Never Lost
By: Phoenix Dayze

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. Please don't hurt me.

In the end, once he'd met Cloud, it hadn't taken much to get Zack to break through the bonds that had been holding him. He heard the cries first; a sound that had become something of a homing beacon in the past few weeks, their guards preferring to bully the young blond in the waning light. But today the boy's cries were less of pain and more of terror, of pleading. Zack's skin crawled, his hair standing on edge at the primal desperation lining Cloud's short, broken keening. Something wasn't right, and once he'd gotten close enough to see, Zack stopped, frozen on his feet, and he nearly stumbled when his master yanked hard on the rope bound about his hands.

A filthy, broad-set guard was settled forcibly between slim, bruised thighs, rutting with short, greedy thrusts, and whooping to himself as though Cloud were a prize animal he was tormenting with a stick. A thick, disgusted rage flooded through Zack's body, and he felt it rising, the confidence, the pride, all his senses aligning as the identity he'd abandoned snapped back into place.

He didn't feel himself move, wasn't aware of his master struggling in his arms as he choked the life from him with the rope that had been his guide for the past year. Zack stalked up to stand behind the unsuspecting guard still caught up in his damning pleasure, his body radiating smooth skill and honed grace. His fingers laced around the guard's neck. Zack met Cloud's crazed, terrified blue gaze and twisted. The sound of cracking bone almost matched the loud, thrumming beat of his heart.

Kneeling down, Zack gently covered Cloud's exposed body with the remaining rags of his clothing. Reaching out, he picked up the dead guard's sword, hefting it in his hand. He stood up slowly, then looked down at Cloud. "Wait here."

They didn't deserve a quick death, but ultimately, Zack didn't have the time to dispatch of them properly. It was time to keep his promise. When he returned to Cloud's side, he was covered with blood, his chest heaving, his eyes wild. The camp was eerily silent except for their breaths and the soft padding of Zack's footfall. Zack threw the borrowed sword aside with a quiet clang. He knelt without a word, and scooped Cloud into his arms.

Looking at the sky, he pointed them towards the border, and began to walk. Cloud's slim form was practically weightless in his arms, and Zack ached at the harsh treatment the boy had been forced to endure. Zack figured that Cloud had always been small, but had it not been for the terrible turn of chance that brought him into Zack's life, he wouldn't have been so damn fragile. Cloud was so thin, so wraithlike that Zack feared he might blow away, turn to dust in his arms as he carried him to freedom. He looked down at the younger man, who was asleep against his chest, his slender arms locked around his neck. He wouldn't let anyone else hurt Cloud, he promised himself. Cloud was all he had, his sole purpose for living wrapped up in a small, blond-haired boy.

Zack didn't know how long they walked, hours maybe, but the moon was high in the sky when he finally slowed. The forest had seemed to thin around them, breaking back for a small river that slunk, almost unnoticed, through the trees. He carefully set the boy down, reclining him against a tree at the waterside.

Cloud looked up at him with weary, grateful eyes dulled by pain and bitter betrayal. "Thank you." He whispered.

Zack just smiled as he began slowly, methodically searching Cloud's body for any injuries that might need attention. He moved his fingers in soft patterns, tipping Cloud's chin from side to side, sliding down the small arms, delving beneath the shredded shirt to brush lightly over a bruised chest. Ripping a piece of fabric from Cloud's hem, he dipped it into the river. He brought it back to Cloud's face, tenderly swiping away the grime. "Let's see if we can get you cleaned up a bit, shall we?" He wasn't sure if Cloud would want Zack touching him, but he didn't think Cloud was capable of washing himself, and knew that the man would appreciate being clean. Especially after…

Anger boiled in Zack's blood. He had waited too long to take Cloud away from that place, and Cloud had paid a very high price because of it. Zack had been too caught up in his own grieving to truly care about anything else until it was too late. A flash of silver danced through his head, and a sad smiled curved on his lips. I couldn't save you, Sephiroth. But I will save Cloud.

Cloud's nod of tentative agreement brought Zack back to the present, and he commenced with slowly, carefully cleaning the dirt, blood, and bad memories from Cloud's skin. The boy's chest was actually less damaged than it appeared once all the grime was washed away. His legs were slightly worse; a lot of attention had been lavished there to keep Cloud from running. He gave Cloud an apologetic smile as he carefully pulled back the remainder of the boy's clothes, needing to see what damage had been done by the bastard pig guard, and to clean away the disgusting essences left behind.

Cloud inhaled a quick gasp of air, nodded his ascent, and settled back against the tree to let Zack do his necessary work. Zack moved with soft reverence, cleaning the boy's thighs, his branded length, down the pale, bruised curves of his ass.

As Zack moved over his skin, Cloud's body started to respond, and Zack's eyes widened slightly. He would have thought that after everything Cloud had been through, after what had just been done to him… But then, Cloud had shown himself to be a simple man, with simple beliefs, and with the life they'd led in the recent past, perhaps Zack's kindness and gentle hands were more than enough to stir soft swirls of pleasure in Cloud's abused body.

Zack bit back a ragged gasp at the answering throb of arousal that assaulted him. He wasn't quite as dead inside as he'd believed. And the sight of this beautiful, albeit battered man lying beneath him, responding to his touch, lit dark fires of suggestion in Zack's body--too tempting reminders of pleasure he hadn't felt in far too long. He looked up at Cloud with eyes dilated by the sudden possessive lust that had come over him, lips slick and wet.

There was a slim furrow between Cloud's brows and when he opened his eyes to meet Zack gaze, the stunning blue of his eyes was nearly lost in a cosmos of inky black. "Zack, I…" His voice was rough, tinged with desperate truth. "I'm going to feel this pain in my body regardless. Please…" He gave a minute thrust of his hips, just enough to bring his half-hard member into contact with Zack's hand, which was still hovering over him. Zack exhaled sharply. "Please," Cloud said again. "I've never known pleasure." He stared deep into Zack's violet eyes, sending his plea spiraling into the raw desire he saw there. "Zack," he whispered, "make love to me."

Tbc…