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Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class, did not do cold.
Growing up in Gongaga, the tempestuous sun and the boiling air that could rust the entire underbelly of a truck in a single summer, Zack could handle almost anything muggy summers could throw at him. He’d learned long ago how to swat a mosquito down the moment it got within a meter of him, how to cool himself off at night with wet socks and a crappy box fan at the foot of his bed. Hell, if Ifrit showed up and threw a fireball at him, Zack was pretty damn confident all he would have needed was some shades and one of those froo-froo drinks with an umbrella he got at Costa del Sol.
That’s why, when Zack was called out of his most recent posting up in Wutai, he had been baffled and even more than a bit pissed. He’d been doing good work there, managing to set up a connection between the Wutaian government and Neo-Shinra. It was sorely needed, especially after the bloodshed between the two nations; Zack had seen it as a way to make up, at least a little, for what had happened with the (now deceased) former President.
Even thinking about the former President made Zack’s blood boil. The lies, the corruption, all the things that had gone to shit so quickly. Rufus had been doing his best with patching the world up, of disconnecting the Mako Reactors, but it would take time to fix things.
It was imperative that Zack kept working with Wutai, of getting them on Neo-Shinra’s side. If they could manage that... it would be a game-changer. Or, at least, that’s what Zack had always thought.
Now, standing in front of a table with Director Lazard and the three Generals, Zack wasn’t sure.
“Sir, you know that what I’ve been doing is important—”
“No one is saying it isn’t,” Sephiroth responded, steepling his fingers in front of him. There was an air of danger around him, an air that Zack had long ago gotten used to, but... This was different, in some way. “We need you in Nibelheim more than we need you in Wutai. We’ve already spoken with Kunsel. He’ll be taking over your operation until further notice.”
“Sephiroth—”
“Zack,” Angeal warned from his place on the other side of Director Lazard.
“For how long?”
“At least three months. Maybe more, depending on what you find out.”
Three months?
The serious moment shattered. Zack wasn’t able to stop himself from letting out a bark of incredulous laughter at that, even though he tried his best to smother it with a half-hearted cough.
No one bought it.
“Is there something funny, Fair?” Genesis had asked, turning his head so fast that a streak of gray hair moved like a cat-o-nine tails, nearly striking Angeal in the face. “Are you being an insubordinate pain in my ass because this is you, or is there some other reason?”
Don’t look at him, don’t look at him, Zack thought. This wasn’t the time for insubordination, nor was it the time for Zack to make a wisecrack to try and cover up his frustration.
“No, General, sir. It’s just—do you really want me up in the mountains for a three-month mission by myself? I mean, I’ll do it—you know I will, but—”
“The puppy looks like he’s going to miss his masters.” Genesis’s mouth pinched so tightly Zack was almost positive he’d pop a blood vessel or shit out a diamond.
But then Genesis did something he rarely did, wincing as he raised his arm to push his hair from his face. The scaled skin, dotted sickly mako blue and green, made the entire desire to laugh at such a Genesis move catch in Zack’s throat.
“We need you to do this. The Turks... they found something in the Shinra Mansion and are requesting help. They think it may have something to do with—” Angeal paused, then, looking over to Sephiroth, almost sheepish.
“With my mother. Or, rather, whatever the JENOVA experiment was.” Sephiroth looked as he always did, which didn’t give any comfort to Zack.
Zack’s fists tightened until his nails dug into the fleshy inside of his palms. “I—yes, sir,” Zack replied, voice steely. Just thinking about that alien made his damn blood boil like he was back in Gongaga, stuck in the jungle as he chased down Kimara Bugs with pointy sticks.
“Zack, we’d go if we could, but I think it best to keep Sephiroth, Genesis, and I as far from Nibelheim as humanly possible. I’m sure you would agree.”
“I don’t—I don’t need to be reminded,” Zack answered, the anger bleeding out of him.
After Genesis was injured during a sparring match gone bad, the secrets from Shinra began leaking like a sieve. Starting with Hollander, progressing to Hojo, then even to President Shinra himself, the truths and lies came spilling out in such a wave that even Zack probably wouldn’t have believed it all if he hadn’t seen some of it firsthand.
