Chapter Text
They accomplished the coup with surprising ease. Sephiroth had a tactical mind, having trained for battlefield strategy since childhood. Instead of leading a mass desertion in Wutai of SOLDIERs and Troopers, he and Angeal reported to Shinra that they’d persuaded the rebel SOLDIERs to rejoin the company. Then, the war supposedly back on track, he, Angeal, and other troopers and SOLDIERs returned to Midgar with the rogues in tow. That a nine-year old boy came with the rogues, or that the squadron held a tenth-birthday party midflight for him, went unmentioned.
Sephiroth’s Gelnika hover carrier arrived first. He reported straight to the president, which no one questioned; it was a long standing procedure. No Turks were at that meeting, waiting on the roof instead to take charge of the two truants. A call, made through the president’s secretary, said that he wished to meet with Hojo and Hollander immediately. The urgency raised no alarm. President Shinra was not a man to keep waiting.
Around the same time the helicopter carrying the rogues arrived, Directors Scarlet, Heidegger, and Palmer were called to the president’s office. The Turks, who memorized names and faces as easily as they lied, caught on that things were not as they seemed when the two rebellious ‘SOLDIERs’ stepped out onto the helipad. But they didn’t realize the extent of the company’s crisis, focusing instead on the threat the two unknowns might cause. They swept them away to an interrogation room, but just as they reached it, the probable spies were called up to speak with the president. Sephiroth was on the line, and the Turks knew he was as capable of protecting the president as they were. By time they caught onto the steady spate of executions happening in the president’s richly appointed office, it was too late.
Deepground came after, a nasty surprise. Cloud’s best offer for not having known about it was that the group may have been buried after Meteor, crushed by the collapsing rubble of Midgar. He hoped that was it, that his counterpart in the alternate timeline never had to deal with them. He could only imagine the trouble the Tsviets would have been grown up. As it was, Deepground’s troops weren’t as strong as SOLDIER. Their strongest combatants were just kids. The fighting hadn’t lasted long.
That was seven month ago.
“How was the consultation?” Zack asked as Cloud entered their shared apartment.
The place wasn’t big. Cloud placed the Fusion Sword next to the Buster Sword in the rack by the door before he answered, looking over the open counter that separated the kitchen from the combined living and dining area, two bedrooms, and bathroom beyond, and seeing Zack in tank top and shorts, doing squats.
“It was a board meeting, and boring.” Cloud wasn’t on the board. He wasn’t even part of Shinra, but Reeve liked to have him or Zack present for consultation. He couldn’t wait for things to change to the point where their information would be obsolete.
“Isn’t that why they’re called bored meetings?” Zack came up from a squat and bopped him on the nose with a finger.
“Pffft.” Cloud rolled his eyes and batted him away. He looked around at the quiet apartment. “Where’s Denzel?”
“Over at Angeal’s, playing with Nero and Weiss.”
Panic lanced through Cloud, but he squashed it. Denzel had been having a good effect on the preteen Tsviets, teaching them to be kids, not soldiers. Angeal was there, too, to intervene and keep things civil. Usually, Cloud or Zack went along, too.
“Are you sure Angeal can handle all three?”
“My younger self’s there, and half of SOLDIER, he’s fine.” Zack laughed at him fondly. “You mother hen.” He reached out and set his hands on Cloud’s hips. “So, anything going on I should know about, or can I whisk you away for a date?”
Cloud tilted his head, smirking. A date, huh? He put his hands on Zack’s chest, ran them up and down the black tanktop. Underneath it, his skin was warm and his heart rate elevated from the exercise. Cloud didn’t miss, though, that it beat a little faster still when Cloud touched him, or that his breath came faster.
Barret and Cid hadn’t used to call him a little shit for nothing. Instead of answering, yes, he was free, he started reporting on the meeting. “Reeve’s got some people from the Canyon coming out to talk about alternative energy sources.” Zack rolled his head back and groaned. Cloud’s smirk grew as he added, “And there’s an ambassador from Wutai scheduled to arrive next week.”
Zack caught his hands. “Real diplomacy between Wutai and Shinra, there’s proof that things’ve changed. But basically, you’re saying you don’t have anything to do tonight, right? Your schedule hasn’t changed?”
