no matter any weather

[exsurgo]

[ It’s funny how things come full circle, sometimes. They’d been on holiday in Costa del Sol when Zack pulled the fantasy of working a little farm together out of thin air. Now they’re moving everything into the little farm they’ve bought for cheap because the previous owners won big at the Gold Saucer, wanted to sell up and move to Costa del Sol. So lucky, it’s like something straight out of a dream. Fitting, since the process of getting here had seemed like a nightmare.

It started with Wutai. No, it should have started with Wutai. All those people who just wanted to live their lives on their own land, and Shinra sent in SOLDIER to make sure that didn’t happen. And Zack had done as he was told; loved it, even, thinking only of impressing Director Lazard. But then there’d been that girl who tried to scam him, sending him off to find materia, and it was only after Zack had made her cry a couple times that he started asking questions. Like, what did a little kid need all that materia for anyway, and where were all the adults in her life when she was out trying to swindle a member of Shinra’s elite fighting force?

He'd gone to Angeal hoping to be talked out of his doubts. That? Had not happened. What happened was a fast track to honorable discharge (with documentation that Zack strongly suspects was faked, because Shinra doesn’t let anyone go easy) for him and Cloud both, money that Angeal had said he wasn’t going to need with a funny sort of smile on his face. Zack hadn’t understood, but by the end of Angeal’s explanation he’d been in tears, and never more grateful that Cloud, at least, had never made it into SOLDIER. Although even if he had, it probably wouldn’t have stopped him from looking like he was going to faint when Angeal gave them both goodbye hugs and told them to live well.

He'll never forget it, but it seems very far away now. They didn’t have a lot of possessions to move. The farm equipment was included in the sale, and the house on the land is small but cosy; lots of polished wood surfaces, a fireplace in the living room, faded floral curtains that the owner had said would need to be replaced, but that Zack kind of likes. Best of all is the little stable with a pair of work chocobos; they’d been wary of Zack, fluffing up their feathers to seem bigger, but when Cloud had gone in and quietly said hi to them it had only taken about ten minutes for one of them to nestle her head in against Cloud’s neck and the look on his face had made it all worth it.

Tomorrow, he’ll be planting all day. There’s a tiny crop of corn and greens for chocobo feed, but the rest of the fields have lain fallow since the old owners made their plans to get out. It’s gonna take work to get it running profitably, but it’ll be good work. Honest. And he’ll have Cloud here with him; Cloud, who has just put down the last box and is standing there looking around the room like he can’t quite believe it. Zack can; he believes in this, because he believes in Cloud. He walks over and loops his arms around him from behind, nuzzles his face into Cloud’s hair. ]

Welcome home.

Comments

[meteorics]

[ cloud blinks.

... and then pulls back a little so he can look at zack properly. ]

... are you serious.

[exsurgo]

[ He's dead serious. ]

Sorry, man. You've packed in your dreams to live a quiet life on a farm with a guy who's too excited to take you to bed to use his brain.

[ OH WAIT ]

Take you to bed!

[ Hopefully that's actually what Cloud means, because Zack is already trying to scoop Cloud up into a bridaly carry to take him to the bedroom. ]

[meteorics]

[ fortunately for zack: 1) that is what cloud meant and 2) zack is hot enough that cloud is still willing to let zack take him to bed after that. (also that it's kind of cute when the puppy brain overrides zack's common sense, but cloud doesn't need to admit that.) ]

I can't believe everyone back at HQ was convinced you were a player.

[exsurgo]

They probably assumed I must've had game, since I managed to get the hottest guy there to fall for me.

[ He's grinning as he says it, readjusting his hold on Cloud so his weight is evenly spread. The house isn't big enough that it's going to be a long walk to the bedroom, but if he's doing this he's gonna do it right, and that means making sure Cloud is comfortable.

Of course, when they arrive in the bedroom, he gets a little kick out of not closing the door. It's their house! Nobody's around to walk in, or peek at them! Luxury. He carries Cloud straight to the bed, gets a little distracted by giving him a kiss before he puts him down, and then manages to tumble them both onto the new bedding on a valiant second try. ]

[meteorics]

You never told me Sephiroth had a thing for you.

