[Fic] Permission to Touch - FFVII, Zack/Cloud, 3/3
Title: Permission to Touch
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Pairing: Zack/Cloud
Rating: NC-17
Part length: 8606
Total Length: 23,094

Summary: Thanks to Zack, Cloud has a chance to actually meet his childhood hero, Sephiroth. There's just one small hitch...

This part is not work safe!



He heard the quiet footsteps behind them, but he didn't think much of it. Partygoers had been trickling out of the room in couples and small groups, and most of the SOLDIERs would be headed back the same way they were going. It wasn't until he realized how tense Zack had gotten that Cloud started to look around to see who was following them.

"Don't," Zack said before Cloud could twist around to see over his shoulder. He kept his voice low, and his eyes were intense. "Don't look. Just be ready to move if you need to."

Not sure just what the hell was going on, but more than willing to trust Zack's greater experience, Cloud nodded slightly and shifted his weight so Zack would be able to break away quickly if he needed to. It still looked like Zack was hampered by Cloud's weight, but in truth Cloud was hardly leaning on him at all. It meant his feet were screaming at him in agony, but he shoved the pain to the back of his mind the way he'd learned to do any time he was injured during combat.

The steps behind them didn't speed up or change at all, but a moment later they turned a corner to find the hall blocked by three men in dark suits. Turks, Cloud realized with a thrill of fear. "Something wrong, gentlemen?" Zack asked them with an easy smile, casual and uncaring. "Are you lost? These are the SOLDIER quarters."

"Just here to issue an invitation to the lady," the dark-haired man who seemed to be in charge said, his tone equally casual. "The president has requested your presence, ma'am."

"I'm really kind of tired," Cloud dissembled, his body slowly tensing as he prepared to dodge if necessary. There was no way he was up to taking a Turk one-on-one, let alone a group of them, but all he really needed to do was keep himself in one piece long enough for Zack to deal with them. Smart money was on a Turk against a trooper any day, but a SOLDIER 3rd Class could wipe the floor with a Turk. For a 1st Class like Zack, not even a group would be enough to keep him down for long.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he won't keep you too long," the Turk replied, while someone behind them snickered. More Turks, Cloud was sure. They tended to work either alone or with each other, not with others.

"I'd really rather not," Cloud said, keeping his hands loose at his sides so they hopefully wouldn't realize he was ready to fight. Zack still looked casual, one hand in the pocket of his dress blues, leaning his weight on one hip and looking about as far from ready to fight as he could be. Cloud had trained with him often enough to know how deceptive that stance was, how fast a SOLDIER could go from relaxed to battle-ready, but if they were lucky the Turks wouldn't be as knowledgeable.

"Perhaps I was not quite clear," the Turk said. His tone was still pleasant, but behind him the other two had snapped open their emag rods, the favoured close-in weapon of the Turks. "The president has issued an invitation. Trust me when I say you don't want it to become an order. Why don't you be a good girl and come with us?"

"The lady said she doesn't want to go," Zack said. He didn't have a weapon, but it didn't seem to concern him in the least that the Turks did. Cloud heard the hum of electricity from behind them, and someone cracked their knuckles. There were at least two more in the rear, possibly three.

"I'm not in the least concerned with your opinion on the matter, SOLDIER boy," the Turk said dismissively. "Why don't you move along and stop interfering, and you'll be allowed to keep that shiny new promotion of yours."

Glancing at Zack, Cloud caught his eye just long enough for Zack to grin at him and tip his head slightly to the back. He wanted Cloud to take the ones behind, then, while he would go after the three in front. Cloud nodded back just as slightly, and Zack's grin widened.

"Sounds like we've got a bit of a problem, then," Zack said. "Now, five Turks against one unarmed SOLDIER and his girl might seem like good odds to you boys, but maybe you ought to take a step back and remind yourselves that I'm 1st Class at my age for a reason, hmm?"

"This is the last time I'm going to ask nicely," the Turk replied. "Step aside, and let the lady come with us to keep her appointment."

There was a hushed rustle from behind them, and Cloud knew the Turks weren't planning to wait for their answer this time. Zack shifted his weight and kicked back at the man coming up behind him, then lunged for the three in front. Cloud spun, trusting Zack not to let anything through to hit him from the back, and he had a split second to evaluate the situation behind them. The man Zack had kicked was staggered and cursing, but he wouldn't be out of the fight for long. The other, a woman, started forward with her emag rod raised.

For lack of any other weapon, Cloud flung one of his shoes at her face. It startled her into backing up and raising her rod to block any further attacks to the head, leaving her torso momentarily open. Cloud took the opportunity, driving in with all his weight behind a punch to her solar-plexus. She coughed and doubled over, fighting for air, and he followed it up with a hard chop downward to her neck. He didn't have a lot of hand-to-hand training, but as a member of the sword corps he at least knew how to handle a close-quarters fight.

