Ok, not bad going. Only a couple of days late updating in comparisson to what I'd planned, but still not bad.

I've worked on this a lot since getting back, but as its been in between odd sleeping patterns and an attempt at a normal routine I'm secretly hoping it actually sounds as good on paper as he does in my head. I have also proof read it many times, but as with all half asleep people when doing this some mistakes may have got through so apologies in advance.

Anyway, enjoy.

Inside our fort

Zack wasn't sure what he'd been expecting as they passed through the bedroom doorway, his heart beating frantically in his chest as the excitement and anticipation coursed through his body. Cloud's words that the fort might be cosy had already burned images of a tiny space into his brain, the mathematical part of his mind already processing the various pieces of furniture in the apartment and how much space they might actually provide if placed together to build a small fortress.

The sight which greeted him however was more than he could have possible imagined, the dining room table and chairs having been positioned perfectly to produce an adequately sized frame which was now covered by nearly every spare blanket he owned.

"Wow." The soldier breathed, his soft violet orbs becoming larger with each second that he stood taking in the wondrous sight.

"You like it?" The cadet asked nervously, the faint tremble in his voice not being missed by Zack as he tore his eyes away from the small structure to look at the blonde beside him.

"It amazing Spiky." He quickly reassured, his arms instantly moving of their own accord to sweep the cadet off his feet and into a loving embrace. "Just ... amazing."

For a minute neither of them spoke as they enjoyed holding each other close, the soldier taking pleasure in the way the blonde's body fit perfectly against his own and Cloud calmly drawing comfort from Zack's loving embrace as it surrounded him completely.

"So how did you do it?" The soldier finally asked, his question bringing the comfortable silence which had settled around them to an end.

"It was easier once I had the chairs in the right place." The cadet began to explain, as he pulled out of the affectionate hold around him and began to lead Zack towards the small fort. "I had to use all of the spare bedding, I hope you don't mind." He admitted with a sheepish expression on his face, the sight making it hard for the soldier not to chuckle softly as he pulled the blonde back into another quick hug.

"I can see how the top sheet is acting as the roof, spread over the chairs at the front." Zack started to point out, his head titling to one side as he tried to work out how the covers at the sides were being held in place. "But I don't see how you knotted those blankets into place." He noted with some confusion, the four makeshift walls which surrounded the base looking perfectly smooth from top to bottom.

"I weighted them down at the top." Cloud mumbled shyly, his blushing cheeks refilling with colour as he spoke. "It's easier to keep them in place that way, but you can't lean against the walls or it'll pull some heavy things down on top of you."

"What heavy things?" The soldier questioned with an amused look on his handsome face, his raised eyebrows causing the blonde to giggle of all things.

"My textbooks." Cloud confessed, his head dipping down towards the floor as a slight blush formed on his angelic features.

"And to think that all this time I thought you were using them to study." Zack couldn't help but tease, smiling brightly when his playful words caused the young cadet to roll his sky blue eyes in mock exasperation at the comment.

"Normally I do and you know that." The blonde sighed, a more sombre air settling about him now as he continued to speak. "But this is the first one I've built in a long time and I wasn't sure what else to use."

"Well the outside looks great." The soldier quickly continued, deciding that he wanted that more solemn tone in Cloud's voice to be gone as soon as possible. "But how do we get inside?"

"By going through the door." The cadet replied with a slightly confused tone, as if the answer should have been an obvious one.

"Door?" Zack mumbled uncertainly, his bright lavender eyes already searching the material walls for a clue of such a thing.

This time it was Cloud's turn to laugh softly as he pulled out of the soldier's embrace and walked the last few steps towards the small structure, the glorious sound instantly filling Zack's whole body with a joyous warmth. A second later and the cadet pulled back one edge of the front wall and revealed a well concealed opening behind the top sheet, the sight making not only the soldier's heart skip a beat in excitement but also pride that the blonde had been able to construct something so amazing in such a short space of time and with such limited resources.

