh that sent a shiver down Cloud's spine. "You're sorry? For what? For tempting the only one of my kind that doesn't feed on humans?" He leaned his head down just enough to bury his face in the blond's neck, inhaling sharply, desperate to get as much of him as he could. "I don't know what it is about your blood that's making me forget all of the morals I've held for the past thousand years, and it's driving me insane!"

Cloud gave a little moan before he could help himself, and at hearing it, Zack's hands flew from his shoulders to his wrists, pinning them against the wall. Cloud barely noticed. He was tempting Zack? That was all that seemed to stick in his mind even though every instinct was telling him to scream, to run for his life since Zack's fangs were so incredibly close. "M-Maybe it's my affinity with vampires," he finally managed to say, giving a nervous, breathless laugh.

"Affinity?" Zack's voice seemed so much sharper and clearer, even though his face was still buried in Cloud's neck. "Kid, you have no idea what it's like to be in a den of monsters. To be the only one who wants to protect the humans instead of treating them like mere food, and oh god, I just want to protect you too, but you're driving me mad and I don't know why..." Zack was more than aware that he was rambling, but found it was the only thing keeping him from sinking his teeth into Cloud's skin, so if he had to sound like a blithering idiot, so be it.

"I...I wish I knew," Cloud said softly, wiggling his fingers as though to break the hold Zack had on his wrists, but he couldn't – or maybe he just didn't want to. "But...I think I'm only able to break your spell once. And I already wasted that chance, so...I'm kind of leaving it up to you to do the right thing."

A low, humorless laugh broke the silence. Cloud shivered again when Zack's lips vibrated against his neck, both at that laugh and at his words. "You're leaving it up to a monster to do the right thing? Are you mad? Do you realize that I could break your wrists with just a little more force? That I could drain you of all of your blood right now and leave you dead right here?"

"...But...will you?"

Zack somehow managed to force himself to pull his face from Cloud's neck at his breathless tone, somehow really looking at him for the first time since they'd met. He stared into those eyes softly, realizing that his own eyes had once been that shade of blue before...before he'd gotten turned.

For some reason, this made him release the blond's wrists, stumbling backwards when he realized what he'd come so close to doing again. "No..." he muttered, still stepping backwards until his back hit the wall and he plopped down, his eyes still wide and horrified. "I'm not."

Cloud also sunk down the wall, more in relief at Zack letting go of his wrists more than anything – that grip had been brutal. "Thank god," he murmured under his breath, his heart beating double time, like it had stopped during that whole exchange.

There was a beat of silence before Zack chuckled quietly, not sounding the least bit amused. "I am different from my kind in that I actually value human lives, so I'll tell you this..." He stared at Cloud, his gaze hard and piercing. "...There is no escape for you now. I'll protect you as much as I can, but eventually I'll either succumb to my bloodlust or fall on the knife trying to avoid it," he said, unable to help a wince. "I can only hope it's the latter for your sake."

Ironically, Cloud had been rubbing his wrists during Zack's little speech, trying to get the blood flowing through them again. "What if I try to never see you again?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "Will I still end up back here at the doors of Panic Café anyway?"

"I can only hope not," Zack replied, shaking his head slowly. "But...your friend..." He turned and stared at the door they'd come out of earlier. "...She's easily falling under the spell." His gaze turned back to Cloud. "I don't understand why you aren't, but for that I'm glad and I'm begging you to try your damndest to stay the hell away."

"I can't make any promises," Cloud said, his eyes on the vampire. "But then again...neither can you."

Zack stood up and chuckled a bit, still not sounding the least bit amused. "I guess not. I don't see why you'd believe a promise from a monster, anyway."

"Well...like you said, you're different," came the blond's quiet reply, wishing that he could also stand up, but knew his legs still felt like jelly and there was no way he'd be able to steady himself. "Right?"

"Yes, but I'm still a monster," Zack sighed, shaking his head. His eyes turned to gaze at Cloud again, so intently that it was almost as if he was staring into his very soul, trying to determine who exactly he was. "Don't take anything we say lightly."

Cloud shivered at the stare, almost as though a cold breeze had suddenly swept over him. "I won't..."

Zack's gaze was still on Cloud, his eyes drifting up and down, lingering on the blond's neck for just a moment too long. Cloud's hand reached up to cover his pulse point with his hand when he noticed this, and though he wouldn't admit it right then, Zack was glad for that. "You should probably go inside. Tifa's wondering where you are."

"I'll try to keep her away from here, but like I said – no promises." Cloud gave Zack one last warning glance, his hand still covering his neck, before disappearing back into the club.

The vampire shuddered, realizing that if his heart was still beating, it would no doubt be practically flying out of his chest by now. To his horror, he knew that this didn't freak him out as much as it really should have.

