Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Alliance ❯ Chapter 36

“Alliance”

Chapter 36

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(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)

*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can't get enough of this world and the characters.*

~***********************************************~

 

“Uh,” Zack said stupidly, looking warily from his companions to his father. “Beg pardon, sir?”

 

“One of the neighbors has the internet,” explained Mr. Fair. “A while back, he showed me this clip he found on one of those home movie sites. This young fellow with wings rescued another fellow in Junon and someone caught the whole thing on video.”

 

Zack chuckled nervously. “It must have been someone else you saw Dad…and it was probably just special effects.”

 

The older man shook his head stubbornly and peered up at his son with crafty eyes. “I thought the same thing too, but now that I see you in the flesh again I'm sure it was you.”

 

“What are you going on about?” Zack's mother huffed in confusion. “You saw our son on a film clip and you never told me??”

 

Mr. Fair winced. “I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure and I didn't want to get your hopes up. It was you though, wasn't it?” He looked at Zack again, his features stiff with determination. “It wasn't just some fellow that looked like you.”

 

Zack lowered his eyes and nodded. “I didn't think you'd ever see that clip, since it took so long to convince you just to get a television.”

 

“I don't understand,” his mother cut in with growing alarm. “What are you talking about? How long have you really been out of your coma, son?”

 

“A while,” admitted Zack softly. He cast a guilty look at his mother and sighed. “I couldn't come and see you right away because we were in the middle of a crisis. I'm working with ShinRa again and we've just come back from Icicle after a long fight against a terrorist army. Besides the fight against Deepground, I didn't know what you'd heard and I was kind of afraid I'd scare you both to death if you thought I was dead and I just showed up on your doorstep.”

 

“I think we need some coffee,” Mrs. Fair said faintly. For the first time, she noticed that her son looked exactly as he had before he'd left Gongaga. Shouldn't he have aged at least a little? And what was this about wings?

 

“That's a good idea, Mom. I'll tell you everything when the coffee's ready.” Zack's smile was the same kind, lighthearted one she remembered and she relaxed a little. Whatever her son had been through, whatever changes had occurred in him, the old Zack was still in there somewhere.

 

~********************************~

 

Cloud stayed utterly silent as he sat down beside Zack on the couch. The black-haired fighter explained things with Cissnei's help, leaving out the part about him falling to ShinRa bullets. Cloud was afraid he'd say the wrong thing and give something away if he added his input so he only nodded now and then in agreement.

 

“So Cloud came out of it first and it was some time after that that he met you two on his way through here,” Zack explained. “He didn't know I was still in the lab until the WRO found me when they investigated it. I've been on their team ever since.”

 

“Thought you said you were working with ShinRa,” Mr. Fair pointed out with a frown.

 

“ShinRa, the Turks and the WRO are an allied force now,” Cissnei explained gently. “ShinRa funds the entire thing.”

 

“So this coma was artificially induced?” Zack's mother asked with a frown. “What did those scientists do to you while you were in their hands?”

 

“Don't worry,” Zack hastily reached across to the armchair she sat in and took her hand reassuringly. “I'm fine now. I've got a clean bill of health and other than a few enhancements, I'm still me.”

 

Mrs. Fair examined her son, her eyes going to his shoulders. “What about the wings, dear? Can you…show them to us?”

 

Zack nodded slowly. “You have to promise you won't freak out, okay?”

 

“I promise,” she said solemnly. “If you had just shown up with them right away I might have panicked, but I'm expecting them now.”

 

Zack was satisfied with her answer and he looked to his father. “What about you, Dad? Do you think you're ready for this?”

 

“I've already seen it,” he shrugged. “I'm not going to keel over on you, son.”

 

Zack nodded and pulled his shirt off. He'd only packed regular shirts because he honestly hadn't intended to show his parents the wings while he visited. He thought he had enough control over them now to get through the weekend without allowing them to manifest. He resisted the urge to smirk as Cloud's bright eyes followed his motions helplessly.