[ dryly, just to tease him.

but the effect is kind of ruined by the way he laughs when zack tumbles them both down onto the bed. he reaches up to tug zack on top of him just so that he can lean up for another kiss, wrapping his arms around the other man's neck and pulling him down until they're flush together.

and hey, just for the record? this bed is a huge improvement over the one in zack's old apartment. ]

[exsurgo]

[ He's not going to dignify that with a response. Not when there are issues at hand that are so much more important. Like their first kiss in their new bed! He's not going to keep up the running commentary for Cloud - that'll probably get old fast - but it's all significant to him. All special. He lets himself be pulled, nestles himself into the space between Cloud's thighs. Even fully clothed, the position never fails to send a little charge of heat through him. And since this is their first new-bed kiss, he's gonna make it a good one. Pours everything into it. His relief at being free, his joy at being free with Cloud and the fact that they can share this. All the love inside him, love that seemed impossibly huge when he first realized that was what it was, but has grown larger every single day regardless, until it infuses everything he does. And desire, always there, always burning, in the drag of his teeth over Cloud's lip, the warmth of Cloud's mouth when he licks into it.

It is, in his humble opinion, a pretty good kiss. ]

[meteorics]

[ okay, yeah, it's a pretty good kiss. (maybe even a damn good kiss.) cloud moans a low sound into zack's mouth as the other man deepens the kiss, arching up against him just to get closer. that's the thing about kisses like these -- somehow, it feels like he can never get enough. the more cloud has of zack, the more he always ends up wanting.

and somehow, impossibly, he's lucky enough to be able to have as much as he wants. ]

[exsurgo]

[ That sound is all the confirmation Zack needs that he's treating Cloud right! He pulls back, ducks in again for one more press of his lips to Cloud's mouth before he moves those kisses along the cut of Cloud's jaw and down to his neck. Long and pale and gorgeous, and Zack drags his teeth there in a way he never really dared before - while their uniforms hid all manner of sins there were still such things as communal showers, PT gear, any number of opportunities for things to get spotted and called out.

Not any more. It's a thought that's maybe a little too inspirational, and when Zack next applies his mouth to Cloud's neck it's with sucking pressure. ]

[meteorics]

[ oh.

cloud makes a little noise of complaint when zack pulls away from the kiss, but it's quickly squashed by those kisses trailing along his neck and jaw. then he's more than happy to tip his chin up to give zack better access, and that first little scrape of teeth is enough to make him gasp.

but then zack finds a tender little spot and really sucks down on it, and cloud moves to tangle his fingers into zack's dark mess of hair with a choked-off little moan. it's the first time he's really thought about it -- that they don't have to be careful not to leave marks, and, uh. wow?

it's hot. even hotter, somehow, that zack wants to do it to him. ]

Zack...

[exsurgo]

[ Oh, hell.

That moan Cloud makes, the way he says Zack's name - it's so fucking hot it goes straight to his dick. The sounds Cloud makes are always incredible, but it's that added extra edge that comes from knowing he's done something just a little reckless, leaving a mark on Cloud's skin - like claiming him, almost, property of Zack Fair - and Cloud's into it. He gasps against the stretch of Cloud's throat, drags his tongue over that spot maybe a little firmer than necessary. And when he pulls back, looks at Cloud and sees a little mark blooming there on his skin? ]

Fuck. You're so hot, Cloud.

[ He's moving to peel Cloud's shirt off with indecent haste. Desperate for more skin to touch now, and though he won't mark Cloud all over he can't promise there aren't going to be just a few more of those. For now, though, he presses a line of kisses over Cloud's collarbone on the way down to tease Cloud's nipple up into a little bud with his tongue. ]

[meteorics]

[ there's a part of cloud that always wonders if it'll ever get old to hear someone like zack fair tell him how hot he is. (somehow, cloud seriously doubts it.)

the little spot on his neck is throbbing, a sure sign of blood rushing to the surface of the skin -- enough to make cloud imagine the mark it might leave. a sign of how much zack wants him, a sign that he wants to show the rest of the world. ]

Not as hot as you.

[ using the hand he has in zack's hair to rake it back away from his face, the tips of his fingers rubbing over his scalp. he's tempted to stop zack in his tracks and insist that he ditches the shirt, too -- fair is fair! -- but that also means making zack stop what he's doing, and... sometimes, cloud is selfish. especially when zack's mouth finds one of his nipples, and the electric zing of sensation is enough to make cloud arch up with a hiss. ]

[exsurgo]

[ Zack would protest, but that hand in his hair is good, and the way Cloud arches up seems like a request. So teeth there, too - just a scrape of them before Zack sucks at the hard peak that forms, circling his tongue there.

