The next morning at precisely 0700, Cloud knocked on Zack's door, nervousness welling in the pit of his stomach to the point that he felt like he would throw up. When Zack didn't answer the door, the feeling intensified, and he turned the knob tentatively. It was unlocked, so he stepped inside to the darkened, quiet living room.

"Zack?" he called in a loud whisper, tiptoeing to the bedroom and pushing open the door. Sure enough, the SOLDIER was sprawled on his bed, the covers twisted around his legs, snoring gently. Cloud reddened at the sight of his friend dressed only in a pair of black boxers and undershirt but refused to let his eyes wander. Instead, he moved a bit closer, though still out of arm's reach, and inhaled sharply. "ZACK!" he shouted.

"WHAT?!" Zack all but shrieked, jerking awake and falling off the bed. Cloud sighed. He'd never seen anyone wake up quite like Zack did.

"Why didn't you set an alarm?" he asked his friend. "It's 0700 already."

"Shit, really? No way, it's earlier than—" Zack had picked himself up from the ground and glanced at his phone on the bedside table. "Aw, fuck! I must've forgotten to set my alarm." He started stripping off his tank top as he moved towards the bathroom. "Give me two minutes!" he called after himself, and Cloud heard the shower start.

When he'd washed quickly, Zack dressed in his SOLDIER uniform, deftly handling the hidden buckles and zippers with practiced hands. Under his armor he added the woolen layers Sephiroth had given him. "Spiky!" he called, and Cloud wandered back in.

"Wha—mmf!" A bundle of clothing hit him in the face.

"Put those on. It's gonna be cold, but I guess you know that."

Cloud pulled on the clothing over his cadet uniform, and Zack helped him strap a sword to his back.

"Feeling okay? Or are you nervous at all?" the older man asked kindly.

"I feel like I'm gonna puke," Cloud admitted. "I couldn't eat breakfast."

Zack laughed and walked into his kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets and tossing a pack of crackers to Cloud. "Yep, that's pretty much how I felt before my first mission. Try to eat those, though. Trust me, you'll feel worse in a few hours if you don't eat anything."

Cloud nibbled the crackers, watching in awe as Zack lifted the enormous Buster sword that was leaning against the wall and settled it onto the magnetic sheath on his back. It was the first time he'd seen the sword handled since their first day of training together; when they sparred, Zack used a smaller broadsword so as not to overwhelm him, and there was usually no need to carry such an enormous weapon around the training area. Cloud knew from experience how heavy it was, though. After their first training session, when Zack had let him try to lift it, Cloud specifically started strengthening his arms more, and several weeks later Zack had let him try to lift it once more. It had seemed almost heavier than before, and Zack had collapsed in a fit of giggles when Cloud had barely been able to raise it from the ground, but now the SOLDIER was handling it as though it weighed as much as a feather. Cloud couldn't wait to see it in action.

"Ready?" Zack asked. "Seph will kill me if I'm late again."

"You would have been late if it hadn't been for me," Cloud said smugly as they left at a jog.

"Yeah, yeah," Zack muttered, rolling his eyes. "You're a brat." They left the building and crossed the outside training yards to the small airship where Sephiroth was waiting, dressed in similar warm clothing.

"You're on time, for once, Zackary," the general said dryly.

"Shut up, Seph," Zack said sulkily. "Cloud's smug enough."

The general turned to Cloud. "I take it you had to wake him?"

"Yes, sir," Cloud managed to say, still overwhelmed by his hero's presence.

"You have my thanks. Zack is still much like a puppy, even as an adult."

"Sir?" Cloud asked, bewildered, as Zack's mouth dropped open.

"You didn't! Seph, don't tell him about that!"

"What?" Cloud asked, still confused. Sephiroth gave a faint smile.

"Zack's old mentor, Angeal, used to say he was like a puppy—excitable, cheerful, always moving. It became a nickname of sorts."

"Seph, you are such an asshole," Zack groaned, covering his face with his hands. Cloud bit his lip to keep from smiling.

"We should go," Sephiroth said. "The rest of the company is already on board." They boarded the airship, and Cloud silently prayed for a smooth journey that wouldn't aggravate his motion sickness. He was queasy enough already.

Two other SOLDIERs were standing in the cabin. They both saluted Zack and Sephiroth.

"Lieutenants Nygard and Ryan, sirs!"

"At ease," Sephiroth said dismissively. "Strap in, lieutenants."