 

~Too bad we'll have to keep the fooling around to a minimal while we're here. Even if I do get the courage to come clean about my love life to my folks, we're not going to have much privacy for nookie.~

 

He finished removing the shirt and stood bare-chested before his waiting parents. With a bit of concentration, he let his wings come out and he closed his eyes and winced, waiting for a scream or a curse of disbelief. When he heard nothing but swiftly indrawn breath, he cracked an eye open and looked down at his parents, sitting side-by-side in their cushy armchairs. Both of them were staring at him with undisguised awe on their lined faces, but they didn't appear to be afraid.

 

“May I?” Zack's mother said as she hesitantly began to reach out. Zack nodded and smiled at her, turning a little to give her better access to his wings. She stroked them slowly and admired the sweeping white expanse of them. “And you can really fly with them?” she asked a moment later.

 

“Yes Ma'am,” Zack nodded, shooting a grin over his shoulder at her. “I'm not half-bad at it, either. It was a little bumpy starting off but I think I've got it down pact now.”

 

“Well son, that's…that's amazing,” Mr. Fair said with honesty. “Maybe you can give your old man an air show tomorrow, eh?”

 

“Anything you want, Pop,” Zack chuckled.

 

“I wonder if your children would have these,” pondered Mrs. Fair as she pulled her hand away from the wings.

 

Zack winced and exchanged a look with Cloud. Cissnei also looked a bit uncomfortable but it wasn't her place to say anything about Zack's relationship status.

 

“Um, about that,” Zack began uncomfortably as he pulled his wings back in and pulled his shirt on. “Children aren't really in the cards, Mom.”

 

She frowned. “What do you mean? You've brought your little girlfriend with you…I thought that meant the two of you are starting where you left off.”

 

“We were never officially dating,” Cissnei explained softly. She blushed, embarrassed that she'd given his parents the impression that Zack was her boyfriend over all these years.

 

“I've gotten involved with someone else,” Zack added as he sat down beside Cloud. The blonde looked utterly horrified when he put a hand on his knee and squeezed it, right there in front of his parents.

 

“What are you doing?” Cloud muttered out the side of his mouth as he pushed at the hand squeezing his knee.

 

“It's cool,” Zack muttered back. “They've gotta find out and I'm not going to act weird or ashamed about it, kid.”

 

Zack's father was eyeing both of them and his hazel eyes settled on the hand that Zack had placed on Cloud's knee. The significance of the gesture wasn't lost on him despite his old fashioned ways. Cloud's face became a charming shade of pink and Mr. Fair noticed that, too.

 

“Well, he blushes like a lady,” the older man grumbled. “But son…we thought you liked apples…know what I mean?”

 

Mrs. Fair was slower to catch on and she looked from her husband to her son with evident confusion.

 

“I do like apples,” Zack agreed with a nod. “I like them a lot. It's just…I like oranges too, Sir.”

 

Finally getting what was happening, Mrs. Fair gave a little startled gasp and stared at the way her son was squeezing his blushing blonde companion's knee. “B-but Zack…you know we love you regardless, but we'd rather see you choose one or the other,” she said as tactfully as she could manage. “You could make yourself sick if you eat too much of both.”

 

Zack pinched his lips to hold back a laugh. He cleared his throat after a moment and rubbed Cloud's knee gently, despite the blonde's uncomfortable squirming. “Don't worry, I've decided which one I'm going to stick to. Uh, unless something goes wrong it's just oranges for me now, you know?”

 

“But oranges can't give me grandchildren,” sighed Mrs. Fair in disappointment. She didn't seem angry or alarmed so much as unhappy with the prospect of never being a grandmother.

 

“Some apples can't give grandchildren either,” argued Zack. He grimaced as soon as he said it and shot an apologetic look at Cissnei—whose fertility had been destroyed by the assault on her body. “I mean, nobody can tell whether they can have kids together until they try anyway, Mom. All of the experiments and treatments done on me probably made me sterile anyhow. I've never had it checked but I know it's a pretty common side effect of Mako enhancements.”

 

“You're both…safe, aren't you son?” asked his father. Mr. Fair wasn't happy about the lack of grandchildren in the future either but he knew Zack had a good point. The treatments that young men went through in the SOLDIER program were nothing to brush aside and he couldn't imagine Mako infusions being good for a man's sperm count. He chose to focus on more immediate concerns.