Taking pity, Cloud nodded. “Right.”
Instead of relaxing, Zack’s heart picked up again. “Then how ‘bout we take Skoll and Hati out for a ride?”
Skoll and Hati were their recently finished motorcycles. The designs were based off Fenrir, which he’d built in fits and starts, done and redone, over months. Skoll and Hati had been built much faster, and he’d put all the lessons he’d learned from Fenrir into their design.
He frowned, a bit suspicious of Zack’s odd behavior. He seemed nervous. “You’ve got something in mind?”
A short laugh. “Something,” Zack agreed.
“Do I get to know what it is?”
“Eventually.”
They sped along one of the looping highways out of the city together. The reactors were still going, staining the sky green, but Cloud was winning that battle. He thought he’d have them cold and shut down by the end of the year. Things weren't perfect in Midgar, but they were getting better, no doubt about it. Shinra’s chokehold was easing all over the world. Not everyone was happy about it, but Deepground’s retaliation had helped the coup more than it hurt. The secret force had been a prime example of why things needed to change, and much as Cloud loathed the thought, it had been effective from an optics standpoint. The tarnish of disloyalty and rebellion that might have stuck to the top SOLDIERs after their quiet, violent takeover was burnished away by the imagery of them saving the city from subterranean attackers.
Once they were outside the city, they opened the bikes’ throttles, letting them unwind. Gusts of wind whipped through his hair as he followed Zack west, away from the city. They tore across the wastes with dust billowing behind them until they hit the sparse grasslands near the coast. Lowering their speed, they cruised along the dunes, following the rise of the land up onto seaside cliffs. They had a good view of the glittering blue ocean from up here.
Zack rolled to a stop, the growl of Hati’s engine turning to a low purr before going quiet. Cloud pulled up beside him. He took a deep breath of the clean, salty air. It felt good to be out of Midgar. The ride and the vastness of the scenery eased tension he hadn’t realized he held. Zack dismounted, Cloud did the same, and they both stretched.
“It’s gorgeous out here. Go for a walk?” Zack offered, holding out his hand.
A walk along the beach, huh? He gave him a small smile, taking the offered hand. “When did you become such a romantic?” Their date nights were usually spent at arcades, trying a new restaurant Zack had found, or curled up at home with pizza and a movie.
Zack scratched sheepishly at his cheek as they started to walk. “Well… variety is the spice of life, right?”
His heart rate had sped up again, Cloud noticed. Why was Zack so nervous today? Knocking shoulders with him, he quipped, “As long as you’re not gonna feed me chili peppers, variety isn’t so bad.”
They only walked for a few minutes before Zack pointed out a copse of wind battered pines, their trunks twisted and gnarled from years of withstanding storms. “Let’s head that way.” A flash of color caught his eye as they approached. Beneath the pines, a blue and purple plaid blanket was laid out with china bowls, plates, and stemless wine glasses. A bottle of wine in an ice bucket and a wicker basket large enough to fit a child sat to one side. A second blanket lay folded next to the basket, and unlit lanterns hung from the branches above.
Cloud stared at it, then gave his boyfriend a hard, questioning look. “Zack?”
Zack pulled him over to the set up. “Genesis helped me come up with the idea, believe it or not. Guy’s a true romantic. Kunsel’s the one who actually set it up for me. I texted him before we left the city. And Angeal cooked all the food, though I think Denzel helped out when he was over there yesterday.”
Cloud was kind of in awe at all the people Zack had roped into this. He sat and watched as Zack started to pull food from the basket. It started with a covered glass bowl filled with mixed berries, spinach, walnuts, and crumbled cheese. Zack handed it over and Cloud found a spot to set in.
Zack pulled out another bowl, opaque, and lifted its lid to check its contents. “Some kind of chilled soup, smells like corn and lobster.” He passed it over, along with a long, crusty breadloaf.
“You don’t know what Angeal packed?”
“Nope, just that it’ll be good. These two are sides.”
Cloud checked the new bowl and tinfoil-wrapped plate. Roasted potatoes with blue cheese, and couscous stuffed peppers. He could smell a litany of herbs and cheese mixed into the couscous. Zack passed over something wrapped in a cold bag. Oysters. Cloud’s lips twitched. Thanks, Angeal.