"Yes, sir!"

The general turned to Zack and Cloud. "You two as well."

Zack helped Cloud with the complicated straps that crossed over his chest to hold him in the seat, and again Cloud hoped he wouldn't need to vomit once they were airborne.

Lieutenant Ryan leaned across the space between their seats. "You're the cadet?" he asked Cloud over the sudden whir of the engines.

"Yes, Lieutenant. Cloud Strife, sir."

"How old are you? You're mighty small to enlist."

"Seventeen, sir. I'm just small for my age."

"You're seventeen?" Zack interrupted. "No way, Spiky!"

Cloud shot him a withering look, and Sephiroth gave a little chuckle. "It's true, Zackary. I've seen his file."

Zack whistled. "Could've fooled me."

Ryan laughed. "This your first mission?" he asked Cloud.

"Yes, sir." The ground lurched away and Cloud felt his stomach go with it. He took a deep breath, fighting down nausea as they lifted into the air and began flying towards the Nibel mountains.

"Don't be nervous. We'll take care of you," Nygard said, speaking up for the first time. His voice was soft and gentle, his dark eyes kind. "If you're allowed to come along on a classified mission like this, you have to be damn good, and bound for SOLDIER. We don't want to kill any promising recruits."

"Yes, sir," Cloud managed with a strained smile. Sephiroth noticed his discomfort.

"Are you all right, cadet? You're looking rather…green."

"Motion sickness, sir," Cloud gasped out, struggling to control the sick feeling in his stomach.

"If you must vomit, do it in one of the toilets. That way," Sephiroth told him, jerking a chin towards the back of the ship.

"Yes, sir," Cloud said again, his fingers fumbling with his straps. "I'm sorry, sir."

"It's quite all right," Sephiroth told him as Zack reached over and helped him out of the bindings.

"Excuse me," Cloud managed to gasp before he was sprinting to the ship's bathrooms, falling to his knees in front of the nearest toilet. He heaved, the burning taste of bile erupting in the back of his throat.

Back in the cabin, Sephiroth sighed. "Go check on him, Zack."

Zack obeyed, unbuckling himself and slipping into the bathroom. He knelt beside the retching boy, rubbing his back soothingly. "Get it all out, Spiky." Since the only thing he'd eaten was the crackers, there wasn't much to vomit up, just partially digested cracker and stomach acid, but he still kept gagging and heaving.

Cloud groaned as the last of the bile left his mouth and he sat back against the wall, wiping watering eyes. Zack left briefly and returned with a paper cup of water and he drank gratefully, rinsing out his mouth and spitting into the toilet before flushing it.

"Why didn't you tell me you get so sick?" Zack asked, still rubbing his back in slow, soft circles.

"I thought I'd grown out of it," Cloud said with a moan, holding his stomach. "Gaia, it feels like I'm dying."

Zack chuckled quietly at his histrionics. He coaxed Cloud down into a lying position so the boy was curled on his side, his head in Zack's lap, and the SOLDIER ran his fingers through the soft blond spikes in long, slow strokes.

Cloud kept clutching his stomach against waves of nausea, so miserable he couldn't even feel embarrassed for lying with his head in his superior's lap. Zack's strong, calloused hands were surprisingly gentle, and the repetitive motion of fingers dragging through his hair was making him feel content and sleepy.

Zack heard his breathing even out but didn't stop his motions. His legs were cramping a little from the position but he held still, daring to drag a finger over Cloud's jawline. The door to the bathroom opened, and he jerked his hand back.

"How is he?" Sephiroth asked, raising an eyebrow at their position. Zack blushed a little.

"He's sleeping. Seph, I…"

Sephiroth gave his head a little jerk, almost like a spasm. "I don't want to know, Zackary. Just remember, if you take advantage of him in any way, even my influence would not be enough to keep you from prison."

"Do you really think I'd do something like that?" Zack asked, his voice tinged with fury. He fought to keep it down so as not to wake Cloud.

"Not intentionally, no," Sephiroth answered coolly. "He may be over the age of consent, but you're still his superior. You're very charming, Zackary—it wouldn't be a stretch for some to think you capable of coercing him. People would talk, saying you ordered him to grant you sexual favors, accuse you of quid pro quo, the list is endless. All I ask is that you think about what you're doing."

"I'm not doing anything," Zack bit out. His hands were trembling from anger. "I haven't touched him in any inappropriate way, I swear! I don't even know if he's into that stuff!" He looked down at the boy in his lap. "This really isn't the place to talk about this, Seph."

