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

[meteorics]

[ cloud strife is bound and determined to be a Very Good Boyfriend.

he knows he's lucky to get to be with zack! really lucky! and even if zack's response to that is always that he's just as lucky to be with cloud, it doesn't change the fact that cloud wants to... deserve it? so he does what he can! he corralls the dirty laundry that zack flings everywhere to the hamper, he remembers zack's favorites whenever they order takeout, and... okay, the time he tried to cook zack breakfast in bed was sort of a disaster, but at least zack thought that cloud smoking out his apartment in the name of pancakes was funny?

but this? taking care of your boyfriend while he's sick? cloud is determined to be awesome at this.

he's heard from general SOLDIER gossip that mako treatments usually suck, and he's done his best to prepare for the worst. cans of chicken noodle soup and packets of saltine crackers are already stowed in the pantry, the stuff to make heat packs or cold compresses is laid out and ready to go, and he's rented zack's top five action movies in preparation for a weekend spent camped out on the couch. he's gonna be the best at taking care of zack! he's gonna show zack (show the universe!!) that he's considerate and reliable and the best choice when it comes to boyfriends.

but first? sleep. sleeping it off is supposed to be the best thing to do in the face of mako side effects, which is why cloud steered zack right to bed. and it's nice, being able to be all cozy like this, stroking zack's hair and waiting for him to --

... uh.

take?? cloud's clothes off??

whoa, whoa!! this is the wrong bedtime routine!! ]

Z-Zack! [ he can feel the heat rushing into his face, unsure whether the Responsible Boyfriend is supposed to put a stop to this. shouldn't zack be resting? ] I thought you wanted to sleep?