“Then it’s settled. We need you to check in with the Turks. They’ll be supplying the back-up on this mission.” Lazard lifted a stack of papers, tapping them twice on the table before holding them out for Zack to take.
“No SOLDIER back-up?” Zack asked as he took the papers, managing a cursory glance over them. It was a thick file, so at least Zack would have something to do on the way there.
Angeal shook his head. “We figured that this particular mission should be on a ‘need-to-know’ basis, and none of them...”
“Need to know. Yeah, I can do that.” Then, pausing, Zack looked to Sephiroth. “Are you sure that we should be getting the Turks involved, then?”
Sephiroth let out a long, elegant sigh that said more than an entire novel could have.
“Ah. Rufus. Yeah, that would make sense.” Zack flipped open the folder. “Who’s going to be with me, then?”
Lazard, at least, was willing to save him the embarrassment. “We’ve chosen a Turk who we believe will be both discreet and helpful in regards to the Nibel area—”
“I’m sure you’ll be more than happy to see them.”
Zack frowned, trying to think of the Turks he knew were still working for Neo-Shinra. Tseng was originally from Wutai, Elena and her sister were from Junon, Reno and Cissnei grew up in Midgar. Zack racked his brain, but the only person who came to mind was, “Rude?”
Sephiroth blinked.
“Uh...”
What Turk would make Zack happy?
Zack looked back down to the file, flipping open to the first page.
A pair of blue eyes and a shock of yellow hair stared back.
“I believe he was your friend, back when he was a cadet,” Sephiroth said, but it was basically background noise—the singing of Kimara Bugs in the blistering heat. “Strife, I believe?”
The Generals and the Director chattered, but Zack didn’t listen.
All Zack could do was stare down at Cloud, dressed in his Turk blues.
When Zack was a little boy, he’d always loved to play in the nearby creek. It was where his father taught him how to swim, where he’d learned to fish, where he’d sink to the bottom and hold his breath for as long as he could. He’d hold his breath until his lungs burned and then and only then would Zack push back up to the surface to take in that deep, sweet breath.
Once, when he was about nine, his foot had tangled in some long-forgotten net. It had managed to wrap itself around his ankle, holding him down under the water. If Zack thought too much about the murky depths, the fire in his lungs, the coldness of the water suffocating him, pulling him down…
It was so dark, so cold, so silent.
Zack, though, got lucky; one of the other kids had run back to one of the nearby crabber boats and managed to find his pa, who managed to cut the net and a little chunk of his ankle away in his haste.
Despite the pain in his foot, the Gongaga mud in his eyes, his water-logged ears, all Zack could focus on was coughing up half of that bitter cold creek onto the bank, praying that the pain would just end and he could breathe again.
Seeing Cloud again felt like coming up for that first gasp of air.
“Cloud!” Zack wanted to rush his old friend, wanted to grab him and pick him up, swing him around and give him a noogie like he did all those years ago.
The only thing that stopped him was the sudden realization that his friend, the same friend who had always wanted to be a SOLIDER was standing there in his blue suit.
The picture hadn’t been wrong.
“You’re a Turk!”
Cloud lifted up his arms to look at his suit, eyebrows raising. “Really?” Cloud said. His voice was deeper and he had grown a couple inches since the last time Zack had seen him—when had it been the last time Zack had seen Cloud, anyway? “I just thought they gave this to me until my SOLDIER uniform came in. Or, you know, they started accepting people again.” There were the dregs of bitterness in his words, and Zack winced.
After Hojo disappeared, the entire SOLDIER program went to hell in a handbasket. It was impossible to make more SOLDIERS, ethically and because Hojo had run off with his notes. It really shouldn’t have been surprising that Cloud hadn’t been able to get in before... before things went south.
“I’m sorry, Cloud.” Zack knew that was his dream, that he had wanted to be a SLIDER more than anything, that... that...
“Don’t be. Trust me,” Cloud said after a moment, and though Zack could see the pain in his face, in his eyes, there was something else there, too.
Relief.
“After that whole expose on SOLDIER, I think a lot of us former grunts are happy we didn’t let Hojo too close.”
“You... you sure?”
