Took a few tries to get this right, my writing naturally likes to take a more humorous approach so I wrote the first draft and then deleted a huge chunk of it and replaced it with more less funny.

Chapter Three: Zenith

Separation is merely an illusion…

"Any change?"

My world. Cloud's world….

"Not yet…have you informed Garden?"

I'll do the rest….

"No, but I'll have to if he doesn't wake up soon…"

…Cloud…

XxX

Cloud tapped a finger rhythmically against his half-full mug of beer, from the corner of his eye he could see Yuffie twitching in time to the taps. He let out an amused huff, finally wrapping his hand around the mug and taking a mouthful. He couldn't blame her for her impatience; he'd called everyone over, demanding a meeting...the uncharacteristic insistence that everyone be present was overshadowed only by their surprise that Cloud had used his phone for once.

"Cloudy!" Yuffie stressed, ignoring the sharp looks the rest of their friends gave her. "C'mon already! What's got your spiky butt out of its funk finally?"

He snorted.

"Yuffie." Tifa admonished, failing to hide her smile, she flicked Cloud an apologetic look before returning to washing the used glasses. "So," She ventured. "What do you have to share with us, Cloud?"

"I talked to Aerith and Zack." He stated bluntly. "Some of my memories had been blocked."

Yuffie immediately jumped up and started waving her arms wildly, a million questions about the pair hurtled past her lips. Cid choked on his tea when one of her limbs smacked him across the head. Barret was quick to restrain the pilot, even as Vincent moved to subdue the ninja, coercing her in sitting again. This time on her hands.

Tifa snickered before meeting Cloud's mild gaze with a concerned look.

"I'm fine." He offered up, guessing the direction of her thoughts. "They helped a lot." His brows drew in thoughtfully, silently debating how much to tell them. Coming to a decision, he pulled out the Crystal and held it up. "This…isn't Materia." He started quietly. "It's a fragment of power from a Goddess named Cosmos…"

For two hours, he quietly went over the events of World B, the subsequent suppression of his memories by Cosmos, and how the Goddess Minerva's shrine had enabled the Planet to unlock those memories. He went over the conversation with Aerith and Zack carefully, omitting that Aerith was positive that she could summon one of the other warriors to their Planet, before finally letting his voice die out.

Yuffie had a sly smirk on her face when Cloud finally finished speaking. She waited until he had gratefully accepted a glass of cold water from Tifa and lifted it to his lips before asking "Got a sweetheart tucked away on another planet, Cloudy?" She cackled. Oh, how perfectly she'd timed it! Cloud went beat red as he spluttered, water going all over his shirt and the table in front of him.

Tifa was sniggering even as she handed Cloud a towel and murmured apologies.

Cid rolled his eyes. "Tch, more like Spiky's got a crush on one of 'em." He flicked his nose with his thumb. "Doubt our chocobo-head knew well enough to say anythin'."

"We're from different worlds." Cloud objected hotly. "And I was under the impression that inter-planetary travel was impossible."

"…was?" Vincent queried, one fine black brow arched.

Cloud slumped forward. "Aerith thinks she may be able to help another warrior and even bring them here." He admitted.

And that was it for the civil discussions. The group exploded in questions.

XxX

One week.

Squall had apparently been unconscious for a whole seven days. And Laguna had been using every ounce of his political prowess to keep the Balamb SeeD calm. Ellone had quietly explained to her adopted brother that after Day Four, Laguna had run out of reasons to deny the Orphanage Gang's repeated requests to talk to him and had come clean.

Long story short. Quistis, the proxy commander while he was on leave, had been most unimpressed. Balamb Garden was parked outside the city walls. And Ragnarok was still encased in ice, courtesy of a certain Sorceress attached to Garden. Squall had awakened when they were all in the room, to his misfortune. He never wanted to experience a large group of human adults jumping on top of him. Ever. Again.

As it was; he'd felt obligated to lecture his friends to within an inch of their lives. The rest of SeeD would be joining the students in writing out "I will not invade a city out of worry for my commander" in their detentions for a week (The students thought this hilarious and were taking it as a badge of honour). One daring B-Class SeeD had tried to protest; it'd only taken three seconds of seeing Squall's glare to halt any protestations. Seifer had nicknamed him "Ice Princess" for a reason, and it wasn't because of Shiva.

He did remember to thank them for their concern; Laguna and Ellone were so proud of him for that.

But it'd taken a week after awakening to get any substantial alone time. Which made calling for Aerith difficult. He was not explaining a ghost girl to his friends. Just…no.