"You can go inside." Cloud whispered softly, his teeth now chewing nervously on his bottom lip as he held the make-shift door open.

Without a word Zack moved forward and lowered himself to his hands and knees, the height of the door meaning that he would definitely have to crawl if he wanted to get inside. No sooner had his head passed over the threshold then the soldier saw what was laid out before him, his heart racing with pleasure as he took in what was surely the best part of the surprise. There, laid out in front of him, was the picnic he'd spent the morning preparing. The soft blanket which he'd packed for them to sit on now spread out invitingly on the floor and the lunch he'd carefully made for them to take neatly set out on some plates waiting to be eaten.

Grinning wildly in a way which practically split his face in two Zack felt his whole body fill with a rush of love for the cadet who still stood behind him, the young blonde unable to see the soldier's delighted expression as he waited patiently outside. Remembering this, and the fact that he was technically blocking the doorway, Zack quickly wriggled though the gap and settled himself on the opposite side of the small fort.

It only took him a second in his new position to see what Cloud had meant about the space being cosy, the low ceiling forcing the soldier to lie on his side propped up on one elbow as he waited for the blonde to join him. To his surprise though the floor was not as hard as he had though it might be and when he snuck a quick peak under the brightly coloured picnic blanket he instantly saw the thick duvet from the spare bedroom spread out beneath it.

"Clever." Zack mumbled to himself, as he realised what Cloud had done to make the floor of the fort more comfortable for them. "Very Clever." He repeated quietly to himself, a greater feeling of warmth quickly blossoming in his chest again over how much effort had been put into the whole thing.

A second later and Cloud's head popped through the entrance and the soldier found himself smiling at the shy but radiant smile which graced the cadet's delicate features. The sight was truly breath taking to see and it took Zack a minute to gather his thoughts again, even as he watched the blonde carefully close the door behind himself and indirectly seal them away from the rest of the world.

"Do you like it?" Cloud asked hesitantly, his next breath catching somewhere in his throat when he saw the thrilled expression on Zack's handsome face.

"It's wonderful." The soldier replied tenderly, the look in his amethyst orbs now one of such love and contentment with life that the cadet felt his heart flutter with joy.

"Do you ... do you want some lunch?" The blonde mumbled self-consciously, fully aware that his cheeks were currently the colour of rose petals by the heat he could feel coming off them.

"I'd love some." Zack chuckled lightly, the sight of Cloud blushing so adorably making the whole thing feel like a scene straight out of one of the cheesy romance novels his mum often read.

They spent the next hour eating the sandwiches and snacks which had been made for their trip, the time passing happily as they chatted about various things from their pasts which were more pleasurable to remember. The soldier couldn't help but smile as the cadet spoke about several other rare events in his life which had been good, the emotions that showed on Cloud's face and in his voice as he recalled those few times making Zack even more aware of how blessed his own childhood had been. In turn the soldier shared his more lively and mischievous side as a child while growing up in Gongaga. Happily, and with an odd sense of pride, reporting on many of the times he'd been 'innocently' doing something and it had gone a 'little bit' wrong. Needless to say the embarrassment of some of these memories had been worth it to hear the blonde laugh so freely, the delightful sound warming Zack's very soul as it filled the air around him.

After a while they ventured out of the small fort to check on the weather, the dark sky and heavy rain still present in the world outside only reaffirming both their opinions that they should stay inside the small hideaway a little bit longer. In truth Zack hadn't even wanted to leave the comfort of the tiny structure, the welcoming freedom that the small space seemed to give Cloud making his heart beat happily. It was almost as if this place had become a sanctuary for the cadet away from the real world, a place where the bad things couldn't reach him. Not even in his mind.

