Chapter Text
Cloud takes a deep breath.
In
Out.
He steps onto the block, taking his position. The first signal sounds, then the second.
Then the whistle blows.
Cloud’s in the water, pacing himself. This is a four hundred freestyle, he knows if he swims as fast as possible like the others in the pool, he’ll have no energy for the last one hundred meters.
He speeds up every fifty meters, and by the time he’s touched the wall, he rips his goggles off.
First place, the board reads. And it’s a whole second faster than his last four hundred freestyle.
He’s grateful this is his last race. Fatigue feels like it’s weighing him down by the time he’s shook hands and stepped out of the pool, the adrenaline rush finally wearing off.
“Hey, that was a good race, man.” A familiar voice says from somewhere behind him.
He looks around, trying to find the source, until he meets eyes with Zack, who’s pushing through the crowd to get to him.
Zack’s face is lit with a smile. Cloud can feel a pleasant warmth spread through his body at the sight. He could look at that smile forever.
“Wha- thanks.” He responds. How did Zack know he had a swim meet? Must’ve been Tifa’s doing. Zack finally reaches him.
“You were so speedy, you were like ‘woosh’ the whole time!” Zack says, making little motions with his hands as he talks. It reminds Cloud of an excited puppy.
Zack the puppy. Sounds about right.
“Thanks, although my time was pretty bad for backstroke…I placed third...” He admits, scratching the back of his head.
“Hmm. You looked pretty great to me.” Zack says, shrugging. Cloud’s face flushes. Zack just… complimented him?
“Oh yeah. Uh… Cloud, can you drive?” Zack says suddenly.
“Yeah? I got my license junior year.”
“Would you mind driving me home? I came here to see you, but then my ride had to go early, and I don’t have my license, and I-”
Cloud laughs. “It’s fine. I can drive you home, no problem.”
Zack exhales a sigh of relief. “Thanks. And here I thought I was gonna be stuck here!”
Cloud shakes his head in mock exasperation. “Let me go change, and then we can go.”
Cloud does a mental checklist as he changes in the venue’s locker room. Is there food in his car? No. Is there trash in his car? No. Is his car messy? A little bit, but only in the back. Okay. So my car’s not a disaster. This’ll be fine. Although his mind keeps repeating I came here to see you. His choice of words is very… specific, and interesting. It doesn’t sound very platonic, though he could be mistaken. He hopes he isn’t.
He leaves the locker room, and him and Zack start to walk to the car. All the while, Zack is still talking about how ‘awesome’ and ‘amazing’ Cloud was.
“You’re exaggerating, it wasn’t that entertaining.” He says with a flattered smile.
“I’m not, you were really cool!” Zack exclaims as he settles into the passenger seat. Cloud can’t help but laugh at the sight.
“Zack, you are way too fucking tall for my car.” He chuckles.
“Ugh, tell me about it. Every car ride ever. ” Zack responds, moving his seat backwards.
Zack gives him the address, and Cloud is surprised to find Zack’s home isn’t too far away from his.
Once Zack has been dropped off, Cloud returns home.
Today’s been a good day.
---
Zack’s in a good mood that next day. All he can think of is Cloud. Cloud giving him a ride. Cloud swimming. Cloud laughing at his jokes.
“Someone’s in a good mood.” Reno comments. Cloud isn’t in the classroom yet, so it’s just him and Zack.
“Am I not allowed to be happy?” Zack frowns. Reno’s really good at reading people, like dangerously good, so of course he would notice Zack’s extra-happy mood.
“I feel like you’re hiding something from me…” Reno trails off, lost in thought.
“Oh. Did you finally hook up with Cloud?” He says finally, smirking.
“ Reno. ”
“Uhh… just kidding.” Reno laughs nervously upon seeing Zack’s glare directed at him. Zack doesn’t like saying ‘shut up.’ He views it as one of the rudest things one can say to another. He settles for communicating his feelings through his face most of the time.