He had questions for the pink-cladded spectre.

Thankfully, after a few days of seeing that Squall was perfectly healthy and recovered, Garden was content to leave again. He'd left Rinoa with ringing ears for freezing Ragnarok…though the Sorceress seemed to be too in awe of how much he'd spoken to really take that lecture in. He'd also taken her aside to quietly make it clear that he had no intentions towards her and proceeded to tell her all about World B and that he was attracted to a certain male he'd met there….and gently hint that with her penchant for a partner that opened themselves to others, perhaps she should look at a certain martial artist that they both knew? Thankfully, Rinoa had taken it well, admitting that finding out that his father could've easily ended up her father if her mother had chosen differently did take a huge chunk out of her attraction to him (She'd mused aloud about referring to him as 'brother' though Squall quelled the idea with a dark look). But, Rinoa had asserted, Squall was not getting rid of her so easily…she would still keep at her attempts to get him to open up. She'd given a final laugh and gentle hug, promising Squall that if 'his man' didn't treat him right, she'd go Sorceress on his unappreciative backside.

Squall couldn't decide if he was amused or insulted. In the end, he settled for being thankful that she took it so well. He didn't need her 'going Sorceress on his backside' after all.

So, finally, Squall was alone and able to properly process the memories he'd unlocked.

It seemed like such a fantastical story; something out of the books Matron used to read them; a Goddess and her chosen warriors in an epic struggle. It'd be easy to write it off as a fantasy…too easy, if not for the crystal. Squall wandered over to his suitcase and pulled out the crystal in question. He sat down in an armchair tucked in the corner of his room and ran his eyes over the plethora of silver spikes, oddly reminiscent of both his gunblade and a wing…

No point stalling. He thought dryly, inhaling sharply. A moment later he exhaled, voice steady and firm as he called.

"Aerith."

Dear Hyne, don't let him regret this…

Aerith emerged in a sphere, calmly walking across the room to where Squall before beaming at him. "You remember. Do you wish to go now?"

"…wait." He pinched the bridge of his nose as her face fell in disappointment. "I have questions."

Aerith chewed her lower lip. "I might not be much use." She admitted. "I wasn't a part of Cosmos and Chaos' war."

"…not that." He muttered, drawing in another sharp breath. "If I go…is that it? Or can I come home?"

Aerith blinked. Then blinked again. And then her mouth dropped open into a shocked 'O'. "Oh Planet!" She cursed, smacking a hand across her forehead. "I didn't explain that!" She gave Squall an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I must've caused you trouble."

"…"

Aerith giggled as Squall merely stared at her in response. "You really are quiet!" Green eyes sparkled with amusement. "Of course, you will be able to come back. I talked with the goddess Minerva about it; anyone who holds a fragment of Cosmos can travel between the worlds. You can visit Cloud and he can visit you." She waved her hands as she struggled to explain. "See…imagine…oh I know! Between every world there is an invisible road…well, these roads are normally…let's call them 'locked', so travelling them is meant to be impossible…but because of your crystal, you can travel to worlds where other Crystal holders live. I'm just here to help you."

"Other worlds…Zidane! Bartz!" Squall blurted out. "I can see them?"

"If they hold crystals, yes." Aerith smiled, clasping her hands beneath her chin. "So, will you come visit Cloud?"

Squall huffed, sinking further into his chair. Silently he mused at his sheer relief that he could come and go between planets. Thank Hyne that he wouldn't have to choose. Especially given that he and Cloud had never really talked about this…thing between them. There had been a sense of mutual understanding but both of them had made it pretty clear that their social skills were not up to par…

"Squall?" Green eyes blinked nervously at him.

Squall nodded, expression carefully blank. "Give me time to make arrangements."

Squall would always be thankful for his strong work ethic; because he refused to take time off unless necessary, he'd acquired a large amount of holiday leave. His leave was even more than he thought. To his surprise, Quistis had seen to it that his trip to Esthar as considered a 'diplomatic mission' and not a holiday. Initially, he'd been concerned that taking off on another trip so soon would cause grumbling amongst his troops but apparently, they'd been quite vocal that he needed a proper vacation…Selphie declared that they needed more time to recover from his Glare of Ultimate Doom; Zell insisted that they were still sulking about the detentions. Irvine dismissed the pair of them and said that all of Garden had heard the screaming and shouting of the diplomats in their Commander's office. No one was questioning Squall's need to take a long break; what they were questioning, however, was how the hell he'd lasted in that office for so long without maiming one of them.

