Moving forward

Angeal and Tseng were gone longer than planned which gave Zack and Reno more than enough time to go over everything that had happened and begin to worry about what was taking so long. They hadn't wasted any time after the other two had left and instantly began comparing schedules, both looking for opportunities to meet up and train Cloud together. After a while it had become apparent that the task wasn't going to be easy, unless Angeal and Tseng pulled some strings, and their shared thoughts had slipped into more personal contemplations. The Turk's mind became focused on what exactly would be his punishment, knowing full well that Tseng wasn't happy about the cadet's injuries while one of his men were supposed to be on the job. Meanwhile the soldier was once again troubled by Cloud's situation and the added problem that this incident could become. They were both so caught up in their internal musing that neither noticed the cadet until he was almost on top of them.

"Are you guys ok?"

"Holy shit!" Reno cried, nearly falling of the chair he was perched on.

"Damn it spiky, don't do that," Zack gasped holding a hand to his chest as his heart beat wildly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the cadet said looking embarrassed.

"You should not be able to startle them," a calm voice cut in and all three looked up to see Tseng standing in the room.

"Ok, I give up" Zack announced dramatically throwing his hands in the air. "It's official, I'm going to fail today's medical."

"What?" Cloud gasped in horror.

"Ignore him," Angeal advised the cadet giving the soldier a glare he deserved. "Zack has nothing to fear, as long as he pays attention."

"Angeal..." the soldier began before he was cut off.

"You are distracted Zack, that is the only reason you did not hear us. You have another hour before we are due at the labs, use that time to focus yourself."

"It would appear that you are also in need of focus Reno." Tseng said observing the Turk sternly.

"Sorry, but you gotta admit the kid's pretty good."

"I'm not a kid" Cloud replied evenly, before anyone else could comment.

The room feel into a strange silence as the four men looked at the cadet who now stood facing them, his confident poise while standing tall and eyes meeting theirs without hesitation. The head Turk once again found himself intrigued with the blonde and decided to make an offer which would perhaps prove to be interesting for all concerned.

"Cloud, would you like a tour of the Turk facilities?" Tseng asked, catching them all by surprise.

"Sir?" the blonde asked carefully.

"It makes sense. Zack and Angeal need to prepare and Reno must return with me, that will leave you here alone and we cannot have that. If you were to come with us it would give you a chance to explore more of the compound and who knows, we may even have time for you and Reno to spar a little."

"I ... I don't know" Cloud replied hesitantly looking at Zack.

"It's ok," the soldier responded to the cadet's worried look. "I don't mind if you go."

"It's not that I ... I wanted to go with you."

"You will not be allowed into the come with us," Angeal informed the blonde gently. "It may also go against Zack if you are there to distract him. It would be better if he knew you were somewhere safe."

"Alright." Cloud agreed without questioning it further.

They had gone their separate ways soon after that, with Cloud following the Turks back to their main building and Zack and Angeal making their way towards the science department. The soldier had taken the commander's advice and put all thoughts of the cadet to the back of his mind, knowing that any distraction right now would be a bad thing. It was only after the examination was finished and all had gone well that Zack asked about how the talk with Kane had gone. The conversation had been short as Angeal didn't want to discuss it in too much detail, but needless to say Kane would not be making himself a nuisance again and the thirds involved now knew better than to listen too or spread such gossip.

For once Zack hadn't felt the need to push the issue, he didn't really need to know what happened, as long as Cloud was going to be ok then nothing else really mattered. They had spent the rest of the afternoon in the VR room training in various combat situations and filling in the rest of Angeal's requirements for his assessment. By the time they had finished it was late into the evening and the soldier was keen to return home to his apartment and the blonde who would be there waiting for him. Angeal smiled brightly as they walked back through the compound, the day having ended better than it had begun.

"Will you be collecting your things now or later?"

"How did you know?" Zack asked in surprise, his eyes widening slightly.

"Call it intuition," the commander joked happily.

"I'm still that obvious huh?" the soldier replied blushing slightly.

"I would not have it any other way." Angeal reassured kindly as they reached their destination.

They said their farewells and agreed to meet for training at the gym in the morning, both knowing it was unnecessary but following the orders anyway. This time Zack had a key card to let him in and was instantly greeted by the smell of food cooking when he entered the apartment. His stomach growled as he kicked his boots off and made his way down the small corridor and into the living room. It was here that his heart fluttered, that the sight of Cloud looking all hot and bothered in the kitchen made him smile.

"Hey spiky, what's up?" he asked cheerfully.

"Your home." Cloud cried in delight, as he threw down the towel in his hands and ran forward to hold the soldier.

It wasn't the welcome Zack had been expecting, in fact it was better than what he had been anticipating and his heart soared as the cadet's arms went round his body.

"It's good to see you too." He informed the blonde, bringing his own arms up and around Cloud's shoulders to complete the embrace.

"I wasn't sure ... I hoped you would, but I ..." Cloud began, his voice shaking slightly as the words spilled out.

"So all this trouble you're going to ... is for me?" The soldier asked softly.