“Better you than me,” Cloud laughed as he lifted his hand out for Zack to take. “And the Turks aren’t so ba—”
Whatever Cloud was going to say ended up muffled as Zack yanked his friend forward, wrapping him up in a hug.
“I missed you, too,” Cloud grumbled when Zack finally pulled back after a long, hard hug. Cloud smelled clean, earthy even. Natural mako—the Turks got mild mako injections. It made them a bit stronger, a bit faster, but without the whole alien DNA bit.
“Hey, if I’ve got to get stuck with someone up in Nibelheim, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather get stuck with than you.”
“Good to know,” Cloud said as he shook his head, though his smile was something Zack took comfort in. Cloud always had such a nice smile, when Zack was about to pull it out of the other man. “How’s... how’s everything been, with you? We haven’t really gotten to see each other since you got sent over to Wutai.”
Zack shrugged, gesturing for Cloud to follow him down the hallway. “Eh, same old, same old. Managed to not completely mess up the terms of peace with Wutai, so that’s something.”
“You’re easy to like,” Cloud joked, “So I’m sure we’re not gunna kill each other over the next couple weeks.”
“Months,” Zack interrupted, making Cloud groan good-naturedly.
“Well, I can’t promise anything, then.”
“Oh, you know you love me.”
“Dream on, pretty boy.”
“You think I’m pretty?” Zack turned, batting his eyelashes until Cloud rolled his eyes and gently knocked their shoulders together.
“Can’t let that ego go to your head. Don’t want Aerith t—” Cloud paused in the hallway then, looking at Zack with a frown. “Shit. I’m sorry—I wasn’t thinking—”
Zack only laughed, throwing one arm around Cloud’s shoulder. “Don’t be. I’m happy for her, and being in Wutai for a while at least helped put all of it into perspective. Still a bit nuts that she’s with your boss, but... Tseng’s a good guy. I’m happy for them. Anyway,” Zack said before Cloud had the chance to apologize again, “did they tell you more about what we’re gunna be doing, or...?”
Sephiroth had told him that they’d already prepared a truck to get them to Junon, then it was a straight shot by airship to Nibelheim. They’d have to be careful, landing on one of the small bases south of Nibelheim before heading out to the town. They were supposed to keep a low profile, staying away from the old Shinra Mansion during the day and staying in one of the small cottages closer to the base of the mountain to draw less attention.
Nibelheim hadn’t risen up in arms against Neo-Shinra. However, they were definitely still touchy about anything with the name “Shinra” after everything about the experimentation in the reactor came to light.
“Yeah.” Cloud looked almost embarrassed for a moment before gesturing for Zack to continue following him. “Since it’s my first big mission, Tseng figured it’d be good to let me figure it out.”
“Okay, well... our cover?”
“We’re going as civvies.”
Zack blinked. “How’s that going to work?” Zack may not have been half as popular as Sephiroth, but he had become the face of the peace treaty between Wutai and Neo-Shinra over the last few months. His picture was all over the message boards, on news programs, even in the local papers. There wasn’t any way people wouldn’t recognize him immediately.
“Since people know who I am, it’ll be easier to collect intel and do surveillance if they’re not wielding pitchforks. And,” Cloud said as he put his hands in his pockets, “well... with the cover story, it should work just fine. No one’s really gunna want to look too closely at us, anyway.”
“Why not?”
“Well...” Cloud slowed down to a standstill, hands fidgeting with his pockets. “The cover I came up with... it’s definitely... unique. And it works because, well, Nibelheim tradition and all that.”
“What do you mean by unique?”
Cloud’s cheeks darkened, and that should have been warning enough for Zack.
“Well, uh... it’s really normal for... new, uh, spouses... to... y’ know. Come back. For their first winter. Together. As...uh.”
“Spouses?” Zack squeaked.
Cloud made a pained face as he managed to mumble out a, “Yeah. Do you, uh, want to be Mr. Strife, or should I be Mr. Fair?”
Zack poked at the little wood stove with the end of his fire poker, enjoying the heat that hit his face and the warmth to his cold fingers. After spending most of the night in the Nibelheim mansion, the dead books and eerie silence their only companions, Zack was happy to be back in their little cottage.
On the way back, they had watched the sun try to peek out above the lightly snow-capped mountains and near-black clouds. It was just a few rays that managed to get through before the sky went dark. The wind tasted a little like iron, nearly burning his nose and throat.
