Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Pairing: Zack Fair x Cloud Strife
Theme set: Alpha
Rating: PG-13, a few might scrape into R but nothing major.
Warning[s]: Spoilers for most of the FFVII series. Slash.
Comments and feedback always appreciated! = )
1. Comfort: There’s nothing he can say to make it better, so instead Zack just grips Cloud’s shoulder tightly as the heartbroken blonde turns away from the list of newly qualified SOLDIERs.
2. Kiss: In the end, it’s Cloud who makes the first move, standing up on tip toe to press his lips lightly against Zack’s for the briefest of moments, then blushing furiously when the older boy’s shock gives way to a wide grin.
3. Soft: He’s always amazed at how soft Cloud’s hair is under his fingers as he ruffles it affectionately.
4. Pain: There’s no pain any more, he can’t feel a thing; at least, not until he looks into Cloud’s eyes and sees the horrified certainty there and knows he has to go.
5. Potatoes: Cloud isn’t too sure how Zack managed to almost burn down his apartment through something as simple as making a baked potato, and somehow he also isn’t too sure that he wants to know.
6. Rain: He can’t help but laugh at how quickly Cloud’s spikes have lost their amazing anti-gravity powers in the sudden downpour until he realises that the same thing has happened to him.
7. Chocolate: Cloud is the only person Zack will ever share his secret chocolate stash with, a fact that he’d inclined to remind the blonde of frequently, especially when he demands a kiss in return for each square.
8. Happiness: In stolen moments like this, curled up with Zack in his quarters, away from everything else, Cloud smiles and forgets the world outside.
9. Telephone: He’s taken to turning off his phone a lot these days, even though it gets him into trouble with his superiors, because it’s just easier than having to come up with another excuse when Aerith calls, and much easier than having to tell her the truth.
10. Ears: Zack pretends not to notice Cloud wince as the stud gun goes off by his ear lobe, and instead quickly squeezes his hand out of the piercist’s sight.
11. Name: There’s something about the way Cloud says his name- that little tinge of affection and amusement under the exasperation- that keeps Zack joking around and doing stupid things, not that he thinks it would be wise to mention this to anyone, least of all Cloud.
12. Sensual: Cloud always pouts whenever Zack interrupts him mid-sentence with a kiss; Zack argues that the blonde boy can’t complain as such behaviour only shows off his lips even better, and, well, that’s just asking for another kiss, isn’t it?
13. Death: Remembering Zack came at a price: Cloud had to relive the agony of his loss all over again.
14. Sex: Cloud has long since learned that there’s not much he can do except roll his eyes and protest half-heartedly when Zack pulls him out of class because the SOLDIER just whines about having certain needs (lots of them and frequently) as he drags his lover to the nearest secluded spot; besides, it’s not as if the younger boy really minds.
15. Touch: Cloud shivers as Zack casts Cure on him, hoping to Shiva that the SOLDIER thinks it’s just because of the spell rather than the hand on his shoulder.
16. Weakness: There’s not a day that goes by without him wondering if he could have saved him, if only he’d been that little bit stronger.
17. Tears: It’s not until the Planet is safe that he finally returns to kneel at the spot where his friend fell and let the tears fall too.
18. Speed: The first time Zack had taken him on his motorbike through the streets of Midgar, Cloud had screwed his eyes shut and wondered why the hell the SOLDIER was laughing when they were quite obviously going to die.
19. Wind: If he rides Fenrir fast enough, sometimes the wind through his hair feels like Zack’s gloved hand descending again to ruffle it; he still has to remember the accompanying laugh for himself.
20. Freedom: He hopes that Cloud can hear him as he rambles on about all they’ll do and see once they have Shinra off their backs, however impossible it might seem now.
21. Life: For years after, he’s never too sure of what is himself and what of him was originally Zack- who was really living here and now?
22. Jealousy: It wasn’t until another cadet pointed it out that Cloud realised how Zack hovered around whenever he spoke to someone else without involving the SOLDIER; seeing his friend standing there with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed, Cloud couldn’t help but wonder why he got so worked up.
23. Hands: Zack’s hands are rough and calloused through years of sword wielding, yet Cloud decides he wouldn’t want them any other way, because if they were different, they wouldn’t say so much about the older man.
24. Taste: “Oh, c’mon, it doesn’t taste that bad!” Zack complains as Cloud spits out his mouthful; the blonde cadet raises an eyebrow as he passes his friend a takeaway leaflet and says, “Never again, Zack...just order in next time, OK?”
25. Devotion: It doesn’t even occur to Zack once that he might stand a better chance as a fugitive if he left Cloud behind along the way.
26. Forever: Forever somehow didn’t used to seem to be long enough when they said it to each other, yet now he’s alone with empty years stretching out ahead of him into distances beyond comprehension.
