Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Heartbreak Banishment ❯ Real Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: Well, I was in the middle of writing something when I needed inspiration, so I went back to read my reviews. Lo and behold should I read one for A Nostalgic Kind of Thing that told me that I had broken Blue Baroness' (or Lauren, as she has signed) heart. Bah! We can't be having that (even though that was the intent of the story)...

So this one's for you, Lauren, if you happen to catch and read it. Consider it an "Ouch" band-aid, or perhaps some partially eaten paste for that out-of-service heart of yours, just in case you need cheered up. <3 Hope this one turns out a little happier for you. ^_~

Oh, and for all you Scrabble lovers out there, "Zax" is in the official Srabble dictionary. So it's legal. ^^

Cloud snuggled his body deeper under the covers, taking in the scents of his two favorite people. It was midday, and he had no classes, though there was a heap of homework to greet him. The blonde stretched his body languidly, feeling joints pop and muscles strain. His mind was filled with lusty recollections of the night before, and they all brought a grin to his face.

He was content, more so than he had been in weeks, even though he was studying status ailments at that particular moment, and it was causing his stomach to churn. He flipped the page in his book and grimaced at the graphic pictures displayed for his viewing pleasure, jotted down a few vocabulary words, and quickly turned to the next page. It was, thankfully, an all-text chapter review.

His writing became gradually sloppier toward the bottom of the page, as he had only the soft, cushy bedclothes to brace his arm against as he wrote. The words spilled themselves upon the lined paper quickly, and Cloud decided that if he was actually going to get anything worth while done, he had best stop thinking about Sephiroth's back muscles or Zack's silky tresses and start focusing on the symptoms of poisoning and why you shouldn't stay silenced for more than 48 hours.

Unfortunately, he became so focused on his assignment that when the door cracked open quietly and a dark figure snuck in, it was the farthest thing from his attention. Large, booted feet crept across the thick carpeting without a sound, and, when the figure reached the edge of the bed, it grinned psychotically at the confirmation of his prey's complete unawareness. The feet then backtracked, carrying their owner three quarters of the distance it had taken to get to it's original destination, stopped, and then rushed forward. Having been trained for both power and stealth, the room remained silent still as the dark figure hurled itself into the air, and promptly landed directly on top of the blonde teen snuggled into the disheveled bed.

A loud, startled scream pierced the dead air, and, after a bit of panicked struggling, the figure found itself straddled uncomfortably (its head was jammed against...a book?...and its arms were bent at odd angles) with a gun shakily leveled at its forehead. It looked up into the beautiful blazing eyes of Cloud Strife and could not help but grin in complete amusement and pride. "Top o' the morning to ya, gorgeous!"

The shock and disbelief in the blonde recruit's face was almost unbearably funny, and the stalking figure had no trouble expressing this. His stomach heaved in large sobs of laughter, earning himself an acidic glare from the previously peaceful teenager. The gun was lowered hesitantly and replaced under the bed, allowing the figure to roll to his side, still gasping for air. "That wasn't funny, Zack!"

"Oh yes it was, Cloud, yes, it definitely was." He rolled back over and embraced the blonde briefly, both thinking that his laughter was spent for the time being, but thoughts of the boy's body nearly leaving his skin flooded the predator's mind, and he began to chuckle to himself again. "You should have seen you... I swear, if I hadn't been on top of you, we'd have to peel you off the ceiling with your own sword! And your face!"

"Damn it, Zack!"

Zack broke into full laughter once more, trying to sober himself for the sake of his friend, but failing miserably. "Too bad Sephiroth missed that. He'd have been laughing, too!"

The blonde shoved himself away from the brunette and smooshed himself against the headboard, pouting irresistibly and trying to keep his eyes indignant. Alas, at Zack's playful laughter and bright eyes, he began to fail miserably, and a smile tugged at his lips. The brunette leaned up and kissed him gently, urging him back into his previous position. Silence fell upon them for a moment as Zack greedily kept the blonde's lips to his own. Cloud grumbled after a moment, however, and pushed his lover away. "You're still in uniform."

"I just came from work!"

"It's pulling all the covers over!"

Zack sighed good-naturedly and clambered out of bed. Grinning, he quickly peeled his uniform from his body until he was standing in his boxers. The spiky brunette then formed a pout and held out his arms to his sides as an implied apology. Cloud smiled, melting Zack's knees immediately, and lifted the covers in invitation. While the elite climbed in, Cloud resumed his studying.

"Whatcha studyin', Spike?" Hands calloused by swordplay found themselves kneading tension from the recruit's slender shoulders, and Zack simply stopped thinking. His goal was to listen to Cloud, sure, but he also wanted to take advantage of the situation and memorize the way the blonde's body felt beneath his. Not that he hadn't already, of course, but reminders were always nice, weren't they? If he took the time to think while he was feeling the recruit up, things would certainly turn into much more, and though that was certainly enjoyable, he was perfectly happy to just soak up the moment as it stood.