“Uh... that’s probably not good, is it?” Zack may not have known much about snow, but he knew that he’d never seen clouds that dark before in his entire life.
“No. No, it isn’t,” Cloud answered. Zack could almost hear the frown in his friend’s words. “That’s definitely not good.”
According to Cloud, this winter had been the mildest that he’d ever experienced, which had baffled Zack because there was still a foot of snow on the ground and his balls were likely to not thaw out until April, at least. From that information, Zack was pretty sure that he’d never actually survive a true Nibelheim winter.
“Which you’re about to get. Sorry, Zack,” Cloud had said as he pat Zack on the shoulder. It made Zack’s entire belly fill with warmth—something that had slowly become more and more apparent the longer he and Cloud stayed in Nibelheim. “We need to get back and fast. You okay if we stop by my mom’s first?”
Pushing down the desire to reach out and grab hold of Cloud, Zack simply nodded and swallowed back words.
If he spoke, he’d probably make himself look stupid, anyway.
Maybe there was something in the air, that iron tang Zack could still taste at the back of his throat, that gave the people of Nibelheim the heads-up about the coming storm, because Mrs. Strife was already up, preparing for the storm. The snow had just started, barely even a dusting, but Zack could already see it sticking to the top of the water tower and the tops of the rocks along the pathways in the distance.
Before, Zack had been able to see nearly a kilometer away, but the clouds and the flurries quickly began their descent, and Zack found himself completely and utterly lost.
Cloud grabbed his hand then, a warmth in the blinding white. “It’s okay,” Cloud said through the silence. “I know how to get there. I know how to get home.”
It may have just been Cloud’s hand, but the warmth could have kept Zack going for…
I’m an idiot, Zack thought as he tightened his fingers around Cloud’s hand, basking in Cloud. I’m such a fucking idiot.
The minute Cloud knocked on the door she had yelled for them to open the door. She was waiting there for them, heavy metal pot in her thin arms, a sheen of sweat across her brow.
“Ma—”
“Don’t you ‘ma’ me, Cloud. I’ve been ready for this since before y’all got here, so don’t you go worryin’ ’bout me. Here you go, sweetheart—should last y’all a good few days,” Mrs. Strife had said as she lugged the giant pot of stew into Zack’s arms, patting them both on the cheeks before shooing them off with a wink. She was the only person in town who knew they weren’t really married, but she still yelled out a, “Don’t get into too much trouble during the storm, y’ hear?” to their backs as they backtracked toward the little cottage they’d been calling home for the last two months.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, Zack thought as he tried not to spill Mrs. Strife’s stew across the quick-falling snow) Cloud didn’t hold his hand, but he did hold on to Zack’s jacket, slowly leading them into the teeming vortex of white.
The moment they got back to the cabin, Cloud had busied himself with pulling in more firewood and the two extra kerosene tanks they hadn’t had to use during their stay in the cottage. He’d even yanked out some plastic, covering up the windows before grabbing some towels and shoving them under the door.
Cloud was now curled up in the double bed they’d been taking turns sleeping on in the corner of the room, doubled up on bulky beige sweaters and staring at the ceiling. He looked peaceful, probably for the first time since they’d arrived in Nibelheim nearly two months before.
The first few days had been rough on Cloud, that much was for certain. Truck, airship, then a little, beat-up red buggy had taken its toll on Cloud, who’d gotten sick too many times to count. By the time they’d arrived in Nibelheim, Zack was half-sure Cloud would kiss the ground, except...
“You doin’ okay?”
“Yeah, Zack. I’m fine,” Cloud said, and for the first time since they’d arrived, Zack believed it.
The last two months hadn’t just been difficult because they had to dig through Shinra Mansion (finding a bizarre letter from Hojo, a locked door in the basement, and a safe they were near cracking) but also because of the town itself.
Zack hadn’t realized how lucky he was to be from a town that loved him before getting to Nibelheim.
It was clear from the moment they entered the town that the people of Nibelheim were, at best, cold to Cloud. Even though they congratulated him on his nuptials and greeted Zack with about as much enthusiasm as any SOLDIER would get in a town ruined by Shinra secrets, there was always that sneer or side-eye that they’d get any time they were in the local shop or out chopping firewood for Mrs. Strife.