 

“We're safe,” Zack confirmed. “We're careful and we're happy together. Cloud and I are going to buy a place between Midgar and Junon. You'd both like it; it's out in the country and there's a pond and acres of land. We're thinking about raising chocobos there, someday.” He was talking too fast and he knew it. His country accent was returning full-force as he rushed to explain things to his folks. He never would have said his parents were prejudiced against gay people but he couldn't be sure they'd accept their own son being one of them.

 

“Well son,” began Mr. Fair thoughtfully, “I know combat can bring men closer together, so I guess I'm not that surprised. We've got some retired military folk around here that think of their comrades as family.” He looked Cloud up and down, taking in his youthful features and pretty blue eyes. “Guess you could have done worse,” he muttered in closing.

 

“I think I left something outside,” Cloud murmured. He tried to get up but Cissnei grabbed one of his arms and Zack grabbed the other before he could get off of the couch, effectively holding him down.

 

“Here, drink your coffee,” Cissnei ordered briskly as she reached for his forgotten cup on the nearby coffee table and handed it to him. “I'm sure you didn't leave anything outside, Cloud.”

 

“Don't let us frighten you away, dear,” sighed Zack's mother. Her eyes were kind on the blonde. “Naturally, we're a bit shocked but we're just happy that our boy is alive and well. Please, stay with us while Zack visits. You're all welcome in our home.”

 

“You mean that?” Zack asked with delight.

 

“Of course I do,” she answered with a little smile. “You're our boy and nothing's going to change that. We've got a lot of catching up to do.”

 

Zack lunged across the distance and impulsively hugged her slight frame. “You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that,” he whispered as she hugged him back.

 

~*******************************~

 

After having supper, Mrs. Fair washed Zack's soiled shirt for him, despite his protests that he could do it. She refused to wash it with the other clothes because the bug filth might not come off and could contaminate other clothing articles. They had some tea and chatted together before the night grew long. The sleeping arrangements were a little tricky but Zack refused to let a lady sleep on the couch. He insisted that Cissnei sleep in his old bedroom while he and Cloud took the fold-down couch.

 

“I don't know about that, son,” his father mused as he watched Zack spread a sheet over the futon and dump a couple of pillows his mother had brought out on top of it. Thankfully, Cloud wasn't close by to hear the conversation. He was on the back porch with Cissnei and Mrs. Fair.

 

“What do you mean?” Zack asked, pausing in his work to look at him quizzically.

 

“I'm not so keen on the thought of you two sleeping together,” the older man explained. “You know we don't approve of unwedded fooling around, boy.”

 

“Uh, Dad…we're a couple of guys,” reminded Zack with a smirk. “There's never going to be such a thing as `wedded' fooling around for us, unless you can convince the laws to recognize marriage between a pair of guys as legit.”

 

Mr. Fair frowned deeply. He really hadn't thought of that and now that his son was one of the people affected by societal gender expectations, he realized there wasn't really a way to be fair about it. “Would you marry him if you could?” he asked uncomfortably.

 

“In a heartbeat,” Zack answered without hesitation. “See this ear stud?” He showed his piercing to his father, who looked less than thrilled but was clearly trying to be open-minded. When the older man nodded, he went on; “Cloud picked it out for me. I guess you could say we've already sort of made our vows to each other, even if we didn't exchange rings or sign an official document.”

 

“Then I guess you're about as `married' as you're ever going to be,” sighed Mr. Fair. “I'm still not too comfortable with it, but I'm not going to tell you not to sleep next to him.”

 

“We're not going to fool around,” Zack promised with a blush. “Even if Cloud was a girl and we were married, I couldn't do that under my parents' roof.”

 

“Oh, well good.” Mr. Fair didn't try to hide the relief in his voice. The last thing he wanted was to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and catch the boys doing things he'd rather not think about. He was still reeling from surprise and until he got more used to this relationship his son was in, his understanding could only stretch so far.

 

~*********************************~

 

“You didn't tell them about Reno,” Cloud said softly as the two of them settled into the makeshift bed together, after everyone else had gone to sleep.

 

“I know,” Zack sighed. He put an arm around Cloud and pulled him closer. “I just couldn't. They've had three shocks already today and I didn't want to lay that much out so soon. I'm lucky they accepted you…who knows how they'd have reacted if I told them I was eating two oranges at the same time?”

