glaciers have melted to the sea

[exsurgo]

[ Before he’d actually made SOLDIER, Zack had figured the mako treatment was a one-time deal. Get an injection or whatever and BAM! You’re supercharged! Go fight the good fight! The reality of it is that it’s an ongoing thing, and not even one you can really plan for because you get like three day’s notice – a week, if you’re lucky – and then you have to go in and get a treatment that takes all morning and can leave you useless for days. If there’s a pattern to it Zack doesn’t know what it is – one time Angeal got called in twice and Zack didn’t even have to go once – but the one time he asked about how they decided who got treatments when, the people in medical told him it was classified in a snooty kind of way that made it sound like he should have known better than to ask.

This time, he gets told two days ahead. It’s the shortest notice he’s ever had. It feels different after, too; he feels achy and heavy and a little sick to his stomach, which is normal, but it usually makes him want to sleep for a week and this time instead of that there’s just this buzzing under his skin, restless, like an itch. He can’t help thinking maybe it’s for the best; this is the first time he’s been called in while he and Cloud have been together, so it’s the first time he’s gonna see Cloud after, and he’s glad Cloud’s first intro to what he’s gonna have to do eventually isn’t one of the really bad ones.

Cloud’s pretty great about it, though. The guys from medical wheel Zack back – standard procedure – and Cloud is waiting, ready with a surprisingly well-told fib about just being here to keep an eye on his friend, and he brings Zack some water and steers him right to bed to sleep like Zack had warned him he’d probably want to do, and just sits with him, running fingers through his hair in a way that really does help with the headache.


Except. Zack can’t sleep. That itchy-under-his-skin feeling is still there and the pressure that feels like it’s building up in him is only getting worse. He fidgets, tosses and turns a little, and he doesn’t mean to be rude when Cloud asks if he’s okay and he doesn’t respond, it’s just a lot. Eventually he plants his face into Cloud’s lap, frustrated, wanting the comfort, and -

oh. Oh. Yeah. That’s better. That’s good. Cloud smells amazing, and before Zack really knows what he’s doing he’s pushing Cloud’s shirt up and out of the way so he can bury his face against the younger boy’s stomach, breathing him in and pressing a warm, open-mouthed kiss to the skin there.

He’s popped some unexpected boners before, but he’s never gotten hard as fast as he gets hard once he’s touching Cloud’s bare skin. ]

Cloud.

[ He has more to say than that, surely! He pulls at Cloud's shirt. ]

Off.

Comments

[exsurgo]

[ He breathes out just hearing that, a sigh, soft and warm. He already felt calmer but just that is enough to have the last little zips of tension dissolving out of him, leaving him floaty and boneless. He wants to stay right where he is, but he's conscious of how much heavier he is than Cloud and uses the final shreds of energy in him to roll them, so Cloud's draped over him instead of squished under him, and that? Is perfect. ]

I feel... good.

[ It's an understatement, except in comparison to how he usually feels after a treatment. Limp and drained, sure, but in a bad way. Not this, not something suffused in warmth and affection. He lifts one heavy hand just enough to cup at the back of Cloud's head, stroking tenderly through his hair. ]

Should have you here for every treatment.

[meteorics]

[ the feeling of zack shifting is enough to prompt a drowsy little whine of protest. but cloud settles back down as soon as he realizes that zack isn't actually trying to pull away -- and even though he already misses the feeling of having zack's weight pressing down on him, this is good, too. he rubs his cheek sleepily against zack's chest, making a low sound of contentment as zack's fingers card through his hair. ]

Mmhmm? [ he's not quite back to the point of being able to form words. ]