Cloud seemed less ruffled by it than Zack was, but it still left a bitter taste in Zack’s mouth.
In fact, the only person other than Cloud’s mom who didn’t glare was the Mayor’s daughter, Tifa, but she’d made herself scarce the moment Zack introduced himself as Cloud’s husband.
“An ex of yours?” Zack had asked, but Cloud answered only with a frown.
“No. I had a crush on her when I was a kid.”
“You, uh, still do?”
Cloud’s response was to kick up a little dirt with the front of his boot. “No. Not really.”
For some reason, that had lifted a bit of an odd weight from Zack’s chest. Maybe it was guilt about pushing Cloud. Maybe it was the same thing that made Zack want to climb up next to Cloud on the bed and spoon up against him at night. Over the past two months, the two had become closer, so much closer, and yet...
“Anyway, I’m married to you now, aren’t I?”
And Zack had laughed it off, because this entire thing was absolutely absurd from beginning to end, and yeah, Zack was technically Cloud’s husband for the time being. Cloud didn’t really mean it—not the way Zack wanted him to mean it, anyway.
It was only for a few more weeks. The soft glances, the hand in his as they walked through Nibelheim, the picture of content newlyweds, the gentle feelings that blossomed in Zack’s chest every time Cloud shared a secretive smile with him— all that was for show. When it was all over, Cloud would go back to working with the Turks and Zack would be back in Wutai, and that would be that.
Zack stared into the flame. It didn’t feel so warm, now. “You want some tea?”
“Nah, I’m good. You make yourself some, if it’ll help you not go nuts.”
“I’m not—”
“We’re gunna be stuck in here for at least the next 72 hours,” Cloud replied from the bed. “I can’t have you losing your head before we’re even an hour in.”
Zack rolled his eyes, but he knew that Cloud was right. He was going stir crazy already, which meant…
“Fine, fine,” Zack agreed, putting the poker down next to the fireplace, patting his hands on his pants. “I should get in touch with HQ, let them know what’s going on before the lines and power go out.”
Cloud only mumbled something half-heartedly, but Zack took it as agreement.
“Want me to tell Tseng anything?”
“Not really, no,” Cloud responded, shifting on the bed. Then, Cloud said, “The letter… I don’t think we really need to go there yet.”
“Agreed.” Whatever the letter was, Zack was sure that it would only lead to more people getting sent to Nibelheim, and with their position over the last few weeks being at least a little safe, Zack didn’t want to potentially poison the well, as it was. All they needed was one more number, something about ivories and tea, and then... maybe, just maybe, they could figure out what was in the basement.
Thankfully, the special Neo-Shinra wifi card was still picking up a signal from the Shinra Mansion, and Zack was able to send off a quick encrypted message off to HQ before the lights cut, the howling of the wind against the cottage making Zack’s teeth chatter.
Zack was thankful then for his SOLDIER eyesight, though the dim, red light from the stove did little to brighten the room. The window, covered in plastic, showed the raging snow building up outside.
“Fuuuuuuuck,” Zack swore, but Cloud didn’t seem particularly fazed.
“It’s okay, we’ve got enough kerosene to get us through three storms,” Cloud promised, but that wasn’t much help to Zack, who was listening to the wind trying to break through the stone and wood. “And that stew is going to be— Zack, are you okay?”
“Uh-huh,” Zack replied, but he knew that Cloud could see, or hear as the case was, right through him. “Just dandy. It’s all good. All good.”
“If it were all good, you wouldn’t have to tell me it’s all good.”
That was the damn truth, wasn’t it?
“Y’know, just a country boy.” Zack tried to laugh it off, but his voice sounded weaker than it had any right to be. “Just… normal country boy. No problem here, promise.”
“You do know I can see your face, right?”
Zack turned toward the stove, but that probably did more to illuminate his face than anything else could have possibly done. Yet, it was warm and bright and there, so Zack relished in it as he stared into the flames.
“I don’t do cold,” Zack responded, voice faint, uncertain. “I’m just not a big fan. It’s cold and I’m cold, and I just—”
Cloud’s next words were soft and yet so, so certain. “You don’t like the dark, do you?”