It occurs to him suddenly that today - for the rest of their lives - they don't have to be on time for anyone but themselves. Not the first time he's had that thought, but it is the first time he's used it to arrive at the realization that they can ruin one another with no fear that one or the other will be called out suddenly for an emergency. They can go so hard and so long that neither of them can get out of bed until noon, and be responsible to no-one. It makes his mouth - still working at Cloud's nipple - curl into a sharp smile. ]

Tell me what you want. I wanna give it to you. Anything you can think of. We don't answer to anyone anymore.

[meteorics]

[ zack teases at his nipple, and the stimulation is so sharp and so good it makes cloud whine out a low sound. sometimes it's almost funny how well a guy who misses a cue as obvious as the one from earlier can play him when he tries; cloud's long past the point of being embarrassed at how quickly zack can get him hard.

... and how quickly zack can get his brain to stop functioning at full capacity, apparently.

because when he speaks, it takes cloud a moment to actually process the words. but his expression softens when it does, shifting that hand in zack's hair so that he can stroke his fingers along the other man's cheek. making sure he has all of zack's attention when he speaks. ]

You. [ warm, low, earnest. ] It's always been you. It's always gonna be you.

[exsurgo]

[ Oh. ]

I'm all yours.

[ Just as earnest, soft not because he's emarrassed about it but because for once in his life he doesn't feel any need to be loud. The only person that matters is right here, with a hand on his cheek and Zack's heart squarely in the palm of his hand. He nuzzles into that touch, dips to press a brief kiss against Cloud's lips. ]

Forever.

[ Now Cloud gets his wish about Zack ditching the shirt. Skin against skin, nothing between them - that's how it should be, and he ditches all of his clothes in a flurry of movement before he turns back to undress Cloud with considerably more care. Kissing over his stomach as he unfastens his jeans, following the trail of it with more kisses as he peels them away. Then back to his mouth once they're both bare, the kiss soft and sweet, reveling in the fact that it's just the two of them. ]

[meteorics]

[ ah.

there's a sight that never gets old. zack strips his shirt over his head, and cloud's eyes are on that newly bared skin instantly -- reaching out to trail an appreciative hand down zack's abdomen before he leans in again. it's kind of funny how easy it's been to get over the initial shyness he had those first few times they were together; when the idea of doing anything without the lights off and the covers up was enough to make him jittery with nerves. but it's hard to hang onto that when zack is so obvious in his appreciation, when he makes it so clear how attractive he thinks cloud is, how much he wants him. even those stupid, gnawing voices of self-hate don't stand a chance when zack is around. (well. most of the time, anyway.) ]

Dunno if forever is gonna be long enough. [ just pausing for a moment to enjoy this, the closeness, bumping their foreheads together and brushing another kiss over zack's mouth. ]

[exsurgo]

[ The way Cloud touches him is never gonna get old. Zack still remembers the first few times, when Cloud had either been so hesitant it's like he was waiting for permission, or done something as bold as put a hand on Zack's stomach with an expression of defiant determination. Now he touches Zack in a way that shows he understands a truth that Zack's held in his heart almost since they met - he is Cloud's, completely and totally. ]

Longer, then.

[ Until they're old and wrinkly, and beyond that until they pass back to the lifestream. Their love will make rivers flow, flowers bloom - oh! ]

Wait, I have something -

[ A little tin in the drawer of the nightstand. There's lube in there too (he has his priorities - all his clothes are still in a bag, but the bed is made and the lube is good to go) which he fishes out and places nearby for good measure, but pulls the tin back so Cloud can see, pops the lid. Inside, petals. Purple at the tip, fading through to creamy white, dried and so paper-thin they're slightly translucent. ]

I wanted to get flowers to give you when we arrived, but Aerith said they'd never survive the trip. And I remember back in Costa del Sol you made a joke about rose petals, so I got her to show me how to dry these so they'd last. It's not exactly roses, but she says they symbolize new beginnings.

[meteorics]

[ there's a blink as zack suddenly shifts to fish something out of the nightstand, and cloud props himself up on one elbow so that he can see. honestly? with zack, you never exactly know what you're getting. it could be a drawer dildo that he pulls out with shameless enthusiasm ("i thought we could try this out together!), or...

it's something heart-meltingly sweet.

cloud reaches out to brush his fingertips across the petals, expression soft. it makes his heart ache that zack remembers a little throw-away comment from months ago, that it would mean so much to him that he'd go to all the trouble to put together this gift. then again, that's zack all over. so much more than cloud can ever believe he deserves. ]

Zack. [ pitched low. he doesn't have the words, everything that comes to mind just seems... trite. stupid. ... but it does bring to mind something he's been rolling over in his head for months, something that was always impossible when they were back on active duty. ]

I've been -- [ sitting up just a little further, reaching up to pull the dog tags off from around his neck. it doesn't compare to those little petals, not at all, but it's still irresistible to know it's something he can have, now. ] ... I want you to wear these. I've been thinking about it for a while.