Cloud eventually rushes into the classroom, the last one to arrive.
“Oversleep?” Zack whispers as the teacher hands out pastels. Cloud hums an affirmation. He seems tired, but upon meeting Zack’s concerned gaze, he explains he was just exhausted from yesterday’s meet. He feels some relief, and it surprises him.
He’s never felt this way before. Never had someone else affect him in this way.
I…love him.
The thought surprises him a bit. Not because he doesn’t know this already. Because it’s the first time he’s truly felt this way.
Studio art is enjoyable, for once.
*
Biology is not enjoyable. That’s just normal at this point.
But it seems Hojo is feeling particularly malicious today.
First, he calls on Cloud to answer a question. Fair enough, except it’s a question on a topic they haven’t covered. Cloud stutters, and hangs his head in shame when he can’t answer the question. Of course he can’t answer the damn question, we haven’t been taught this yet.
It makes Zack angry. Cloud should be smiling , not frowning. Reno must hear him shifting and fidgeting restlessly, because he turns around.
“Zack. Just don’t. It’s not worth it.” Reno whispers. He’s right. He doesn’t yet have a genuine reason to be personally mad at Hojo. Yes he was nasty to Cloud. And that sucks. It would make him look really bad if he were to snap now.
But then Hojo turns away from the board.
“ Zachary. You should not be talking while I'm teaching.” He says harshly.
Zachary. Only Angeal had ever called him that.
He can finally put his finger on it. Hojo reminds him of Angeal.
Zack is shaking. He’s a good student, he’s not about to yell at a teacher.
Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.
Reno is turned around again, mouthing ‘calm down’ frantically. Reno knows. Knows how much he hates being called that.
“Something, wrong, Zachary? ” Hojo says. Zack doesn’t even know what happens, but he’s suddenly on his feet, chair falling to the floor. Everything is tinted with red.
Nobody gets to call him that.
“Shut the fuck up.” He yells at Hojo. The classroom gasps, shocked at his sudden outburst. He can’t take it. Hojo’s looking at him, satisfied, as if he’s been waiting for this.
He shakes his head and walks out of the classroom. He’s not dealing with this today. Or ever.
---
Zack’s left the room. Reno is holding his head in his hands, as if he knew this was coming. The other students are still wide-eyed and shifting around in their seats. Cloud knew something was wrong. There must’ve been. The look on Zack’s face when called by his full name being a dead giveaway. And Hojo still said it again, despite that.
What an asshole.
Cloud knows it’ll get him in trouble, but he gets up anyways, running out of the room and down the hallway.
“Zack?” he calls. He hears footsteps, knows it’s Zack because come on no one else wears those combat boots, and follows them.
“Zack!” He says, finally catching up to an angry Zack.
“Wha-Cloud? What are you doing here? You’ll get into trouble.”
“I don't care. You’re more important.” He states. Zack looks conflicted.
“I…”
“Don’t worry about me.” Cloud says. Zack’s finally stopped walking, and they stopped near the bottom of the stairwell. There’s no other classrooms around here, just them and the thick silence between them.
“What Hojo did just now… was shitty. He shouldn’t have done that. And you have every right to be upset.” He elaborates. Zack exhales a shaky breath. Cloud feels infinitely worse knowing that Zack is trying not to cry.
“Cloud, I…”
“It’s okay.” He says softly. A silent tear runs down Zack’s cheek. Cloud feels it pull at his heartstrings. He doesn’t realize what he’s doing, moving on autopilot as he wipes at his cheek with his thumb. Zack’s skin is soft, and he feels a strange sort of longing for the other.
Zack’s moving closer to him, and Cloud’s mind is screaming yes, he’s been wanting this just as much, and he stands on his toes to close the distance between them.
Zack’s lips are smooth, just like his skin, and they move around his as if they’ve done this a million times before, it feels so natural.
Zack’s hand softly grasps at Cloud’s jaw, and his arm wraps around his waist, pulling him impossibly closer to him against his chest.