 

Cloud huffed a laugh. “I guess you're right. I was sure your Dad was going to flip out when you started squeezing my knee.”

 

Zack's response to that was to reach down under the covers and give his rump a squeeze. “If I really wanted to freak him out I'd have done this,” he said with his customary, wolfish grin.

 

“Cut it out,” Cloud grunted as he tried to pry the other man's hand off his ass. “This isn't the place for that sort of thing.” He looked at his lover's face in the dim moonlight and despite his protests, his heart rate picked up. It wasn't easy being a prude with such a good-looking guy hitting on him.

 

“Relax, chocobo-head,” Zack chuckled. He nuzzled Cloud's neck and resumed embracing him around the waist. “I'm not going to jump you while we're under my parents' roof. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy a little grope in the dark before bedtime, though.”

 

“I'll give you a grope,” Cloud mumbled.

 

“Whoa!” Zack jumped a little as his companion's hand sought out his groin and squeezed it through his pajama pants. “Now who's the pervert, here? You just one-upped me on inappropriate touching, Goldie!”

 

Cloud put a hand over Zack's mouth and cast a nervous look around the small living room, sure that the other man's exclamation was loud enough to disturb his parents' sleep. “Shhh, you're going to have them coming down here to check on us if you don't keep your voice down!” He whispered harshly.

 

Zack smiled behind the blonde's muffling hand and gently disengaged it. “We're not a couple of kids having a slumber party, Cloud. You act like we're going to get a spanking or something.”

 

“I just don't want them catching us doing something we shouldn't be doing in their home,” Cloud huffed. “I'm sorry I groped you. It was just a spur of the moment thing but I didn't think you'd yelp like that, okay?”

 

Zack shrugged. “You can grope me like that anytime you want. You're just too easy to pick on, is all.” He finished the sentence with a smirking kiss that made Cloud forget whatever he was going to say in protest. “Goodnight, Cloudy.”

 

“G-goodnight,” Cloud stammered. He shifted a little in an effort to keep his pelvis from pressing against Zack's body and giving away the affect that their little play session and subsequent kiss had on him. He failed to do so and he grumbled with annoyance when Zack's body shook with soft laughter.

 

“It's not funny,” Cloud whispered, “and it's your fault I'm like this.”

 

“You're right, the boner's not the funny part,” Zack murmured into his ear, making him shiver. “It's the way you're trying to hide it from me that's cracking me up. Damn, that shy streak of yours is cute.” He nibbled the lobe of the ear he was speaking into, playfully catching the wolf's head earring between his teeth and tugging it. Cloud squirmed and made a soft sound of distress and Zack chuckled again and kissed him on the mouth.

 

“Okay, I'll stop playing.” Zack pulled back to look into Cloud's glittering eyes, detecting the rising lust in them. “You're kind of hard to resist sometimes, sexy.”

 

“Keep it up,” Cloud warned in a low voice. “I'll drag you out the front door and into the forest if you push me too hard.”

 

“Mmm, me like,” Zack purred. He brushed his lips softly back and forth over Cloud's and the blonde gasped and groped his package again. Zack kept forgetting how spontaneous Cloud could be and it was a delight to be reminded now and then. “Would you really drag me out into the woods to have your way with me?” His breath caught at the end of the sentence as his lover's hand massaged his hardening groin.

 

“You're going to find out if you don't stop teasing me,” Cloud said with utter sincerity. “I'd rather we got through the weekend without pawing at each other like a couple of animals but you're pushing it, pal.”

 

“Says the guy that's rubbing my crotch.” Zack grinned again when he felt the heat radiating from his companion's face that could only mean he was blushing. He pressed against Cloud's hand and sighed, sliding his own hand down low on the blonde's back to cup his bottom again.

 

“Okay, we've got to quit,” Cloud announced breathlessly…but his hand remained where it was and Zack's continued to fondle his backside. When the larger man's hand slipped around to the front and into his pajama pants, Cloud groaned softly. Zack started stroking his erection with gentle, steady motions, his warm breath quickening against Cloud's lips.

 

“How about we just pet each other a little while we go to sleep?” Zack suggested huskily.

 

“Can't do that,” Cloud panted with a shake of his head. He started humping Zack's gripping hand instinctively while at the same time, he began to return the favor. “I'm going to come if you keep doing it,” he finished. He started kissing the other man's neck while he burrowed his hand into his pants and gripped his cock.