They had therefore only left the safety of the fabric fortress to fetch a selection of items as needed, the soldier retrieving some paper work he needed to do while the cadet had grabbed one of his smaller text books and a pad to continue with an essay he had been working on. Before they knew it another couple of hours had passed and Zack was quickly becoming distracted from his own work, the sight of Cloud stretched out beside him while chewing thoughtfully on the end of his pencil making something within the solder's body stir.

It was therefore with a playful nudge with his bare foot that Zack started a new game between them, his face trying to hold an innocent expression as the blonde suddenly reacted to the slight bump against his leg by twisting around to look at his feet and then back up again.

"Zack?" Cloud asked with a semi serious questioning tone.

"Yes..." The soldier replied, still pretending that he wasn't guilty of anything.

"I'm working." The cadet pointed out, the smile which tugged at the edge of his lips making the stern expression on his angelic features almost laughable in Zack's opinion.

"That's nice." The soldier replied casually, his violet eyes sparkling with repressed laughter as he pretended to focus on the reports in front of him.

Biting back on the chuckle which wanted to escape Cloud turned his attention back to his essay, his sky blue eyes barely finding the spot where he had been interrupted the first time when a light bump against his foot distracted him again.

"Zack..." The cadet playfully whined, the smile irrepressible now as it grew a little brighter on his soft pink lips.

"Yes Spiky." The soldier almost hummed, the gleam in his lavender orbs almost as bright as the sun as he fought not to look at the blonde's face.

"You did it again."

"Did what?"

"You know what." Cloud huffed in mock annoyance, the twinkle in his sapphire eyes easily letting Zack know he wasn't in any real trouble.

"Nope, haven't got a clue." The soldier responded, barely holding onto the casual tone as he spoke.

This time the cadet just sighed dramatically to show that he knew that Zack knew what he was talking about, the unspoken message getting though loud and clear and forcing the soldier to practically bit his cheek to keep from bursting out laughing.

Zack gave it perhaps two or maybe three more minutes before he did it again, needing the time to calm himself as well as allow the blonde to start getting involved in his work once more. Almost a second after his foot had connected with its target did Cloud respond, his own bare foot quickly retaliating and gently kicking the soldier back while the cadet himself continued to read as if nothing had happened.

"Spiky." The soldier coughed, as he began to crack and the laughter began to bubble from between his lips.

"Yes..." The blonde replied with an over the top innocence, his face coming round to meet Zack's and let the soldier see the silent challenge which now filled his shining cobalt orbs.

"You did it that time." The soldier managed before his restraint broke and he cracked like an egg shell.

Cloud watched with delight as Zack's self-control snapped and his rich wonderful laughter filled the air around them, the blonde's teeth gently biting down on his own bottom lip to stop himself from joining in, as Cloud happily savoured the sound which now soaked into his body. There really was no denying that he was enjoying what was happening between them, the simple action which a few months ago would have set him off into an aggressive of defensive frame of mind now feeling somehow right. And for a moment the cadet couldn't help but wonder if it was something to do with not just the man beside him but because of where they were. The childhood memories that they had shared taking them back to a time when that innocence was real and friendship could, and should, have been this simple.

"Hey..." Zack's voice suddenly cut into his thoughts, the worried tone causing Cloud to blink in confusion as he came back to himself again. "What's wrong?" The soldier asked, his hand quickly moving to rub gentle reassuring circles along the blonde's back.

"I'm ok." Cloud whispered, surprised by the way his voice now sounded so quiet and a little thicker as he tried to speak.

"No ... no you're not." Zack argued tenderly, his body shifting so that he was now lying on his side propped up on one elbow to face the cadet better. "Please talk to me, tell me what you're thinking."

"It's nothing ... really." The blonde protested weakly, his face briefly turning away from the soldier as he spoke.

"Nothing doesn't explain that sad faraway look I saw just now." Zack stated calmly, his expression now one of obvious worry as he justified his right to be concerned. "It's almost like you realised something important and it upset you."