Whatever Zack wanted to say stuck in his throat, and Zack was nine years old again, drowning at the bottom of the creek, fishing net caught around his ankle.
Wet.
Cold.
Dark.
Zack didn’t realize until warm arms wrapped around him that his body was shivering.
Cloud’s arms, though, were warm, inviting, and Zack wanted to cry when his friend buried his forehead against Zack’s back. Staring straight ahead into the fire, Zack tried to fight back the panic bubbling up in his guts, the only thing keeping him grounded being Cloud’s arms and his faint, earthy smell.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay.”
“I’m—” Zack started, but the words caught in his throat. During his time in Wutai, during even the worst of it, there was a warmth in the air, a deep humidity that put Zack at ease. But here, in the unforgiving mountains, the wind snarling against the cottage’s walls? “This is stupid. I’m stupid.”
“You’re not stupid,” Cloud said as he tightened his arms around Zack until his arms began to tingle. “These storms used to scare me, too.”
“I’m not—”
“Zack,” Cloud interrupted, “I’m your friend, aren’t I?” There was such a softness, a sweetness, to Cloud’s words that it made Zack pause.
When was the last time someone had held him like that? When was the last time someone had taken care of Zack, and not the other way around?
Day in and day out, Zack was a SOLDIER First Class. His entire job was to protect others, to fight the monsters lurking in the darkest of places. He had spent years clawing his way up, of fighting and bleeding and nearly killing himself, to become who he was now. Every bit of blood, sweat, and tears—all of that was what got him to this point.
And yet...
“You don’t need to lie to me, okay?” Cloud continued, arms gently rocking Zack close. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”
All Zack could do was take in a shaky, ragged breath and focus in on Cloud’s warmth. He wasn’t that little boy drowning in the creek, lungs burning and blind as the cold swallowed him up.
Not anymore.
“Here, c’mon,” Cloud whispered against his shoulder as he led Zack like a puppy award the bed. Cloud gently turned and pressed Zack down, sitting next to him. It sagged under their way, not used to having more than one person on top of it. “It’s okay, just take a breath, Zack. You’re okay. You can sleep on the bed. I don’t mind.”
“But it’s your turn.”
Cloud chuckled. “I’ll be okay. I’m used to the cold.” Cloud reached up, brushing a few stray hairs from Zack’s forehead. His fingers ghosted against Zack’s skin, and he couldn’t stop himself from leaning into that touch, if only for a moment.
Cloud’s intake of breath said more than any words possibly could have.
Zack wanted to stop himself, but as his soon as Cloud’s hand stopped on his cheek, Zack couldn’t help but press his own hand over Cloud’s.
“You’re warm,” Zack murmured, running his thumb against the top of Cloud’s hand until the pads of their thumbs touched. His skin was calloused from years of wielding his sword, but Cloud’s were, too. “So warm...”
“Zack,” Cloud said, words sounding more like a plea than anything else.
But Zack couldn’t stop himself from gently dragging Cloud’s hand down to his mouth, fingers ghosting over Zack’s lips. He wanted to kiss them, had wanted to for weeks, but he’d stopped himself so many times. Cloud was his friend, one of his only real friends, and he couldn’t lose that.
But Cloud was light in the darkness and warmth in the snow.
“Why... why don’t we share?” Zack said as he finally pressed a kiss against Cloud’s pulse point, feeling Cloud’s heart stutter against his lips.
The world spun, the storm ceased, and all Zack could do was stare into Cloud’s blue eyes illuminated by the dying embers and pray that he hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his life.
It wasn’t until Cloud ran his hand through Zack’s hair and brought him in for a blinding kiss that Zack could breathe.
Tongues fighting for dominance, breathing ragged, skin on fire—this was everything Zack had yearned for, and it was his, now.
Zack let himself fall into Cloud’s hands, into his touch. It was fast, maybe even too fast, but Zack couldn’t stop himself as he reached under Cloud’s two sweaters, yanking them over Cloud’s head. In the dim light Zack could make out Cloud’s dusky nipples, hard and waiting for Zack’s tongue to trace against them.
So, he did.