He’s so caught up in it, he barely registers the footsteps approaching them fast.
They pull apart from each other quickly as Reno turns the corner.
“Holy shit. I haven’t ran that much in ages.” He pants, hands on his knees.
He looks up. “Are you guys okay? Hojo dismissed class early, and I wanted to make sure you guys were alright, you kinda just ran out.”
“Yeah. I’m feeling better now, although I'm sure I'm in a shitload of trouble for doing what I did.” Zack says. Reno nods. He doesn’t comment on the fact that they’re still standing way too close together.
“Yeah, Hojo was fuming. You’re probably fucked. But it’s whatever, I’m glad to see you’re at least doing better.”
A woman on the loudspeaker comes on, as if on cue.
“Would Zack Fair and Cloud Strife please come to the office.” She says.
“Well- anyways, good luck.” Reno says just as the bell rings.
Cloud is so tempted to kiss Zack again, and the other looks like he’s in the same boat. But they’re in a public area, and the hallways are slowly filling up with students exiting class. Too risky, even in a rarely-used stairwell.
They walk to the office. Zack does most of the talking, Cloud’s just mostly there to confirm that Zack isn’t lying. Eventually, a guidance counselor walks in and asks to meet with them privately.
Cloud doesn’t know what she talks about with Zack, but he makes it quick.
“Hojo called him by his full name. It seemed-when he reacted badly to it, he did it again. It felt like he did it on purpose.” He admits. She sends him out after a bit, telling him neither he or Zack are in trouble.
He’s relieved at that, although he had a feeling they weren’t in the wrong. But still, he values his position on the swim team, and would hate for that to be jeopardized because of Hojo.
By the time he’s back with Zack, it’s lunchtime.
“Hey. Want to eat lunch with Aerith today?” He asks. He doesn’t want to leave Zack, but also doesn’t want to leave Aerith on her own.
“Yeah, sounds good.” Zack still seems a little discouraged, almost as if he’s mad at himself. Cloud doesn’t comment.
“Oh my god.” Aerith says when they walk into the room. “Are you guys doing okay? I heard what happened.” She says sympathetically.
Cloud nods as he unpacks his bag. “Yeah, we’re good.”
“I knew Hojo was a creep, but I didn't know it was that bad.” She continues.
“Also. Why’s Zack here?” she whispers to him once Zack is distracted. Cloud’s face turns red, and that seems to be the only answer she needs.
“Ohhhh… I get it.” She smirks, poking him in the side playfully. “So you finally made a move.”
“Stop.” He states. “I'll text you later.” He adds, once he realizes she’s not gonna stop until she gets a proper answer.
---
Zack should be happy he’s finally getting to eat lunch with Aerith and Cloud. But right now, he’s more concerned about Hojo. The counselor had seemed to be understanding, but he knew yelling at a teacher usually has its consequences.
Cloud’s saying something to him, but he barely registers it. He’s the volleyball captain- what if he gets kicked off the team?
“Zack.” Cloud says. The stern tone of his voice snaps him out of his thoughts.
“Sorry- Yeah?” He responds, flustered. Cloud’s looking at him with a strange look on his face. It’s not a bad look. It’s doing things to his heart.
“You okay?” Cloud asks, studying his face.
“Y-yeah.”
“I doubt you’ll get into much trouble, if that’s what you’re worried about. The counselor- she mentioned something to me about Hojo doing this before.” Cloud says thoughtfully.
“I see.” He responds. He’s still looking through his backpack, it doesn’t seem he remembered to pack a lunch. Cloud seems to notice this.
“You wanna take mine?” He asks. Zack wants to protest, but he’s so hungry his stomach is starting to eat itself.
“Yeah. Sorry.”
“For what?”
“Taking your lunch.” He says seriously.
Cloud laughs at that, surprising Zack.
“Don’t be sorry. I wouldn’t have offered if I genuinely wanted my lunch today.” Aerith giggles at that one, too.
Zack’s feeling better already.
*