"I was just thinking that this is nice, that this is what it feels like to ... to have a friend to be silly with." Cloud tried to explain, the lump in his throat making it harder to speak as a gloss of tears began to form over his sky blue spheres.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad." The soldier apologised, his heart aching as he watched the first crystal like drop break free and slide down over a pale cheek.

"It's not your fault and I'm not upset about what you did." The cadet quickly corrected him, as he roughly wiped the silvery tracks off his damp face, the need to explain why he was suddenly getting all emotional giving the blonde the strength he needed to pull himself together again. "I just thought ... I thought that this is what it should have been like, if I'd had friends. Lying here like this while studying and doing stupid things like ... like what we were just doing."

"I think I get it." Zack sighed in understanding, his body relaxing as he flopped down on his back to look up at the textile ceiling. "It wasn't what we did which made you feel bad, but the fact it made you realise that you've never done it before."

"Yes." Cloud agreed sheepishly, his slowly drying sapphire eyes quickly looking away again as he realised how foolish the truth sounded. "You think I'm an idiot, don't you?" The blonde found himself saying, his voice barely a whisper in the air around them as asked a question he wasn't even sure he really wanted to know the answer too.

"No, I don't." The soldier replied quickly, his muscular frame moving with lightening quick reflexes and dragging the cadet's supple form on top of him. "I just think we need to add a few more good memories to the ones already there." Zack continued cheerfully, his hands already moving so that one was wrapped around Cloud's waist to hold him close while the other moved up to tenderly cup the cadet's jaw. "Maybe then you'll get more of those cute embarrassed looks on your face when you think about things instead of sad ones." He suggested, the words scarcely leaving his mouth before his head lifted up off the floor to place a chaste kiss against Cloud's lips.

For a moment the cadet was left speechless as Zack's brief kiss came to an end and his handsome face pulled away again, the sight of loving violet orbs silently asking him if what they were doing was alright making his heart skip an excited beat in his tiny chest. And in that moment Cloud let it all go with his next exhale of air, the next breath into his body being accompanied by a wondrous rush of adrenaline through his entire being as he saw the unspoken desire which now filled those amethyst gems in front of him.

"Zack..." Cloud whispered huskily, his suddenly dry mouth making it a little more awkward to speak. "I'm ... I don't ..." He tried to say, the words getting stuck somewhere inside his throat as his mind and body argued over what they did and didn't feel ready to do.

"It's ok, I understand." The soldier reassured gently, his grip around the blonde's lithe figure easing up so that Cloud could pull away if he wanted to. "I said I wouldn't rush you and I meant it. We'll only go as far as you want to, nothing more."

"I'm not ... scared ... anymore, not like I was before." Cloud mumbled nervously, his head turning so it could lie flat against Zack's shoulder and so that they were no longer looking directly at each other. "And I'm ok with going as far as we did the other night. So please don't think I'm not, that I'm going back on how far we've come." The cadet managed to explain, his racing heart forcing him to draw in several shallow panting breaths before he could continue. "I want to do that again with you, but I … I don't want to disappoint you either."

"How could you possibly disappoint me?" The soldier asked with more then a hint of shock and confusion in his voice.

"Because I don't know what I'm doing." Cloud replied softly, the words coming out as barley a whisper now that the embarrassment he was feeling began to rise to the surface.

"You do what feels right and what makes you feel good." Zack reassured tenderly, his hand around the blonde's waist tightening with a reassuring hug again as his other one began to run strong fingers through Cloud's hair to sooth and comfort him. "I know that this is all new to you and I'd never want you to feel pressured into something you're not ready for."

"It's …confusing." The cadet admitted faintly, his hesitant words instantly causing a notable tension to form in the soldier's whole body beneath him.

"How?" Zack breathed, the single word being all he could manage to ask as he felt his heart clench tightly deep within his chest.

"Everything with you feels good." Cloud whispered tentatively, almost as if he were giving confession at church and was afraid that he would be found guilty of some sin for it. "But I … I don't know ... I don't want you to …"

"To what?" The soldier questioned nervously, his heart now beating a million miles an hour with mixed feelings of anxiety and unease.