Pushing Cloud down onto the bed and straddling him, Zack ground their hips together before leaning down to pepper Cloud’s chest with kisses. Cloud’s fingers in his hair guided him to his left nipple, and Zack couldn’t help but grin as he took the nub between his lips.
The sound Cloud made was like music to Zack’s ears. He could feel Cloud’s cock against his, the friction of the fabric between them back Zack’s entire body ache.
With one hand, Zack yanked off his own sweater, feeling the cold metal of his dog tags hit his chest that made him pause.
SOLDIER. Turks. Outside of the cottage, their cottage, things were different. They—
Cloud leaned up, wrapping his arms around Zack’s shoulders, pulling him back down to the warmth of their bed. “You’re thinking too loud.”
“Was I?” Zack muttered as his fingers finally popped the button on Cloud’s pants and then slowly, meticulously, began to work down his zipper.
God, Cloud was already so hard for this. This was because of Zack—not anyone else.
Just Zack.
“I thought I was thinking at a reasonable volume,” he added, unable to stop himself from smiling at Cloud’s groan. “It’s a bad habit, sorry.”
Cloud’s response was to roll his eyes and buck up against Zack’s hand, edging his pants a little down his thighs. “Zack,” Cloud said, trying to keep his voice serious, but Zack could already hear the tremble in his voice. “Just shut up and fuck me.”
It was probably the most ridiculous thing Zack had ever done in bed, but he was giddy, damn-near high off of Cloud’s warmth, so he mock-saluted Cloud before gently pulling Cloud’s cock free from his pants, wrapping his hand around it to give a tug.
Watching Cloud’s eyes roll backward was definitely a treat Zack wanted to experience on repeat, that he was absolutely sure of.
“You—heh—still got that lotion?”
When they’d first arrived, the general store had given them the typical “Nibelheim Newlyweds Package” which had graciously induced an industrial-sized lotion that had made Zack and Cloud snicker for the first couple days. Once they’d gotten set up in the cottage, Zack had offered to put it on their tiny table as the centerpiece, but Cloud had gotten rid of it to who knew where.
“The bed—it’s under the bed.”
Zack didn’t even bother to get off Cloud as he reached over the side of the bed, hand coming into contact with the cold plastic bottle. Blindly, Zack fiddled with the top, face buried in Cloud’s stomach as he tried to loosen the pump. He ended up having to roll over to get a good enough grip, but Zack managed.
It was foolish and stupid and was probably going to leave a fucking mess under the bed, but Zack could worry about that later. Instead, Zack focused on the icy cold lotion between his fingers, wishing there was a better way of heating it up.
But they were desperate and Cloud had managed to somehow inch his pants down to hang off of one of his ankles. While Zack wanted to stare at Cloud’s naked body, play connect the dots with his freckles, Zack could still feel the biting chill in the air and knew that if he was cold with his pants still on, Cloud must have been freezing.
“Wait,” Zack said after use another moment of glancing at Cloud’s thighs. It was a shame, but... “Let’s get under the blankets, yeah?”
For just a moment it looked like Cloud was going to resist, but with a sigh, Cloud wiggled himself up under the blankets, taking a moment to finish yanking off his pants, tossing them across the cottage, towards the front door.
Maybe it was the way the light from the stove hit Cloud, but in that moment that a sudden thought crossed Zack’s mind, one that made his entire body feel like lead.
Zack licked his lips. “Are you—I mean, have you ever...”
“Had sex?” Cloud supplied, and Zack nodded, feeling his dog tags jingle against his chest as he popped the double button on his pants. “Does it matter either way?”
Zack paused, zipper halfway down. Did it matter?
It wasn’t jealousy at the idea that someone else had touched Cloud, nor was it the worry that he was taking something away, because nothing could ever make Cloud less perfect than he was at that very moment.
“No,” Zack said after a beat. “I just want you to enjoy it.”
“Trust me, I’m enjoying it,” Cloud grumbled as he pulled back the blankets, giving Zack enough room to slide in. Zack could see the faint smile tugging at the corner of Cloud’s mouth when he then added, “You’re not gunna hurt me, Zack. I promise.”
“I know.”
Cloud’s next words, pupils blown wide and lashes fluttering, were enough to wash away any worry or fears from Zack’s mind.