 

“You keep arguing about it but I don't see you stopping,” Zack reminded him. He swallowed a moan of pleasure. Cloud was right, of course. There was no way they could just “pet” each other without making a mess and the temptation to get some lube and finish what they'd started was growing stronger by the minute. Reluctantly, Zack stopped fondling his smaller companion and he eased Cloud's hand out of his pants.

 

“Sorry Cloud,” Zack apologized softly. “I'll admit I started this but you're right; I don't think we'll be able to stop if we keep going.”

 

Cloud nodded wordlessly. He was afraid if he tried to speak right now it would just come out as a frustrated howl. Instead, he snuggled close to Zack and rested his cheek against the smooth skin of his chest. He loved to hear the sound of the other man's heart beating…it was comforting to him. Zack's arms went around him and he rested his chin on the crown of his head. Sleep was a bit difficult to come by for both of them at first but eventually, their bodies calmed down and they drifted off together.

 

~***************************************~

 

The rest of the visit went smoother than Cloud thought it would. Zack showed off his flying abilities for his father in a little clearing not far from town. He almost did it right there in the village but his mother tactfully reminded him that the townsfolk might not handle the sight of a winged, flying man very well. Cloud expected all kinds of covert looks of judgment from Zack's parents but they seemed content just to know their son was alive and happy. Mrs. Fair even took a liking to Cloud by the end of the weekend. She told Zack as much while he and Cissnei were helping her hang laundry.

 

“'Cloud' is a really unusual name,” she said conversationally as she glanced at the blonde. He was out of earshot, near the front of the house helping her husband chop wood. “I assume it's not so uncommon in Nibelheim?”

 

“Yeah,” agreed Zack. He took the other end of the sheet Cissnei was holding and helped her fold it once before hanging it on the line. “Nibelheim wasn't a bad little town. They had some weird customs but the place had some charm to it.”

 

“Why are you talking about it in past tense?” Mrs. Fair raised an eyebrow at him as she pinned a shirt to the line.

 

Oops. Zack had forgotten that ShinRa covered up the destruction of Nibelheim. All his parents knew was that he and Cloud got hurt in the reactor and taken into the lab. Most of the world didn't even know about that fight, in fact.

 

“I guess I just think of it that way because of bad memories,” Zack improvised when Cissnei gave him a warning look. “I liked the place up until I ended up in a test tube.”

 

“And after all this time, you two are together,” Mrs. Fair observed with a little smile in Cloud's direction. “He's a quiet fellow for certain, but he's polite and really sweet. I can see why you're so attached to him.”

 

Zack's lips quirked as he thought of some of the things Cloud muttered at night after everyone went to bed. His mother might not think Cloud was so “sweet” if she'd overheard him threatening to drag her son off into the woods.

 

~*********************************~

 

There was a motive behind Mr. Fair asking Cloud to help him chop wood, instead of asking his own son to do it. He wanted a little more time alone with the blonde to make sure Zack wasn't making a mistake.

 

“So you want to raise chocobos, son?” Zack's father asked as he piled some wood onto the wheelbarrow.

 

“I'm hoping to someday, Sir.” Cloud was a little surprised by the familiar way the man was speaking to him…almost as if he were family. He almost missed his mark as he went to split another log and he grimaced and hoped Zack's Dad hadn't noticed the slip.

 

“Do you know anything about chocobos?” persisted the older man.

 

Cloud paused and smiled a little, nodding. “I raised some for a while, sometime after I stopped through here for the first time. I had to rent the stables for them, though.”

 

“Well that's good,” approved Mr. Fair. “I'd hate to see someone trying to raise animals if they don't know what they're doing. Too many accidents could happen.” He noticed how much Cloud was sweating, despite the blonde's lack of complaints. His fair skin was flushed from the heat too. “I think we've got enough wood now. You look about ready to catch fire and Zack'll have my hide if you have a heatstroke.”

 

“I'm okay,” Cloud protested softly, but Mr. Fair shook his head and took the axe from him.

 

“You've chopped plenty. This is the hottest time of the year and even people who were born and raised here can't work in the heat for long without getting sick. Go inside and get cleaned up, boy.”