"How soon is too soon?" The cadet asked a little breathlessly, the slight waver in his voice letting Zack know that it was taking a lot for the blonde to ask him these things. "I mean ... I feel ready, but ... at the same time ... I don't." Cloud tried to explain, his words quickly changing the soldier's emotions from ones of uncertainty to understanding and sympathy for the cadet's plight.

"Honestly …" Zack began, as he held the blonde a little bit tighter in case the next part caused the hurt he knew it might do. " … I'd be surprised if you were ready to go further right now." He admitted carefully, quickly hurrying to add the next part before Cloud could become upset or pull away. "But I trust you to know what you want and when you're ready. Just like I'm trusting you to say stop if it gets too much or … or if you change your mind."

"I want to be with you …" The cadet stammered shakily, his smaller hands gripping onto the soldier's top a little more securely as well now. " … but I don't know how … I mean … I think I know how, but … but it's … you said it might … hurt and …"

"If you're not ready then it will hurt, because you won't be able to relax and enjoy it." Zack interrupted quickly, now realising where some of the blonde's fears were suddenly coming from. "It doesn't matter how carefully the other person is when … when being intimate … in that area." He tried to explain, his own words now stumbling slightly as he scrambled around inside his head for the right thing to say. "If you're confused about how you feel then you're not ready and I'm not going to put you in a position where you feel like you can't say no."

"I just don't know what to think."

"That in itself tells you something Spiky, because if you have to think about it then you're not ready." The soldier pointed out, a faint resigned sigh escaping his lips before he cold stop it. "Look I'm going to be honest with you as that seems to work best for us … ok?"

"Ok …" Cloud agreed numbly, his head now spinning in even more circles than it had done before they had started the conversation.

"I'm glad that you're not scared anymore, that you want to be with me in that way, but I can tell that you're not ready for more than what we've already done so it won't go any further than that right now."

"But I …" The cadet tried to interrupt, the heartfelt protest he wanted to give being silenced before it was given a chance to be spoken.

"I don't think less of you for wanting more, in fact I'm glad about it." Zack continued determinedly, his voice thankfully remaining calm as stated the things which he felt needed to be said. "But the fact you're still unsure about it means you're not ready and I'm not the type of guy to force that kind of ... thing ... on someone."

"I know you aren't." The blonde quickly cut in, his head suddenly lifting up off the soldier's chest and revealing panicked blue eyes. "I didn't think you would .... that's not what I meant." He chocked out desperately, the steadily growing look of fear now forming within those beautiful blue eyes quickly making the soldier realise that things were on the verge of taking a turn for the worst.

"I'm not saying you did so calm down." Zack reassured tenderly, his hand moving around from the top of Cloud's head to cup one side of his face. "But I also don't want you to confuse you're feelings with what you think I'm feeling. I'm ready to go as fare as you want and give you whatever time you need. I want your … no … I want our first time to be special. There's no rush to do something right away, which we have our whole lives to enjoy together." Zack explained affectionately, as he gently caressed the blonde's soft cheek. "If you're not ready it will hurt, however hard I try not to, and I would never be able to forgive myself for that." He whispered, unable to find a stronger voice to explain himself. "I love you Cloud and I won't risk losing you."

"You won't lose me … you could never lose me."

"I will if I hurt you."

"No I …"

"You hide away from the people who hurt you Spiky, you always have and I'm sort of afraid that you always will." The soldier pointed out, the next breath he drew being a deep steadying one. "Something this personal shouldn't be confusing and it definitely shouldn't be done if you're not ready. I want you to remember that this is all still new to me too, that the things we'll be doing together I haven't done much of myself ... or for a very long time."

"You've never … been with someone else?" Cloud enquired almost breathlessly, the whirlwind of emotions which now shone within his shinning sapphire orbs showing that while he wanted to know more he was also afraid of causing pain again by asking such personal questions.