27. Blood: When Cloud arrives in Midgar he’s covered in blood but has no physical wounds; he can’t remember how it got there.
28. Sickness: He can’t give up hope that one morning there’ll be a sudden spark of responsiveness from Cloud, otherwise he may as well just surrender them to Shinra now.
29. Melody: Cloud clamps his hands over his ears with a groan, wondering when Zack will realise he’s serious when he asks him not to sing in the shower; he’s really not just asking to tease him.
30. Star: He was a grown man now, and wishing on stars seemed hopeless at best and ridiculous at worst; yet there he found himself every night, gazing up at them and willing Zack to return to him.
31. Home: “I’ll take you down to Gongaga sometime to meet my folks,” Zack promises, an arm draped round his boyfriend’s shoulders, “But only when I can be sure they won’t want to disown me and adopt you in my place!”; Cloud laughs and snuggles closer, saying he’d like to meet them, even if it is a backwater place.
32. Confusion: It’s strange: every time Aerith leans in to kiss him, all he can see behind his closed lids is blonde hair and blue eyes lighting up despite the shyness of the smile.
33. Fear: As a SOLDIER 1st Class, there’s almost nothing Zack is scared of- except the irrational bolt of fear that jerks him awake in the mornings to wonder where his lover is, before realising the infantryman has drill to attend.
34. Lightning/Thunder: This time there’s something different sparking in Cloud’s eyes as they pull back from the kiss, something that hits Zack as though he’s just been struck by Ramuh.
35. Bonds: The dark-haired man tests the ropes fastening his wrists to the bedposts with a smile and remarks that if he was woken by his lover every day in this manner he might be more of a morning person; the blonde just sits back on his heels and smiles.
36. Market: Zack laughs as they stroll through Wall Market and points out a purple dress on sale, remarking that it’d suit Cloud perfectly; Cloud just blushes furiously and punches Zack’s arm for his obviously ridiculous suggestion.
37. Technology: Zack had more friends- though perhaps ‘random acquaintances’ was a better term- on every one of his social networking profiles than he knew what to do with, but somehow Cloud’s was the only profile that he ever checked unprompted and every day.
38. Gift: He pushes the Buster Sword towards Cloud, knowing that even if he can’t give him the forever he always promised, perhaps he can at least give him the strength to fight on.
39. Smile: The way the cadet’s bright blue eyes light up with his faint smile makes Zack hesitate, mesmerised, for a fraction of a second before he turns to call down to Tseng.
40. Innocence: Sometimes Cloud will do or say something that makes Zack do a double take and wonder if he’d been reading him wrong the whole time.
41. Completion: Neither of them could really believe that something as amazing as what they had together could have come along so early in both their lives; they were too lucky to have found their other halves so soon; there had to be a catch, but neither wanted to acknowledge it.
42. Clouds: As far as he can see, the only thing better than one Cloud would be lots of Clouds...unless that would mean he’d have to share, in which case he’d e happier sticking with just one version of the blonde cadet.
43. Sky: He wishes that Cloud would look up just once instead of moping about in the crumbling church and realise just how vast life was compared to his grief, and just how much he had left to fight for.
44. Heaven: He’d like to think, at the very least, that Zack is wreaking havoc in the Lifestream; his lover had trouble so much as sitting still for a full minute, so the idea of him blending immediately and peacefully into the Planet’s life force doesn’t really seem all that probable.
45. Hell: He wonders what he did to deserve this, being able to watch and follow his lover’s every move, but never being able to reach out to console him or help him in his struggles.
46. Sun: Not a lot of sun makes it through Midgar’s pollution, but he only has to catch sight of a familiar mass of bright blonde spikes in the crowd to recall clearer days in the country.
47. Moon: He hates the way the moon makes Cloud’s pale skin look so sickly; he much prefers those overcast nights when he can huddle beside his friend in pitch darkness and pretend that he’s just sleeping rather than desperately ill.
48. Waves: “Just think of it, Spike: you and me, alone in Costa del Sol, just relaxing on the beach together, and hey, I’ll even teach you to surf, just like I always promised.” the dark-haired man murmurs, words low and melodic and utterly lost on his catatonic friend.
49. Hair: “It was fate,” Zack liked to declare to everyone and anyone who would listen, “We took one look at each others’ hair and realised that the Planet had obviously destined us for each other!”
50. Supernova: What they had was something unique, something special, something they’d never even dreamt of ever experiencing; it was as if the entire universe had erupted around them the instant that their paths had crossed, sealing them in their own cocoon of light so blindingly colourful and noises so incredibly deafening and feelings so damn intense that all they could be aware of was each other; they were all that existed, all that mattered; and then, all too brutally sudden, it was over.