Either way, he was able to take off without a single protest.

What he didn't know was that Rinoa had mentioned to the others that he may 'finally be acting on his emotions' and had hinted heavily that he was likely to be in a relationship when he returned. They were hoping for the best while preparing for the worst…Irvine had placed an urgent order for some very special bullets and Selphie had already plotted out which moves she'd be using first. After all, no one hurt their Squally and got away with it.

XxX

Since his admission about Cosmos and World B, Cloud had had the dubious pleasure of a curious ninja stalking his every move. Her primary reason when pressed, was the chance of stealing Materia from another planet. Cloud had tried to tell her that none of the other Cosmos warriors had ever heard of Materia but she wasn't believing him. In the end, desperate for solitude, he'd flung her as far as he could before running to his bike. In the time it'd taken Yuffie to land, Cloud was long gone in a roar of the engine. Tifa had barely enough time to peek her head out the door before Cloud disappeared over the horizon.

It'd taken Cloud some time to decide on where to hide out exactly; Aerith's church in the Slums was too obvious, as was the spot where he'd sheathed the Buster Sword in the wasteland outside Midgar. In the end, he settled on filling the tank of his motorcycle with fuel and returning to Banora. Banora, he felt, was the ideal choice; for one, the caverns were a maze so any who followed him were unlikely to catch him, and two, that was where his memories had been restored.

The Gongagan victory crow echoing in the wind as he turned off the highway and onto the main road leading to Banora merely finalised the decision.

Cloud had barely set foot inside the cavern chamber when the runes began to glow again. He felt a rough ruffle of his hair and saw a buster sword in the corner of his vision.

"About time, Cloud." Zack's cheerful voice resounded. "Aerith went to see your Squall; she should be back with him soon."

Cloud heaved a sigh as he walked out from under Zack's hand. "He's not my Squall."

"You want him to be though, right?"

Cloud chose to ignore Zack and the blush steadily crossing his face; Aerith would be here soon, and Gaia knows she had the gift of reigning the boisterous former First in.

Cloud was studying a rune on the wall of the cavern when Zack's delighted crow alerted him to company. He turned around just in time to see Zack smother the SeeD Commander and gave Aerith a thoroughly mortified look. Aerith laughed at him before gently prying Zack away. Squall was blinking bemusedly at the pair, hands clutching at the rucksack strap slung across his torso as Aerith slowly coaxed Zack back into the life-stream.

Cloud cringed at the mess Zack had made of Squall's chocolate coloured locks. "I. Am. So. Sorry." He bit out as he hurried over. Gun-metal eyes blinked up at him when he began to card his fingers through Squall's hair. Cloud sighed. "Zack and personal space are not compatible." He explained with a small smirk.

Squall opened his mouth before quickly shutting it again with a click of his teeth. Cloud couldn't help but chuckle; clearly the man wanted to comment something rude but thought better of it. His laughter slowly died out, a fond look in his azure eyes as he stared down at Squall. "Good to see you again."

"…yea." Squall murmured, eyes softening when Cloud slung an arm around his shoulder. "Good to see you too."

For the first time in a long time, the silence between the two men felt awkward. Neither had thought much further than simply seeing the other again. Gathering every vestige of his courage, Cloud brought his other arm around Squall, and felt Squalls' warmth leech into his own body as the commander slowly stepped closer, cautiously sliding his own arms around Cloud. With a content sigh, Cloud curled around the other, lowering his face to rest in the crook of Squall's neck. After long moment, Squall slowly relaxed, leaning into Cloud and tightening his grip around the blonde. The awkwardness disappeared the more Squall relaxed into him, the silence returning to that comforting tranquillity from their time on World B.

Cloud smiled as Squall slowly nuzzled his face into Cloud's shoulder, feeling soft puffs of breath splash against the side of his neck. Gaia, Cosmos had some explaining to do; what was she thinking, depriving them of their memories?

"Cloud," Squall muttered. "You or Aerith should have warned me about Zack."

Cloud smirked, shaking his head. "Nothing can prepare anyone for Zack, Squall. He's one of a kind." He paused for a moment before asking. "Before your memories were restored…did you feel like something was missing?"

"Hyne yes." Squall breathed. "It felt wrong but all I had was my crystal." His hands crawled up Cloud's back to clutch at his shoulders, eyes lost in thought. "I knew something was wrong but even Sis couldn't help."

"Mmm…wonder if the others feel this way." Cloud tilted his head back to stare at the cavern ceiling. "Think we can do something?"