“Then come make me enjoy it.”
Zack didn’t need to be told twice. Pulling down his pants, one-handed, in one fluid motion, Zack managed to get himself under the blankets and spooned up against Cloud in record time.
Cloud took Zack’s fingers so well.
Curled up on their sides, Zack pressed kisses against Cloud’s shoulder blade as he slowly spread Cloud’s cheeks open with his fingers, slick index finger circling around his hole. Every move made Cloud let out a little sound, somewhere between a moan and a sigh, that made Zack’s toes curl as he slowly added in a second, then third, finger.
By the time Zack slipped the tip of his cock inside, he was half-convinced he had died and gone to the other side. One hand pressed the tip of his cock in while the other hung around Cloud’s stomach, Zack was gentle as he inched himself inside. He wanted to go slow, to breathe in Cloud’s earthy smell as he inched his way in, but Cloud was a needy thing.
Every time Zack stopped, Cloud bucked himself back, deliciously so, until Zack nipped at Cloud’s shoulder.
That, at least, made Cloud laugh.
“Laughing at my suffering.”
“You know it,” Cloud replied, angling his head to press a messy kiss against Zack’s cheek as he bucked himself down again, making Zack’s entire body shudder.
By the time Zack was entirely seated inside Cloud, bodies flush against one another, Zack could hear both their hearts pounding in his ears. Gone was the darkness, the cold, and instead Zack let himself fall into Cloud’s intoxicating light.
Lifting Cloud’s thigh and pulling it over Zack’s gave him the perfect angle to begin to move. I was shallow, at first. Little moves punctuated with the sounds of Cloud’s soft whines slowly morphed as Zack gained control. Each thrust became deeper, more pointed, and Cloud would tighten around Zack every time he twisted his hips to a rhythm only they could hear.
Zack could feel Cloud’s sweat against him, could taste the saltiness and sweetness from his skin, and Zack couldn’t help but nibble on Cloud’s ear as he thrusted just right, feeling Cloud’s entire body shake under his ministrations.
He could already feel the tell-tale pulling from deep in his stomach and through his balls, but Zack didn’t want to come until Cloud did. Zack wanted to feel Cloud orgasm around him, wanted Cloud to milk him dry, wanted...
“C—come for me, Cloud,” Zack managed to get out through pants, but Cloud only breathlessly laughed as he purposely pulled as far away from Zack before thrusting himself backward, impaling himself down on Zack’s aching cock.
“Ah—fuck Zack.” Cloud arched against him, muscles tightening. “Ah—after you.”
Zack couldn’t stop himself. With a stuttering laugh and a hand wrapped tight around Cloud’s cock, Zack cried out Cloud’s name as he came, Cloud following right behind.
The warmth of Cloud’s cum in his hand, their bodies flush against one another, his pulsing cock buried deep inside Cloud—it was an unending warmth that comforted Zack in a way that he didn’t even try to explain to himself.
Time passed in a blur, Zack spooned up against Cloud’s back, cock going soft inside him. There was something both disgusting and so very comforting to feel his cum cooling inside Cloud, and though he loathed to do it, Cloud slowly disentangled himself.
There was something mesmerizing in the way Cloud stood and slipped his fingers down between his leg, pushing the cum back inside. If nothing else, it certainly made Zack’s cock twitch.
Cloud snorted as he reached down, grabbing hold of Zack’s underwear. He pulled them on, wiping his cum-coated hand across the front.
“That’s not very husbandly.”
“Well, neither’s letting the fire die,” Cloud countered as he turned, grabbing hold of a few of the small logs to toss into the stove. “But I guess letting my ‘husband’ freeze to death would be even worse. Gotta take care of him, y’ know?” The little smile was back, and it made Zack’s heart soar.
“You wanna take care of me?” Zack asked, adjusting himself on the bed. The wind still howled, the snow still fell, and Cloud’s side of the bed was rapidly going cold. It was more than a little ridiculous, but Zack found himself scooting closer to Cloud’s spot on the bed—still warm. “Keep me warm?”
Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class, did not do cold.
But, if he had Cloud by his side?
“Yeah, Zack. Promise.”
Well, Zack could deal with a little cold.