The general nodded. "I trust you, Zack. I just want you to be careful." His silver head disappeared.

Zack leaned his head back against the wall, frowning to himself. Sephiroth's words kept replaying in his head, and as much as he hated to admit it, the general was right. If he pursued a relationship with Cloud, both SOLDIERs and the other cadets would tear him to pieces, and possibly court-martial Zack for coercion. Would it be the same if Cloud was the one who pursued? Zack wondered, then shook his head with a grin. Even if Cloud possibly liked men and liked Zack, the boy was much too shy to make the first move.

"I guess I'm fucked when it comes to you, Spiky, and not in the good way," Zack told the sleeping cadet. Cloud stirred a little at the sound of his voice, his fingers curling around the fabric of Zack's pants. Gaia, he's way too cute for his own good. To distract himself and prevent a possible hard-on, Zack pulled out his phone to check the time, relieved that it was nearly time to land. He shook Cloud's shoulder gently. "Wake up, Cloudy."

For a brief moment Cloud snuggled closer, then seemed to realize whose leg he was rubbing his cheek against. He came awake and sat up, blinking. "Zack?" He looked around. "I fell asleep in the bathroom? You let me fall asleep in the bathroom?" The airship chose that moment to tilt alarmingly, and Cloud clapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh, gods." The words were muffled. "Are we crashing and dying?"

Zack laughed. "No, but we are almost there. Think you can sit back in your seat without hurling all over me?"

"I guess we'll find out," Cloud said, getting to his feet. He was pale and drawn, but steady on his feet. Zack rose too, shaking out his tingling legs. "Sorry for…sleeping on you," the cadet muttered with a fierce blush.

"Hey, if it keeps you from puking, sleep on me all you want," Zack told him, then winced. Ooh, good one, Fair. And right after that talk with Seph, too. Will I ever learn to keep my mouth shut? Cloud just gave him a withering look and left the bathroom, taking his seat and buckling himself in. Zack followed suit, leaning back with a little sigh. Nygard leaned over to them.

"You feeling okay?" he asked Cloud. "You still look a bit peaky."

"I'll be fine, thank you, Lieutenant."

Ryan was silent, but he was studying Zack with a calculating gaze very different from his friendly demeanor at the beginning of the ride. Zack returned the look, narrowing his eyes a bit.

"You were in there a long time," Ryan said at last. Zack opened his mouth to put the 2nd class in his place, but Sephiroth beat him to it.

"I explained the situation to you before, Ryan. Mind your own business. We're nearly there."

"Yes, sir," Ryan said obediently, but his gaze slid to Cloud, then back to Zack, and he gave a sly smirk.

The airship touched down with a lurch and they disembarked. Cloud looked up at the Nibel mountain range, a fond feeling of familiarity. They had landed at a small village several miles south of Nibelheim that he recognized from his wanderings as a child.

A thought came to him, and Cloud tugged on Zack's sleeve. The SOLDIER turned. "Won't they see the airship and know we're coming?"

Zack pointed to the supply company logo on the side of the ship. "They'll think the town's just getting supplies. We'll hike up into the mountains from here and find a place to camp before we start looking for them."

Cloud nodded, accepting the pack Zack handed to him and settling it over his shoulders. He knew it must be lighter than what the mako-enhanced SOLDIERs were carrying, but even so, his back started to ache almost immediately.

The hike up the mountain was difficult too, which Cloud had not anticipated. Although he was stronger than he'd been when he left Nibelheim, the constant uphill toil overworked muscles he hadn't used in a long time, and his calves started cramping painfully. He gritted his teeth, refusing to complain, but found himself wishing he'd had mako injections. The SOLDIERs, except for Sephiroth, were sweating too, but they weren't gasping for air like he was.

"Doing okay, Spiky?" came Zack's voice behind him. Cloud nodded, not trusting himself to find the breath to speak. At the front of the line, Sephiroth paused to consult the map he was carrying.

"Cadet Strife," he called. "Come here." Cloud trudged past Nygard and Ryan to the general's side, happy to have a chance to rest for a bit. Sephiroth handed him the map. "Are you familiar with this route?"

"Not this one specifically, but I know this one," Cloud told the general, tracing a path that branched off from the one they were on. "There should be an overhang that's good for camping under about here, and it's partially hidden from the path." He handed the map back to Sephiroth, but the general shook his head.