[ rubbing his thumb over the raised metal imprint of his name, suddenly a little self-conscious. ] I just want you to have part of me with you. Always.

[exsurgo]

[ Oh, wow.

Zack still has his tags... somewhere. Buried in his stuff. He'd taken them off the second their leaving was official, known he'd never wear them again, but couldn't quite bring himself to throw them away. But Cloud's? He can wear those proudly. A little piece of Cloud to sit over his heart, the same way he carries Cloud inside it. ]

Cloud...

[ He can't think of anything to say that would express what he's feeling. Ducks his head instead, inviting Cloud to deliver the dog tags to their new home. ]

[meteorics]

[ and cloud's more than happy to deliver them there. loops them carefully over zack's head, then reaches around to tug his hair gently out from under the loop of chain. with zack still leaning over him, they swing free -- but cloud takes a moment to press them against zack's chest with his fingertips, holding them against zack's heart. ]

They look better on you, anyway. [ with a little lopsided smile, leaning in to steal another kiss off zack's mouth. ]

[exsurgo]

[ Aw, shit. Aw, fuck. He is not going to cry.

Cloud presses his hand over the tags, over Zack's heart, and Zack folds his own hand over it. Leans in to that kiss and takes a breath. ]

Would you ever wanna -

I mean, we'd have to wait a while, probably, make sure everything died down. Let everyone back at HQ forget about us, or assume we got disappeared, or whatever. But when it does, do you think you'd wanna...

marry me?

[meteorics]

[ it takes a second. nothing more than the space of a breath (or maybe two), and then...

... cloud huffs a laugh. just a little one, though!

and before zack can get the wrong idea, cloud takes his face in both his hands and leans forward to kiss him. long, slow, sweet. making sure he feels the yes in it, all the love and adoration that belongs to zack and zack alone.

and when he finally breaks away, there's a smile teasing at the corners of his mouth. ]

You know I already dropped everything to run away and start a new life with you, yeah? If you're asking if I want a ring and a ceremony to seal the deal, then yeah. Mostly because -- [ he's teasing here, stealing another kiss off zack's mouth. ] My mom would kill you if you didn't make it official.

But I'm already yours in every way that counts.

[exsurgo]

Wouldn't want to make your mom mad.

[ And he leans in for another one of those kisses, because they're amazing. And he's happy, yeah! Cloud said yes, and he's right! They're already together, in it for the long haul, forging out on this new life together, but -

he shakes his head. ]

I didn't ask right. And that's totally on me, it kinda... snuck up on me there. But I've been thinking about asking. For ages. Not because I think we should, or because I want your mom to know I'm serious, or because my mom is gonna write me a letter a day about it once I tell her about all this. Because it's important to me. I know it's old-fashioned. I just... It's like when I realized I was in love with you. I never realized I wanted it until I really, really did.

[meteorics]

I want it, too.

[ he does! absolutely, without a doubt. maybe it’s old-fashioned, but maybe cloud has always been a sucker for old-fashioned, anyway. and the idea of being able to promise to spend his life with zack? until they’re old and wrinkled and he’s heard every single one of zack’s lame jones at least a thousand times? it sounds pretty perfect. ]

I guess we don’t get to call this the honeymoon yet, huh? [ leaning up to nip playfully at zack’s lower lip. ]

[exsurgo]

Practice round?

[ Anyone else would think he was sidestepping the issue. He's confident Cloud won't; Cloud always gets him. It's just... he trusts Cloud. If Cloud says he wants it, he wants it. Nothing more to discuss until he asks properly, preferably without his dick out. Now? They can get on with celebrating.

The petals suddenly mean a lot more to him after all of that than he thought they would, so he grabs just one. Holds it up mock solemnly between thumb and forefinger, displaying it for Cloud, and lays it on the bed. ]

There.

[ Like it's some great achievment - but then it's back to the job at hand, peppering kisses over Cloud's neck and chest. ]

[meteorics]

[ the great solemnity with which zack places that single petal on their bed is enough to get a laugh out of him, letting his body drop down against the mattress again and arching up a little to welcome those kisses. ]

Y’know, since you’re such a traditional guy — [ a little pause as zack’s mouth finds a place that makes cloud’s breath hitch. ] We could always wait ‘til marriage?