 

Cloud nodded and did as he was told. Mr. Fair watched him go and his wife came up beside him from the other end of the yard.

 

“So? Are you happy yet?” She persisted in a low voice.

 

“He's a good kid,” he admitted. “Hard worker, good manners…I can't find a damned fault with him except that shell he's got around him.”

 

“I'm sure Zack's already wiggled his way inside of it,” Mrs. Fair guessed. “I sure do wish he was a girl, though. I thought for sure he'd settle down with sweet little Cissnei someday but I guess that's not going to happen. I know Zack might not be able to have little ones of his own but I'd at least like the chance of grandchildren.”

 

Mr. Fair put an arm around her. “I know. Can't always get what we want, though. He seems happy enough so let's just leave it at that.”

 

~*************************************~

 

“Now you remember to call us when you get settled in at your new place,” chastised Zack's mother as she and her husband walked them to the path leading out of the village. “I don't want to spend another slew of years not knowing if you're alive or dead!”

 

“I promise, Mom.” Zack smiled at her and swallowed a lump. “When we get the place set up, I want you and Dad to come visit. We'll send air transportation to make the trip easier for you.”

 

“Maybe you should ask your partner first, before inviting us to come and stay,” Mrs. Fair reminded with a meaningful nod at Cloud.

 

“No need, Ma'am,” Cloud assured her. “It's kind of a given that family's always welcome.”

 

~I just hope Zack finds a way to tell you about Reno before then.~

 

“Well then come here and give me a hug,” she insisted, holding her arms out.

 

Cloud predictably blushed and complied, hugging the woman awkwardly while Cissnei and Zack looked on with amusement. Zack's father was more reserved about saying goodbye to him and he shook his hand before hugging Zack and Cissnei.

 

“You get better soon, girl,” he said to the petite Turk. “Watch those city drivers from now on. Some of `em would run over their own grandmother in their rush.”

 

“I will,” she promised as the embrace ended. She exchanged a hug with Zack's mother before seating herself in her wheelchair.

 

Zack hugged his mother tightly before reluctantly pulling away. He waved at his parents and started down the path leading into the jungle with his companions. Cissnei protested when he started pushing her chair but Zack leaned over and muttered that if his parents saw him letting an injured lady wheel herself, they'd come up behind him and kick him in the pants. With a little sigh, the Turk allowed him to push her until they were out of sight of the village. Fortunately, they didn't run into the bug problems they'd experienced on the way in.

 

~**********************************~

 

Reno was already there with his chopper when they made it out of the dense forest. The engine was off and he was standing by the pilot door having a cigarette. He spotted them coming out and he waved and put his cigarette out before jogging over to them.

 

“Guess I should have given it more time before I headed this way to get ya,” Reno said. “I've been here for more than a half hour, yo.”

 

“Sorry about that,” Zack apologized. “I should have reminded you it takes a while to get through the jungle. Thanks for bringing us here and picking us up, man.”

 

Reno shrugged and walked alongside them back to the chopper. “Don't worry about it. So how'd the visit go with your parents? Did they flip when they saw ya or what?”

 

“They were surprised, but I found out Dad already kind of knew I wasn't dead. One of the neighbors showed him that clip of us.”

 

“The first thing he asked was where Zack's wings were,” confirmed Cloud with a smirk. “I've never seen Zack go so pale before in my life.”

 

“Well it was creepy!” the black-haired fighter said defensively. “I mean, my parents aren't into computers so I didn't count on either of them getting on the web and seeing that clip. It was like my Dad had psychic powers or something and it floored me for a minute.”

 

“His mother didn't know about it,” Cissnei added. “She handled it pretty well when he showed them to her, though. When he spilled the beans about him and Cloud I was a bit worried, but they took that in stride, too.”

 

“Well, I didn't tell them the whole truth,” Zack muttered uncomfortably. He stopped and shifted on his feet.

 

Reno paused and turned to face him. Zack looked suspiciously guilty and Cloud just looked nervous. “What's wrong? What did you leave out that has ya both looking like scolded cubs?”

 

“I was afraid to give them too many shocks in one visit,” Zack admitted. He looked at Reno with apologetic, blue-violet eyes. “They took it pretty well so I didn't push my luck. I never told them about you.”