Squall stared at him for a long moment. "Aerith," He finally spoke just after Cloud began to squirm. "Has a mind like a sieve."

"Sorry?"

"She didn't tell me that I could travel between our worlds at first." Squall explained calmly. "I thought that I was going to have to choose."

Squall fell silent again. But Cloud could see the stress that had put him under. Squall Leonhart did not let people in easily; and it was obvious that once he let you in, he kept you there. Cloud smiled fondly, moving a hand to card through those brunette locks again. A loyal lion if there ever was one. His brow furrowed. "You didn't have to choose, right?"

"Right." Squall affirmed. "As long as the Planet in question has a crystal bearer, we can travel there." He lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "You could visit my world."

"And we can see the others." Cloud breathed in realisation. "Wow…we can meet Cecil's son and Terra's orphans."

"Zidane claimed his girlfriend was a princess." Squall volunteered casually. "Be nice to verify."

Cloud nodded before pressing his forehead against Squall's. "After you finish visiting me."

"After you visit my world." Squall countered, digging gloved fingers into Cloud's shoulders. Dimly in the back of his mind was the thought that such extended physical contact should be making him uneasy. He shrugged the thought off a second later; he and Cloud had always seemed to break their own rules when it came to the other, so why not this one too?

Lifting his head, Cloud stepped back, breaking their embrace and firmly taking Squall's hand in his. His grip on the other man tightened as he began to lead him out. "Just to warn you…" He started with a sigh. "There is a ninja at my place who will pickpocket you for Materia."

Squall looked absolutely confused. "…Cloud, Materia doesn't even exist on my world."

Cloud huffed. "I know…but she won't believe me when I've told her." His lips curled up into a smile. "Your world is gonna sound like her idea of hell; no Materia to steal."

"…." Squall inhaled sharply. "You need less morally ambiguous friends." He told the blonde seriously.

Cloud snorted in response. "Perhaps." He mused, flexing his fingers into Squall's shoulder.

XxX

Aerith smiled as she watched Cloud and Squall travelling to Edge; Cloud stopped in the Wasteland at the Buster Sword for a moment. While Cloud paid his respects, Squall took the time to stare at the city of Edge with its skyline of cranes, scaffolding and half completed buildings. Around her the life-stream trilled its happiness; its chosen hero was happy and whole in his memories again. Her smile widened when Cloud's hand darted out and dragged Squall onto the ground next to him, quickly wrapping his arms around the leather-clad body, pulling Squall to sit between his legs, back to chest, Cloud's pointed chin digging in Squall's shoulder with every laugh the blonde gave in response to Squall's miffed rebuke.

Beside her, Zack was crowing again.

Not that the couple could hear, thankfully. Aerith mused as Cloud pressed his lips against Squall's in a kiss that quickly turned into more. Zack was going haywire; whooping and fist pumping for all he was worth about their 'little Cloudy finally growing up'.

XxX

In hindsight, Squall's meeting with his friends was even more chaotic than Cloud could've ever anticipated: predictably Yuffie had been appalled at the notion of a place where Materia did not exist, Squall was uneased by Barret's boisterous and handsy approach to socialising…and Cid had absconded with the SeeD the second Squall had accidentally mentioned moon bases…which led to Cloud receiving endless teasing from Yuffie and Barret about how the older blonde had stolen his boyfriend. All the while, Tifa had made up Cloud's bed with fresh sheets, quietly warning Cloud that she would not be washing them. Tifa snickered evilly when Squall returned a moment later to see Cloud with a brilliant blush. She waved off Squall's questioning look and proceeded to kick everyone out of her bar.

An hour later, things were finally quiet; Cloud and Squall were settled in Cloud's bed for the night. There were no heated touches or kisses; just the comfort of knowing the other was pressed up against them. There was no need to rush into a physical relationship; they had all the time that their worlds could offer them. Instead, they focused on quietly discussing each other's worlds, Squall quietly described his friends; details that were previously taboo suddenly coming to life in the rich tone of Squall's voice. Before they finally drifted off to sleep, they started to plan out how they would reach the others, who to visit first, and what they would do once everyone was reunited.

When they'd met, their dream was to end the eternal conflict between Cosmos and Chaos and return to their homes; after remembering World B, their dream had been to meet again.

And now they had a new dream; a dream in which their crystals would provide the path.

終わり

NB: Just in case anyone's wondering: I don't write relationships where the couple jump into bed first opportunity.