The female Turk collapsed, dropping her emag rod in the process. Judging she was out of the fight at least for the moment, Cloud turned to try to find the man Zack had kicked.

He was just a little too slow, or the man had recovered faster than Cloud had expected. A hard body hit him from behind and the Turk grabbed his right wrist, wrenching it up behind Cloud's back in a way that made his shoulder scream. Cloud started to struggle, but froze when the Turk laid his emag rod against Cloud's throat in warning. At the moment it was just an ordinary metal baton, but with a flick of one finger the man could trigger a deadly current.

With a tug on Cloud's arm the Turk urged him to stand straight and turn to face the rest of the fight, and Cloud didn't resist. The man could break his arm almost as easily as he could kill him, and Cloud's desire not to have to go to the infirmary in a dress was only a bit less than his desire not to have to go to the morgue. He was sweating, as much from the fear that the Turk would realize he wasn't a girl as from fear of physical pain.

Zack had already wiped out two of the Turks, and was closing on the last one as Cloud looked. The Turk was slashing and stabbing with his rod at full strength, and Cloud could smell the burned ozone even from where he was standing, but Zack dodged it with the careless grace that was the trademark of all SOLDIERs. He moved more like he was dancing than fighting, ducking and weaving until he saw an opening and then darting in with the speed of a striking snake.

There was a sick crunching noise as Zack's kick connected with the man's ribs, and the last of the three went down. "Freeze!" shouted the one holding Cloud, jerking upwards on his arm and wringing a small pained noise out of him.

Never one to blindly obey orders, Zack turned and took a step towards them with his fists up before he actually registered the position Cloud was in. He froze as ordered, his eyes glowing with mako and rage, glaring over Cloud's shoulder at the Turk. "If you know what's good for you, you'll let go right now," Zack said, his voice low and menacing.

"Move and I'll shock her," the Turk said, and he sounded nervous.

"No you won't," Zack said with certainty. "Shinra wants her, and he won't want her dead or with a broken arm. Plus, if you kill her, you've lost your hostage and then I'll really be mad. Let go, and get the fuck out of here."

"I don't have to kill her, I can just hurt her," the man threatened, backing up slowly and forcing Cloud to go with him. "A few electrical burn marks here and there won't upset the president. But it'll sure hurt like a bitch."

Unseen by the Turk, Cloud's left hand tightened around his other shoe. He'd never dropped it, having had the lesson 'never ever drop your weapons' drilled into him quite a while ago. As weapons went it wasn't much; he wouldn't be able to throw it in the man's face as a distraction like he had the first time, because as soon as he lifted his arm he'd get shocked.

On the other hand, those heels could practically qualify as a stabbing weapon. Shifting his grip slowly so the movement wouldn't be noticed, Cloud looked up and met Zack's eyes. The older boy clearly had no idea what Cloud was planning, but he nodded slightly to show he was ready when Cloud made his move.

It was an awkward angle, but Cloud put as much strength behind the thrust as he could, jabbing backwards with the heel of the shoe at about waist height. He missed the groin but the heel gouged the hell out of the Turk's thigh and made him curse and jump back in reflex.

That moved his emag rod away from Cloud's throat just enough that Zack felt secure in attacking. In a motion so fast it was almost a blur the SOLDIER snatched the rod out of the Turk's hand, broke his wrist in the process, and slammed the rod into the man's chest. A flick of a switch turned the current on, and the Turk's body convulsed. When Zack pulled away again the Turk dropped to the ground, dead or unconscious.

Cloud hoped it was the latter; if they'd actually killed anyone, Zack could be in quite a lot of trouble. "Are they dead?" he gasped, as the adrenalin faded from his system and shock started to set in.

"No," Zack shook his head wearily, and turned to pull Cloud into a tight hug. "I don't believe you," the older boy laughed into Cloud's hair. "You hit him with your shoe? You are something else."

Then Zack pulled back just far enough to let him lean down to Cloud, and kissed him. Not a brush of his lips over Cloud's cheek or even mouth, either. It was a full blown, all out kiss like nothing Cloud had ever experienced before.

Dazed and reeling under the sudden unexpected onslaught of sensation, Cloud clung to Zack's shoulders and tried to figure out what he was supposed to do. He couldn't quite process the idea that Zack was kissing him.

Thankfully Cloud's body seemed to know how to respond, even if his mind didn't. He lifted up on tiptoe and opened his mouth, letting Zack slip his tongue inside to touch him in ways that made his whole body shiver. It was so far beyond the occasional fantasy Cloud had allowed himself to indulge in that it blew him away.

A tiny, needy sound escaped him as he pressed up a little closer to Zack. The motion caused the whole front of their bodies to brush against each other, and Cloud shuddered as he felt Zack's cock hard and solid against his hip.