"You know the way, cadet."

Cloud nodded, saluting, and Sephiroth's lips twitched a little.

"Generally, on missions, particularly highly sensitive stealth ones such as this, we are more lax about formalities. You needn't salute me."

Cloud flushed a little. "Yes, sir," he mumbled, starting to walk again. The wind was picking up, screaming around his ears, and he pulled up the hood of his coat, drawing it tight. The campsite was only about three-quarters of a mile from where they were, but it was steep and treacherous, winding along the edge of the mountain. "Stay away from the edge, sir," Cloud told the general. "It's weak, and it'll break off if you put too much weight on it." Sephiroth nodded, passing the message back to the SOLDIERs.

Cloud saw a familiar large rock formation loom up and he pressed forward, veering off the path to step behind it. "It's here," he called. The formation was blocking a good-sized overhang from the path. It was an ideal camping spot away from prying eyes, even if the ground was hard rock and not easy to sleep on.

"This is good," Sephiroth commented. They unslung the packs they carried from sore shoulders, setting them on the rocky ground. "Zack, you and Strife start setting up the tents. Nygard and Ryan, find us some firewood. Don't stray far, and take a map."

Zack dug in his pack, producing three tents. He and Cloud started to put them up, side by side, against the wall of rock to shelter them from wind. "Shit," Zack muttered. "The ground's rock; we can't stake the tents down."

"There's a boulder pile over there," Cloud told him, pointing. "Can we just weigh down the corners?"

"Guess we'll have to," Zack grunted, raising one of the tents. "Here, you do this. I can carry heavier rocks."

"Not too big!" Cloud called after him. "We need to fit in the tents, you know!"

"Who do you think I am, Spiky?" Zack's voice floated back to him. He reappeared, several good-sized boulders in his arms. "These'll work." They weighted down the tents, finishing as Nygard and Ryan reappeared, arms full of firewood. Sephiroth looked up from the papers he'd been studying.

"Go ahead and build a fire," he ordered. "It's getting dark, and we'll want an early start tomorrow. Keep it low; we don't want to be discovered."

Cloud built the fire since he was the most well-versed in the task, and Zack sent a stream of heat from his Fire materia onto the damp wood, making sure it was bone-dry before lighting it. They settled around it, eating field rations and talking as night fell. As the moon climbed higher and higher, one by one they retired to the tents until Cloud was the only one left at the fire. His impromptu nap on the airship meant he wasn't sleepy now, despite the hard hike earlier.

"Hey," came a voice.

Cloud looked up into Ryan's face. "Lieutenant," he said, surprised. "I thought you went to bed."

Ryan came closer, crouching down next to him. "I was, but I wanted to talk to you some first. You're from around here, right?"

Cloud nodded. "Nibelheim, sir."

"Call me Jaz, Cloud." Ryan's voice was soft, like velvet. "There's no need for formalities, remember?"

Cloud shifted a couple inches away from the lieutenant. "I don't…" he began.

Ryan caught his wrist, his pale green eyes boring into Cloud's. He was a big man, nearly as big as Zack, and his fingers went all the way around the cadet's wrist. "Come on," he purred.

"You're making me uncomfortable," Cloud told him honestly, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Ryan rubbed his free hand over his short brown hair. His eyes were colder now, and his hand started to move up Cloud's arm. "Am I? Listen to me, Strife. You may think you're hot Nibelheim ass, but if you think fucking a commander send you through the ranks faster, think again."

"What?" Cloud whispered fiercely, forgetting to be polite. "I am not having sex with Zack!" He jerked his arm free. The fire had burned down to coals, and he shivered, though he wasn't sure it was all from the lack of warmth.

Ryan smirked at him. "Whether you are or aren't, one word from me to the right people and Fair gets court-martialed. Is that what you want?"

"No! Why would you say that?"

In a flash, Cloud's back was pressed against Ryan's chest, the big man whispering in his ear. Cloud recoiled, but knew he would never get free unless Ryan let him. "You're pretty," the man was breathing. "And even if Fair has had your ass before, I could be…persuaded to keep quiet about it."

Cloud struggled, remembering how friendly Ryan had been to him on the airship and feeling slightly sick. "I thought you were actually a good person," he bit out.

Ryan laughed softly. "Watch yourself, cadet. I still outrank you. I can make your life hell if I want." He finally let the boy go, stepping back. "Think about what I said."