"Yes." Cloud replied, blushing and burying his head into the soldier's chest a little more.

"Well it smells great, when do we eat?"

"It's ready now. I wasn't sure if ... when you would be here."

"Well I'm here now so let's eat."

The meal was pretty impressive and Zack marvelled at the trouble Cloud had gone to, especially when he knew that the blonde hadn't even been sure if he would return. Their conversation had begun by focusing on how well Zack's session had gone and then the soldier had listened happily as the cadet recounted his time with Reno. It turned out that Cloud's day had actually been a hell of lot more interesting than his and Zack actually found himself a little jealous of what the blonde had got up to. He also suspected that Reno had bent some rules or at least pushed the limits with a few things and would have to thank the Turk at some point for making Clouds day so enjoyable.

"So you had a good time?" He asked, already knowing the answer, but still wanting to make sure.

"Yea, I did," Cloud replied smiling brightly.

Zack smiled back and took a sip of his drink watching curiously as Cloud's brow became furrowed and he seemed to be considered something deeply.

"Zack?"

"Yes," the soldier replied trying to hide his sudden unease.

"When can I go back to classes?"

"You think you're ready for that?" Zack asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.

"I'm not sure, but I ... I want to try." Cloud replied his face coming up to meet the soldier's gaze.

There was a moment of silence as Zack looked into the cadet's blue eyes and found himself searching for that shadow, that thing which had revealed itself to him earlier and now appeared to be hidden once more. He found himself debating the situation, the words and advice of Angeal combining with his own instincts to form a decision in his mind.

"Ok," he said slowly and watched as Cloud's body physically relaxed. "But I need to clear it with Angeal first and I'm going to be there for the first few days to make sure you're ok."

"That's fine." Cloud breathed happily.

"Spiky?"

"Yes."

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but why?"

"Why what?"

"Why the sudden need to go back, there's plenty of time."

"I want to go back, I can't keep hiding ... not anymore" Cloud said, his face a mixture of emotions.

"You're not hiding," Zack reassured gently.

"But it feels that way now. Before when ... when you found me I was ... I was lost and then I was angry, but now ... now I ... I need to face this Zack. If I don't it's never going to go away."

The soldier's breath caught in his throat as the cadet's words sunk in and his mind raced about what to say next, what question or comment would be safe to use in this moment of honesty between them.

"If you feel ready then we'll give it a go, but promise me you won't push yourself, that if they ... if it gets too much you'll tell me."

"I will." Cloud replied, his voice a hesitant whisper.

The rest of the evening passed calmly without another word about it being spoken and Zack wasn't sure whether to take comfort in that or not. It was for this reason that he still found himself awake at nearly midnight, the numbers on his clock laughing at him as they slowly counted the time. He sighed heavily as he rolled over once more, knowing that he needed to sleep or Angeal would be annoyed in the morning. It wasn't that he wouldn't be able to completely the training session, but his performance would be less than his best and that was not an option right now. He was just about to get up when he heard a soft knock at the bedroom door.

"Zack?" the cadet's voice whispered through the hard surface.

"Yea" the soldier replied, not even bothering to pretend that he was asleep.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure, what's up?" Zack asked as the door opened.

"I couldn't sleep." Cloud replied nervously.

"Me neither," he informed the cadet, smiling in amusement at their shared predicament. "So what's keeping you up then?"

"Things."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

Cloud shook his head, then stopped and looked away nervously before continuing.

"Did ... did Angeal and Tseng ... did they ..."

"Did they sort out Kane?" Zack asked guessing the cadet's worry.

Cloud nodded silently to show this was indeed the correct assumption.

"Didn't Tseng tell you about it?"

"No."

"It's been dealt with. I'm not sure of the details, but I trust Angeal and if he says it's taken care of then it is."

"Ok." Cloud said softly, accepting this without doubt.

"Is that what's bothering you?"

"Part of it."

"What else?"

"I was ... I ..."

"You ..." Zack coaxed gently.

"Could I ... sleep here?" Cloud suddenly asked, his voice hesitant and head bowed down unable to meet the soldier's eyes.

"Sure ... no worries" Zack replied caught by surprise at the request.

He quickly moved over on the bed and pulled the covers back, revealing a space for Cloud to take, and smiled as the blonde quickly climbed in and took a position just like the one he had before. Zack felt his heart flutter as Cloud moved back to lie against him, the blonde's delicate frame pressed against his chest, and curled into the warmth of his body. The soldier gently lowered his arms to wrap around the cadet and drew them closer together.

"This ok?" he whispered against the blonde's ear.

"Yes." Cloud sighed, snuggling himself deeper into the embrace.

A few minutes later and Zack could hear the faint sounds of Cloud sleeping, the blonde's chest now rising and falling gently within the comfort and safety of his arms. The soldier smiled to himself and closed his eyes, allowing the calm steady beat of the cadet's heart to guide his own. It wasn't long before both were sleeping peacefully, the hope of a new day awaiting them with the approaching sunrise.