One Bed+ZackXCloud

“Well, I’ve got some good news, and some bad news.”

The blond didn’t say anything, just shifted in the uncomfortable chair that the innkeeper had shoved him into.  She had said that he looked tired.  He was, that much he knew, but he hadn’t known that it had showed that badly.

“Hey!”  A hand landed on his shoulder and shook him roughly.  “Are you awake in there, or what?!  I just said that I’ve got some good news and some bad news!”

The blonde’s eyes shot up and met with those of the black haired boy.  “Yeah…sorry.  What is it?”

“Well, the Innkeeper cleared us a room—carrying this SOLDIER badge sure has its perks, eh?  But the bad news is that it has one bed.”

The blond had zoned off again, staring at the fire as it danced around in the fireplace, a dazzling array of reds and oranges and whites and blues.

“Cloooouuud!”  The other said, annoyed, “I swear, it’s like talking to a freaking wall or something!”

Cloud looked up and this time he smiled.  Zack looked so annoyed.  But not in that pissed off kind of annoyed.  More like a comical annoyed, with his hands on his hips and his face really close to Cloud’s own face.  The blond let out a chuckle.

Zack smiled brightly.  “Now there we go, that’s what I wanted to see.  A smile and a laugh.  That’s far more suitable.  Now c’mon, let’s go get some rest.  Maybe you’ll be less of a zombie in the morning.”

~

“You can have the bed.”  Zack said, throwing his gloves onto the small table in the corner, “I’ve slept on worse things that the floor before.”

Cloud looked down at the ratted, messy old carpet and made a noise of disapproval.  “Nah, you can have the bed.  I’m not very tired.”

“This coming from the guy who was staring at a fireplace!”

“Hey—“

“No.  You take the bed.  I’ll sleep over here.”  Zack walked over and sat in a chair, going about the task of removing anything too heavy or annoying off of his person.  His sword was right beside him, propped against the arm of the chair.

“I—“

“That’s an order.”  Zack said with a playful smile.  “Go to bed.”

Cloud mimicked Zack, removing the heavier or more pokey of his effects, and then laid down in the bed.  The pillow was nice and soft, the blankets warm in the cold inn.  His eyes closed and he fell into a dreamless sleep for what felt like five minutes.  It was really a few hours.

He woke with a start to the sound of someone falling down and hitting the floor with a thud.

“Okay…ow…”  Zack’s voice sounded out, sounding annoyed and tired, “I get it, I get it.  I’m not allowed to sleep.  Jesus.  Who runs this universe anyway?  They must hate me something fierce…”
“Zack?  Are you okay?”

“Oh!  Cloud, did I wake you?  I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay…are you?”

“Yeah.  Just…got a bruised butt now, that’s all.”  Zack said light heartedly, adding a chuckle at the end.  “Wanna kiss it better?”

Cloud felt his face flush in the dark.  He knew it was just a joke on Zack’s part but…

After a moment of silence, Zack’s voice resurfaced.

“Eh, Cloud?  Generally speaking you would make an equally sarcastic remark here, like: ‘you would like that, wouldn’t you?’ or maybe ‘I only kiss the asses of cute people.”

“Oh…yeah sorry.  Too tired to…ya know…think and…yeah.”

“You sound…embarrassed?  Cloud do you………”

Awkward silence.

“Do I….what?”

“Do you like…oh, never mind.”  Zack’s voice was oddly disappointed.

Silence passed in the room again, the distinct sound of Zack getting back up and climbing into his chair was the last noise Cloud heard.  The blond lay there, the silence of the room making him deaf.  Under any normal circumstance, he would have just gone back to sleep.  But for some odd reason…he couldn’t.

It felt like an eternity before Zack spoke out.

“So you can’t sleep either, eh?”

Cloud sat up in his bed and looked across the room.  It was too dark to see Zack very closely, but he could make out the faint outline of his mentor shifting around in his chair.  Cloud nodded, although Zack couldn’t see it.

“Yeah,” he answered, “I dunno why.”

Zack chuckled and pulled his legs up into the chair with him, crossing them in the dark.

“I know why I can’t sleep.”

“Why?”

“There’s something that I’ve been meaning to…oh never mind.”

Cloud shook his head, slightly peeved by his elder’s amazing ability to never finish a sentence.

