Pipedreams and Chocoboys

Word Count: 596

"I've decided to quit SOLDIER," Zack mumbled sleepily, his face pressed into Sephiroth's bare shoulder. Half beneath him, Sephiroth tensed. Was Zack really leaving him?

"I'm going to become a chocoboy," Zack said.

Sephiroth relaxed and let out a puff of laughter. "Not to stomp on your aspirations, but I would rather kill every chocobo in the world than let you leave SOLDIER to pursue this particular pipedream," he said.

"Nooooo," Zack protested quietly, snuggling closer. Sephiroth clamped an arm tightly around his lover's back. Even though he knew Zack was just experiencing one of his many post-coitus rambling episodes, Sephiroth was always a little on edge when he thought about losing the younger SOLDIER. "You promised I could keep Chocobro," Zack whined.

As always, Sephiroth flinched slightly at the moniker. "Only if you change his name," he complained.

Zack mumbled something that might have been a, "fine," but could just as easily have been, "never." It didn't really matter. Sephiroth knew from experience that Zack would only remember this conversation as a vivid dream, which he would tell Sephiroth all about in the morning. This one would probably feature Zack in a rancher's hat and neckerchief and nothing else, riding a bucking chocobo bareback, and then defending a flock of the beasts from a gruesome death by Sephiroth's murderous sword.

Zack seemed to drift off to true sleep after that, and Sephiroth settled down to follow suit. After a lifetime of constantly looking over his shoulder, even in places he was supposed to think of as safe, the relaxation he felt when he slept with a blissed-out Zack in his arms was unparalleled – and not something he was willing to give up.

Besides, apparently the expression on his face on mornings after Zack spent the night was cute enough to endear Zack to the idea of going another round before breakfast, and if that wasn't the best way to start a day off right, Sephiroth didn't know what was.

Sephiroth awoke to find his bed uncomfortably cold. Instantly alert, he realized Zack was gone, and sat up in a panic to find him. As it turned out, he didn't even have to get out of bed.

Zack sat in the armchair in the corner of the room, frowning at him, putting his lover very much on edge. Sephiroth waited tensely for what was to come, thoughts of a relaxing morning-after completely gone.

Seeing that he was awake, Zack narrowed his eyes in anger. "I had a dream last night," he began. Sephiroth opened his mouth to object – obviously he wasn't actually going to kill every chocobo in the world, and he was prepared to defend himself – but Zack held up a hand. "You told me that my aspirations, including my hope of someday becoming a Hero, were all pipedreams," he said angrily.

Sephiroth couldn't stop the look of shock from playing out over his features. He had said 'this particular pipe-dream,' implying Zack had others, but he hadn't meant to suggest –

Sephiroth realized Zack was laughing silently, and scowled. Grinning, Zack ran-jump-flopped back onto the bed, laying himself out along his lover's body over the covers. Leaning in close to whisper in Sephiroth's ear, he said, "I can think of a few ways you might make it up to me," and then licked the shell of his lover's ear.

Sephiroth growled, grabbed him by the hips, and twisted the brunette under him. As it turned out, they didn't end up making it to breakfast at all that morning.

A/N: So it looks like this fic is turning out to be pure crack, huh? Sorry I didn't go into the smut… maybe later.

I've hopefully mentioned this before, but the term Chocobro comes directly from the lovely FFlove190. *luffles*