Cloud had paused in his writing the second Zack's hands had touched him. His eyelids fell to half-mast and his brain began to shut down at the rough pleasure emanating from his back. How he loved massages. Especially Zack-massages. Mmm. "Status ailments and how to cure them with and without magic," he murmured, "and after that, I've got defensive materia strategies." Like a cat, he arched into the fingertips on his flesh as they trailed a firm path down the center of his spine.

"Gah, how boring. I remember that." Zack smiled at the reactions he was wringing from the blonde. Cloud was so much fun... if only he'd loosen up a little in public! "Have you even slept yet?"

"No, not since you and Sephiroth left for your meeting thing."

"You're gonna wear yourself out, Spike."

"No, I'm not."

Zack stopped his massage and smoothed his body against the slender teen, chest-to-back, and peered over the bony shoulder to watch Cloud resume writing his notes once again. The blonde's handwriting looked like nothing more than chicken scratch, but he was in no place to criticize, as Sephiroth often had to get a translator to read his battle reports. The thought brought a smile on his face, and he grinned, kissing his friend's ear. "Wanna take a nap with me, then? I'm kinda tired. It'd be nice."

Cloud looked skeptical, and was about to open his mouth to protest when Zack wrapped his arms fully around his midsection and rolled them over onto their sides. The brunette then buried his face into Cloud's back dramatically and made a great show of stretching and becoming comfortable. Despite his hardest efforts, Cloud couldn't keep himself from laughing, and reached forward to close his books and set them on the floor. He was tired, after all, and he hadn't just slept with either of his high-ranked lovers for a very long time.

Snuggling back into the strong circle of his mentor's arms, he was vaguely surprised at how tired he actually was.

Sephiroth's glare could have melted the paint off of walls. He was fresh out of a meeting with President Shinra and Professor Hojo, two of his favorite people, and he was not amused. They were so incompetent that it soured his stomach, and he stalked down the halls wielding Masamune with a deadly air.

The only thing that remotely cheered him was the fact that he had the afternoon theoretically off, though he always seemed to be on call for something. Usually by Shinra or Hojo. His top lip curled, and he snarled at an unsuspecting secretary.

His feet were on autopilot, as his mind was filled with wrathful fantasies of 7 feet of steel embedded through Hojo or Shinra. Sometimes both. He found himself arriving at his quarters, and, jamming the key into the lock, he slammed the door open loudly and kicked his shoes off.

He hated being in a bad mood.

Masamune went in its sheath on the mount next to his bed, and as he draped his coat over the foot of the bed, he noticed a small, scribbly note taped to his side table. His fist curled at the possibility that it was from one of his few higher-ups.

Seph-

Went to see what Spike was doin', so I'm probably over in my room. But I guess you could have gathered that, ne? Try to stop by... you know it's empty without ya.

-Zax

The silver-haired soldier blinked momentarily, then felt relief settle on his gut. He read the note over two more times, finding it amusing how the brunette could turn "Zack" into "Zax" simply because his handwriting was so terrible, then ran a brush through his hair and set off for Zack's quarters. Cloud did have his own room, technically, but though he had been loathe to admit it at first, he and Zack were surprisingly fond of the boy.  A mirthful smirk came to his lips at the thought of a mere recruit seducing two full-blown first class SOLDIERs, but hell. C'est la vie.

His thoughts were still murderous, but had significantly quieted in anticipation of alone time with his two lovers. He hadn't had proper time to spend with them since he didn't know when.

The door was cracked when he arrived, causing him to quirk a brow. He reached up and pushed the slab of wood open quietly, much as Zack had done earlier, and then felt his insides go to goo at the sight before him, much to his great displeasure.

Clothes were strewn about on the floor haphazardly, Zack's uniform shirt anchored by Cloud's books on top of it. The covers on the bed were mussed and crooked, twined around the two deeply slumbering bodies within. Zack was laying nearly on top of Cloud, who was taking up as much space as possible (as usual, he snorted), not bothered in the least by the dead weight that rested upon him. Their breathing was deep and even, nearly synchronized, and Sephiroth just shook his head at it all.

He suddenly longed to join them, though he couldn't pinpoint as to why. He had never been a... what did Zack call it... a "cuddler". They made the bed look so achingly comfortable, however, and his body groaned in protest to staying upright any longer, though he wasn't particularly tired.

Stripping his clothes from his body, he tried his best to purge all thoughts of the Shinra execs from his mind and slid into the warm king-size, not really having to put effort into limiting his actions. Cloud, and especially Zack, could sleep through anything if they wanted to.

His gaze fell upon his two sleeping lovers, and his heart smiled. Though it didn't reach his face, as smiles nearly never did, it was reflected in his eyes. He knew it was a weakness; Hojo had taught him that at a young age, and he had also learned it the hard way, as most teenagers seem to learn things in that method. He didn't care, though. He was warm and safe, relatively happy, and would probably get laid when the two woke up, so why worry?

He ran his fingers first through Cloud's hair, then down Zack's side, letting his arm linger over the two bodies. Then, he waited patiently.