 

Reno shrugged. “Hey, I never told my Ma all the details about my relationships. Sometimes you've just gotta play it cool and keep some things to yourself.”

 

Cloud and Zack looked at one another before the latter spoke up again. “The thing is, I've got to tell them sooner or later. They're going to be visiting us sometimes and so are you.”

 

“You don't have to tell `em,” Reno argued. “We'll just make sure I don't come visit at the same time. It won't hurt my feelings `cause I know I'm not the best at being discreet, yo.”

 

Zack shook his head. “No. I'm not hiding you from them and that's that. I'm just going to have to find a way of telling them without just blurting it out. Maybe once they get more used to the idea of me being with a guy in the first place, they'll be more understanding that I'm with two.”

 

Reno sighed and gave Cissnei an almost pleading look.

 

“I'll just get into the chopper and let you guys talk,” she said tactfully.

 

“Thanks, doll,” Reno said. He caught Zack by the arm as the other man moved to follow her. “Where do you think you're going, Wolfy? The lady can get in by herself and we're gonna have a little talk before we head back to Junon.”

 

Cloud grimaced, guessing where this was going and knowing that the opposing personalities of his two lovers were about to clash. He dropped his duffle bag and sat down on it, waiting for it to be over with.

 

“You got real lucky your parents accepted Cloud,” Reno started. He held up his hand when Zack opened his mouth to interrupt, “Those people come from a different generation than us, Zack. My own Ma was one of the sweetest, un-judgmental people I knew but she grew up in a different world than me. I never told her I was screwing both my bosses, my partner and Strife because I knew that no matter how much she loved me, she might not be able to handle it.”

 

Reno stepped closer to Zack and stared him in the eye. “If you think there's a chance you could fuck up your relationship with your parents by telling them about the three of us, don't do it. Take the chips you've won and be happy with `em because you've only got one Ma and one Dad, and they ain't gonna be around forever. What they don't know about us isn't going to hurt `em and by the sounds of it, you might be better off that way.”

 

A smirk grew on the redhead's lips. “Besides, I'm not like Cloud. It makes sense that they'd like a do-gooder like him but if you try to bring home a hood like me, they might disown ya.”

 

Zack was taken aback by the unexpected speech. He smiled at the last part and sighed. “I've said it before and I'll say it again; you're lying through your teeth when you say you're selfish, Red.”

 

Reno snorted. “Think I wanna listen to you moaning about being disowned? Face it Zack, I've got my own reasons for giving you the clue bat and saving myself from hearing you whine is one of `em.”

 

“If you say so,” Zack shrugged. He picked up his duffle bag and winked at the Turk. “This isn't over. I'm going to take your advice for now but some day, I'm going to tell them the truth.”

 

“Fucking boyscout,” Reno grumbled, rolling his eyes.

 

“Are we done yet?” Cloud muttered crossly.

 

“Yeah, we're done Blondie.” Reno offered a hand to Cloud and helped him to his feet. “Get that sweet ass in the chopper so we can go home. I wanna enjoy you both while I've still got you in civilization with me.”

 

Cloud and Zack shared a look and Reno groaned. “What now?”

 

“I think someone needs a camping trip,” Zack said thoughtfully. He grunted as he shouldered his bag. “What do you think, Cornflower?”

 

“I think so too,” agreed Cloud.

 

“Now they want me to go camping,” Reno snapped. “Well, to quote my partner; `Oh, hell no'. Forget it, guys. You're not making a country mouse outta me.”

 

“We're not trying to,” argued Cloud.

 

“We just think it would be good for you to see it's not as bad as you think,” added Zack. “Come on, Reno…just give it a try. We could go in a couple of weeks, after Cloud and I have things set up in the barn.”

 

“I can't believe I'm even having this conversation,” griped the Turk. He looked at his lovers sidelong as they walked together. Both men were staring at him and though their faces were very different from one another, somehow they both managed to pull off the same identical “puppy eyes”.

 

“Damn you two,” Reno groaned.

 

Zack and Cloud smiled.

 

“It'll be great,” Zack promised. “We'll just pick you up a straw hat and some buckwheat to chew on and you'll fit right in with us.”

 

~*********************************~

 

-To be continued