But that wasn’t the end of it. The food kept coming. Zack held up another temperature controlled dish. This time it was hot, and when they took a peek, the scent of boozy mushrooms, caramelized onions, and tender beef wafted out. After that came a large container with a note, you’re going to have to arrange this yourself , stuck on top. Inside was a wooden board and many smaller containers. They opened each one and arranged the cheese board with soft and firm cheese, prosciutto, salami, grapes, olives, apple slices, tangerines, cherries, almonds, walnuts, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, rosemary crackers, honeycomb, and dark chocolate.
Cloud stared at everything. “I’m not sure how we’re supposed to eat all of this.”
“Eh, our metabolisms will take care of it. Besides we haven't even gotten to the best part - dessert.” At the bottom of the hamper were a pair of mason jars filled with alternating layers of dark chocolate cake and boozy stout chocolate cream. Zack held one aloft. “Alright! Let’s dig in.” He set down the jar, made himself comfortable on the blanket, and gestured to the feast. “Where do you want to start?”
Cloud stared around at the feast. “I guess with the cheese board? That’s supposed to be the appetizer, right?”
“Think so.” Zack reached over and snagged a tangerine slice, presenting it to him.
He felt the tip of his ears heat up at the implied offer but instead of scoffing and taking the fruit by hand, as his embarrassment insisted he do, he leaned forward, opening his mouth. “Dork,” he said before biting into the offering. The tangy flavor exploded in his mouth. Juice dripped down his chin. Zack wiped it away with his thumb.
“I love you so much.” Zack’s eyes were filled with so much warmth and want, Cloud ducked his head away from the intensity.
“I know.” He took the other half of the tangerine, by hand this time, before adding, “Feeling’s mutual.”
They spent the next two hours talking about little things. They steered clear of heavier topics like the past or Shinra and its politics, and focused on lighter things like a new video game and the prospect of racing their gold chocobos at the Costa del Sol track. They talked about Denzel’s school, and whether they should add delivery sevice alongside their mercenary work now that the bikes were finished.
Full almost to the point of being uncomfortable, Cloud sipped at the last of his dumbapple wine. “So are you going to tell me what’s the occasion?” This picnic was more elaborate than ‘a change of pace’ could explain.
“Well…” Zack set down his own glass, fidgeting with the blanket beneath them. “It’s been a year to the day since I asked if you’d date me, back in Gongaga. And, well… I’ve got another question now.”
Oh. A long drive, a walk along the sea cliffs, everyone helping out to give them a special evening, the quality and sheer amount of food. It finally all clicked in his head. Heat filled his face as Zack got up onto one knee, pulling a small box from a pocket. His face was painfully honest and sincere.
“Cloud, will you -”
“Yes.”
Zack blinked. “I didn’t even -”
Cloud cut him off. “I know what you’re going to say. The answer is yes.” His heart beat fast, and his skin almost burned with heat. He knew what Zack wanted to say, but he was too embarrassed to actually hear the words spoken.
“Can I at least -”
Cloud leaned forward and grabbed the back of Zack’s head, pulling him forward, kissing him roughly. When he pulled back both of them were flushed and breathing hard. He rested his forehead against Zack’s, staring into his eyes. His pupils were blown wide and flecks of violet showed between the artificial blue-green. “Yes. I want to marry you. I want to spend my life with you.”
He wasn’t great with words but it was easier to say them, letting them run out of his mouth, than to hear them.
“Oh,” Zack breathed before kissing him again.
Later they took the second blanket and sat wrapped up in it near the cliff's edge. Cloud sat between Zack’s legs and Zack had his chin resting on his shoulder. They were both looking at the ring on Cloud’s finger. It was a wide band of silver with an onyx inlay, a silhouetted pair of wolves running together.
“Please don’t lose that to any Zuus.”
Cloud laughed, remembering that adventure. “Promise.”
He leaned back into Zack, who was solid and warm behind him. The sun was setting over the ocean. Clouds of blazing red, pink, and orange reflected their colors onto the water. He’d lost Zack on a cliff, and got him back by the sea. Tonight, the two settings from their past blended and became a promise for their future.