"There was someone else about five months after Kyle, a guy I met while on leave for a week at Costa Del Sol." Zack sighed, his violet eyes looking away briefly before returning with a look of regret in them. "It was a one night stand and a mistake, an insult to Kyle's memory and … and wrong. I didn't love the guy, hell I don't even remember his name and it's not something I'm proud of. I was lonely and I was hurting, but that's no excuse for what I did."

"What did you do that was so wrong?" Cloud questioned immediately, his insides churning painfully at the look of guilt and self disgust which now shone in those normally warm and light-hearted violet spheres.

"I spent the night with someone I didn't know because I wanted to feel good, doing something which should be saved for someone special, and took part in an act which is meant to be shared between people who love each other."

"I'm sorry." Cloud apologised softly, knowing that there was nothing more he could really say to make the soldier feel better.

"Not your fault Spiky, so don't apologise." Zack scolded affectionately, a faint smile pulling at the edges of his lips as he saw the worry forming on the blonde's angelic features. "My point is that I'm not as experienced as you seem to think I am, that the few times I have been with someone might somehow mean I know what I'm doing."

"You ... don't?" Cloud stuttered in mild panic before he could stop himself, the rising blush on his fair cheeks only darkening more as a wonderful deep rich laughter broke free from the soldier beneath him.

"I'm not sure if there's an insult in there somewhere Spiky, but I'll let it go because in a way I've still had more experience than you," Zack chuckled happily, his amethyst eyes once again sparkling with tender amusement at the blonde's darkening blush. "But in both cases I was always a catcher, not a pitcher, so this is going to be new to me as well." The soldier explained carefully, his violet orbs silently searching Cloud's blue ones to see if he understood the terminology being used.

The look the cadet gave him however said that the references had not been understood, that the subtle way he was trying to explain things was going right over the blonde's head.

"I was always the one on the bottom." Zack explained, with a nervous but slightly humorous tone to his voice. His already flushed cheeks warming even more as he felt some, almost innocent childlike, embarrassment in what he was admitting too. "I've never been on top, if you like, so this will be like a first time for me as well."

"I … I never thought about that." Cloud confessed sheepishly, a small shy smile forming on his lips as he spoke. "I just assumed you'd … I mean … I thought you had …"

"You thought I had a lot more experience in this stuff and I guess it's easy to see how you got that idea," The soldier chuckled lightly, his head coming up off the ground again to place a chaste kiss to the cadet's soft lips. "I know what to do so don't worry about that." He began to say, the next part already pulling at the smile on his handsome face so that it began to form a bright cheeky grin. "But unless you're planning to do the pitching, then I'm going to be experiencing something new as well."

As expected Cloud's face exploded with colour and although the young cadet's mouth now hung open as if trying to respond to the teasing statement, no sound could be heard escaping past his parted soft pink lips. Instead the wide eyed blonde could only shake his head in stunned silence, the unspoken words showing that not only did Cloud now understand the terminology being used but that he had no intention of being on top when the time came.

To Zack's surprise he actually felt a sense of relief suddenly flow through him at what he saw, the unquestionable trust being shown by the normally guarded cadet quickly supporting the certainty in his own feelings of how it should be between them. Yet if anyone had asked how he could be so sure about such things the soldier wouldn't have been able to explain it, didn't have the words to describe the emotions which now coursed through his veins warming his very soul, because somehow he just knew deep in his heart that this was the way it was meant to be.

And by the look of total and unconditional love in those deep rich pools of blue, as they shone back at him in perfect understanding, he could see that Cloud felt it too.

Sorry to everyone who thought this chapter might get a bit more heated than it actually did. I honestly felt like it might have done too, that was until I started writing it and realised I wanted them to wait just that little bit longer after all the emotional ups and downs they've been going through.

Hopefully you still enjoyed it :o)