Cloud...what is it about you?

--

It didn't take long for Cloud to find Tifa, who was luckily dancing with a group of humans. She jumped about a foot in the air when he tapped her shoulder, but looked like she was having way too much fun in the meantime. "Hey, Cloud! Where have you been?" she asked, shouting over the music.

"Trying to find you!" Cloud lied unconvincingly. "And now I have, so it's time to go!"

Tifa batted his hand away, still dancing. "No way! This place is great!" Her movements changed when the song suddenly switched without so much as a pause. "I don't know why you don't want me to work here!"

Cloud's eyes widened when he noticed the glowing eyes of someone who'd just joined her little dancing group. He found himself suddenly grabbing Tifa and dancing with her, glaring at the vampire, who looked unperturbed at the whole situation, but a bit disappointed at the same time.

Tifa blinked and glanced around, like she wasn't sure as to what had just happened. "Cloud! You're actually dancing!" she shrieked when she realized that, indeed, he actually was. Her pleased grin morphed into a frown a nanosecond later. "Okay, something's up. I know you don't dance, except with spiky-haired mystery men."

"You said you were going to dance a little bit, and now you've done that." Cloud sighed. "And no more about Zack, alright?" he added, not knowing that said vampire just happened to walk back into the club the moment he said that.

Tifa did notice, however. "Oh look, there he is! Should I call him over?" she asked with a grin. "I knooow you liiiike hiiiim..."

Cloud shook his head vigorously, his heart already racing at the thought of being in the same room with Zack again. "No, Tifa! We should probably just leave!"

It was an odd feeling – he knew that he definitely wanted to protect her from this place, from these...monsters. But at the same time, everything was screaming at him not to leave, to stay and mingle with these creatures he'd known all along existed somewhere. At least he'd know the danger for himself. Was that what set him apart?

"Oh, you're no fun." Tifa's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "You probably just want to go home and reeead," she added, sticking her tongue out.

Cloud sighed and started pulling her off the dance floor, somehow staying under the guise that they were still dancing. Luckily, she fell for it and didn't protest, moving her body to the pounding beat of the song.

Zack was glad that they seemed to be leaving. He'd sat down at the bar, his arms crossed on the counter, when he'd come back inside and realized that Cloud was still there, determined to ignore the blond's presence even though he seemed hypersensitive to it. Too bad it was just as hard to ignore Sephiroth.

"Where have you been?" the silver-haired vampire asked, smirking at Zack's pained expression.

"None of your damn business."

Genesis suddenly appeared behind Zack, his expression mirroring Sephiroth's. "Oh, of course it's none of our business...when you step outside the club with a sexy-necked blond kid." He dashed behind the counter in the blink of an eye, still looking highly amused.

Zack gritted his teeth, trying to settle his emotions and ignore Cloud's still-there presence in the club at the same time. "Who asked you!?"

"We did," Sephiroth replied without missing a beat.

"I said that it's none of your damn business," Zack hissed out, his hands clenching into fists, aware that he was probably about to draw his own blood, but didn't really care at the moment.

Genesis glanced around, raising an eyebrow when he saw Cloud dragging Tifa out of the club, his expression anxious and hers upset. "Looks like you scared him away."

Zack laughed quietly. "Not scared him away, you idiot. I gave him reasonable incentive to get out of this snake pit."

"That sounds like scaring him off to me." Sephiroth sighed dramatically. "And to think, you could have had your own little toy."

Zack didn't dignify that with a response except for crushing a glass in his fist, his whole body shaking with fury.

And outside, Tifa wasn't all too happy, either.

"Cloud! What the hell?"

Cloud didn't let go of her arm until the door was fully closed behind them and finally managed a few words. "...Geez, you're a lot harder to drag around than you used to be."

Tifa put her hands on her hips in a huff. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ohhhh nothing...you sweets hog." Cloud nonchalantly rubbed his arm, knowing his plan would work perfectly.

Of course, it went off without a hitch when Tifa's mouth fell open. "Meanie!" she cried, taking off and chasing after the blond when he started to run, leading them right to her car. Perfect.

Cloud beat her there, plopping on the hood with a little smirk, laughing a bit when she caught up and punched his arm lightly. "And you know, you're just a...vampireaholic!"

"Hmph, so are you," Cloud replied, knowing that his words were truer than she knew. "You just don't know it yet."

"Puh-lease," Tifa said, rolling her eyes. She finally found her keys and unlocked the car, hitting the automatic unlock for the passenger side. "I'm not the one staying up all night reading gory fairy tales."

Cloud slid into the passenger seat, turning to look at the nearly invisible door of the Panic Café for what he hoped and dreaded to think would probably be the last time. "Fairy tales, indeed."