“What?”  Cloud pressed, “I want to know.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Oh, c’mon Zack!”

He let out a sigh and then stood up.  “Okay, fine.  You wanna know that badly?”

“Mmmmm hummmm,” Cloud answered, unconsciously leaning forward a little to hear Zack better.

“It’s just I…” Zack walked around the room five times before coming over to the bed, looking down at Cloud.  His face turned—as it usually did when he was looking at the younger boy—from a serious sort of stone-set, very SOLDIER-like look, to one that was warm.  A smile like none other Cloud had ever seen on Zack’s face—save when the raven haired boy was gazing at him.  Zack didn’t speak for a few seconds, just smiled, and then his face broke out into an embarrassed, but undeniably cute, expression.  His face and the back of his neck turned bright red, his head tilted, and his hand went behind it.  His whole demeanor would’ve been taken by Cloud as a joke, except for the fact that Zack’s embarrassment seemed so serious, so deep and real.  And kind of adorable.

“Go on.”  Cloud urged.

“I uh…”  Zack looked down, his hand falling from behind his head and landing soundly on Cloud’s shoulder.  “…have you ever felt any sort of…erm…attraction before?”

“Attraction?”  Cloud asked, tilting his own head with a confused expression spelled out on his face.

“Oh you idiot,” Zack complained, looking frustrated, “you can be so fucking cute when you don’t know what’s going on.”

“I can be wha--“  Cloud started, but was cut off as Zack’s lips came crashing down on his.  There was a flash of white hot passion, the kiss starting out almost rabid, Zack pushing against the younger blond with deep intensity and lust.  Cloud made a muffled noise of surprise, but made no move to escape from the kiss of his elder—in truth it made him happy.  He had always secretly hoped, somewhere deep down, that this day would come.  And here it was. Surprising, but nice.

Zack’s grip on Cloud’s shoulders, which had been almost bone-crushing before as if he had expected Cloud to attempt an escape, loosened.  The kiss lost its rough tones and sunk into something soft and gentle, Zack’s lips gracing Cloud’s own with light and delicate touches.  The blond let his eyes drift closed, his entire body loosening up and allowing Zack all the control he could possibly want.

The SOLDIER, First Class, gently pushed his friend backwards, lying on top of him just as delicately as his kiss had become, his hands rushing behind to play in Cloud’s fluffy but spiky hair.  He twirled a strand around his finger, playfully tugging on it while nipping softly and affectionately at the blonde’s lower lip.  Cloud let out a moan and wrapped his arms around Zack’s waist, wiggling to find a more comfortable position beneath his mentor.

Zack took this opportunity to dip lower, deepening the kiss and licking at Cloud’s lips in an attempt to gain entrance.  He found that it wasn’t that hard to get in, as the younger willingly parted them upon Zack’s third try.  The elder slipped his tongue in, exploring Cloud’s warm mouth graciously, excavating every little crevice and playing happily with the other’s tongue.  The kiss lasted five whole minutes, the two of them taking turns in one another’s mouths—once Cloud worked up the courage, anyway.

Upon another of Zack’s turns, Cloud bucked his waist up lustfully.  Zack let out a moan of surprise, his hands jerking back in Cloud’s hair, gaining another movement on Cloud’s part.  Zack moaned again, moving downwards against Cloud, the blond wiggling in joy from the attention.

This was, however, where the fun stopped.  Zack broke away, gasping for air, and stared down lovingly at the younger, who tugged on him in an attempt to make him come back.

“Do you…get it now?”  Zack asked, brushing a lock of blond hair out of Cloud’s face.

All the younger could do was nod, his heart was beating a thousand times faster than normal, his breathing uneven.

“Yeah….I think I…”

“I love you, Cloud.”

“I…I love you too, Zack.”

“Now c’mon, we can make with the smoochies some more in the morning.  We should both rest for now.”  Zack said, rolling off of the younger and onto the bed.  He stretched out, pulling Cloud over and resting his head down on his own shoulder.

“But I…aren’t you going to go back to the chair?”

“Nah.  If we love each other, and there’s only one bed…we might as well share.”  Zack’s face broke out into a giant, gleaming smile now, his eyes locking with Cloud’s.  “Plus…there’s only one bed in this place…one bed…and I’ve got some great ideas for waking you up in the morning.”