Kalm
Now?
Now the ex-SOLDIERs were on the run from Shinra.
Cloud had made it to 1st Class himself, even if he had to take the test several times to get there, he did eventually make it to where he always dreamed of being. He had his Iron Blade slung across his back with practiced ease. Zack still carried the Buster Sword on his back, his eyes a little harder, but his grin still lingered- if only for Cloud’s sake. They had been through hell and back together- Nibelheim, Hojo, Shinra, the mako tanks, the nightmares- and somehow, somehow, they were still standing. Alive. Still fighting too.
Months ago, they helped AVALANCHE (Barret, Biggs, Wedge, Tifa, and Jessie) blow up the sector one reactor sky high. Cloud had taken point, his strike clean and cold. Zack had covered the rear, laying down cover and cracking jokes mid fight. Barret hadn’t trusted either of them at first but Aerith had just looked at Zack and nodded. Tifa’s breath had hitched when she saw Cloud again, alive, changed and sharp edged. Over time, both women started to see what was obvious to everyone except the two men in question: Cloud and Zack were in love. Stupidly, obviously, obviously in love.
Cloud always paired with Zack- when the team could manage it, anyway. He barely left Zack’s side, especially when he or the latter was injured. Not that Zack was any different. In Kalm, they shared a room at the inn they were staying at after Zack and Cloud told their tale to the group. Barret and Red XIII had teased them on the way up, telling them not to have sex in the middle of night. Both men turned a very impressive shade of pink and immediately insisted nothing like that would happen (although it would if they were actually dating).
That same night, Cloud had woken up in a cold sweat. Again. He hated sleeping, not because he didn’t want to, but it meant dreams- and dreams meant nightmares. The same ones. Over and over again. He sat up on the edge of the bed, chest rising and falling in short shallow breaths. The room was dim, lit by only the moonlight spilling in through the curtains. He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes. Niblehiem burning. Fire. Screaming. Hojo. Liquid mako… Sephiroth.
Zack stirred in the bed beside him. “.. Spikey?” His voice was quiet, still husky with sleep as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Mako green eyes fell upon Cloud’s form, frowning. Zack got up and moved beside his friend, hair mused with sleep. He gently placed an arm around the blonde, holding him close. “Nightmare?”
Cloud didn’t answer verbally when he felt the bed shift, feeling Zack beside him. He leaned into his friend’s side, sighing softly. He nodded, barely in reply. Zack didn’t press. He simply tightened his arm around him, warm and steady, grounding him like an anchor in a storm. They stayed like that for a while in silence, the quiet broken only by the distant howl of the wind outside and the faint creak of old wooden beams in the inn. Zack’s fingers moved- gently, absentminded motions through Cloud’s hair, like he had done a dozen of times before, back when they blonde had been too far gone to even flinch. He could feel how Cloud’s body, tense and drawn tight as bowstrings, slowly began to loosen.
No words were spoken, there wasn’t any need. Zack knew how to be gentle with Cloud, how to wait until the storm passed instead of trying to chase it away. He admired the blue eyed male when he could but often caught himself staring at him more often than not. He tried not to, unsure if Cloud had the same feelings as he did, or if his mind was just playing tricks on him. He didn’t dare find out.
Cloud exhaled slowly, longer this time and the sound caught ever so slightly in his throat. His hand shifted, fingers curling lightly in the fabric of Zack’s shirt. A silent tether, a silent please stay. Zack didn’t need to hear the words, he knew what it meant and he knew what Cloud needed. He pressed a light kiss to the blonde’s head, rubbing his back and murmuring soft words that let him know he was safe, that nothing was going to come after him, all of it. Cloud was forever grateful that Zack always knew. Knew how to ground him without demanding explanations (going through the same trauma did help with that honestly). Knew how to reach through the haze of memories and fear without forcing the pieces together. Knew how to simply be there- without judgement, pressure, or expecting anything in return.
He rested his head on Zack’s chest, letting the rhythm of his heartbeat anchor him. It was steady, comforting, familiar, and a reminder that Zack was still alive. The warmth between them wasn’t just physical- it was also safe. A quiet haven carved out in the middle of a war neither had asked them for. Zack’s touch was soft, slow- fingertips tracing the line of his spine, a motion he probably didn’t even realise he was doing but Cloud noticed. He always did.
It wasn’t just hidden confessions and unspoken love in grand declarations, or being shouted to the stars. It was whispers. Their love was whispered in the spaces between heartbeats, in ways that Zack could stay awake long enough to make sure Cloud didn’t fall apart. In a way he never let go unless Cloud let go first.
Eventually, Cloud was soothed into a light sleep, his grip still tight around the taller male, gripping tightly. He didn’t let go. Neither of them did. His breathing was even, eased by the calmness of the night. Zack stayed awake a little longer, watching the rise and fall of Cloud’s chest, his own thoughts a quiet tangle of longing and hope. He wanted to believe that maybe, just maybe, Cloud felt it too. But for now, he didn’t ask. Didn’t push.
Zack just held him, laying down on the bed with the blonde on his chest. And it was enough for now.