Whether it was the sound or the motion, something seemed to jerk Zack back to reality and he pulled away abruptly. "Sorry!" the older boy exclaimed, his cheeks flushed a bright pink and his eyes brighter than the mako could account for. He kept a hand on Cloud's shoulder just long enough to be sure the blonde wouldn't topple over at the sudden loss of support, then drew back all the way to the other side of the hall.

"I'm sorry," Zack apologized again, not meeting Cloud's eyes. "I shouldn't have... I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry. I just... it won't happen again."

Leaning back against the wall behind him for fear that his knees might be too weak to support his full weight, Cloud stared at his best friend with a dazed look. "Huh?" he asked intelligently.

Still not looking at him, Zack shook his head and bent to grab the shoe Cloud had thrown at the female Turk. "Come on, some of them are going to wake up soon and I want to be back in my room before that happens. They won't dare actually break down the door of a 1st Class, every SOLDIER in the hall would come pouring out to beat the shit out of them."

"But..." Whatever Cloud might have said when he finally managed to gather his wits was lost as Zack started walking down the hall, leaving Cloud to follow on his own. Still trying to figure out exactly what had just happened, Cloud limped after his friend with the other shoe still clutched in his hand.

"Zack, wait!" he said, exasperated when the older boy didn't even look back or slow his pace at all. "Damn it," Cloud muttered under his breath, and moved to run to catch up. He nearly tripped on the first step as his skirt tangled in his legs, and he cursed and gathered it into his other hand to let him move more freely.

That in itself served as a sobering reminder, however. Was it possible Zack had gotten caught up in the whole deception and actually forgotten, just for a moment, that Cloud wasn't a girl?

The thought made him feel sick to his stomach. That kiss had been everything Cloud had ever dreamed of, but if it had only happened because Zack was thinking of him as a girl then somehow the whole thing felt... cheapened. It wasn't really him that Zack had been kissing, just the pretty girl Cloud looked like at the moment.

That still didn't completely make sense, though. Zack knew plenty of pretty girls. He flirted with them all the time when they were out on the town on leave, a casual sort of flirting that didn't mean anything but was flattering to the girls. He'd even rescued more than a few of them over the course of his career as a SOLDIER. Cloud had been there for some of those moments, and heard stories about the others. Not once, no matter how pretty the girl or how dangerous the situation had been, had Zack ever just kissed one of them. Zack might be a natural flirt, but he never followed through. He was loyal to Aerith, even if it was a casual relationship for the two of them.

So why had he kissed Cloud? Just because he knew and cared about Cloud, so the relief to have him safely out of danger had been more overwhelming? Cloud could certainly imagine the other boy kissing Aerith impulsively like that, given the same situation.

The other thing that didn't fit was the fact that Zack had been hard against him. All the way hard, not just starting to get into it like Cloud had been. Which meant either he found that kind of physical violence a serious turn on, which Cloud doubted... or he'd been hard enough before the fight had started that even being attacked hadn't calmed him down significantly.

Which implied all kinds of other things that left Cloud almost dizzy when he tried to sort through it. Was it just that he was that pretty in a dress? Surely not. Zack wasn't the kind of guy to be panting after everything in a skirt. Cloud was grudgingly willing to admit that he was awfully pretty as a girl, but he wasn't that gorgeous.

They'd reached Zack's room, and the older boy unlocked the door quickly and let Cloud go first into the room. Once inside he locked it again behind them and started looking around for Cloud's uniform. "It's pretty late, I guess you should get back to... no, shit, damn it, you can't leave," Zack interrupted himself before Cloud could say anything, looking dismayed.

"Why not?" Cloud asked, though he wasn't sure he wanted to leave. Not until he knew one way or another why Zack had kissed him like that. "They're looking for a girl in a dress, not a trooper in uniform."

"Yeah, but you didn't have your helmet," Zack said with a sigh, seating himself on the edge of the bed and running a hand through his hair. "They might be watching the door. If they see a blonde girl go in and a blonde boy come out..."

Wincing, Cloud conceded the point. "I'll have to stay here. I can bed down on the floor with your bedroll. I've slept in worse places."

"I'll make your excuses to your lieutenant, you won't get in trouble," Zack said wearily. He still wasn't looking Cloud in the eye, busying himself with standing and going to rummage in his trunk for his bedroll.

Trembling with nerves and something that might have been anticipation, Cloud moved to stand next to him, trying to catch his gaze. "Zack?" he asked softly. "Why did you..."

Flinching like he'd been hit even though Cloud hadn't touched him, Zack straightened and turned away to spread the blankets out over the floor. "At least you can enjoy that shower you wanted. Take your time, like I said the hot water will never run out."

"Zack!" Cloud moved again to block his friend's path, not too difficult in the small room. "Would you look at me? Why did you kiss me like that?"

"Damn it, Cloud!" Finally Zack gave up on avoiding him and turned to look at him directly. He looked frustrated and unusually flustered, as if he felt cornered. Beneath everything was that same odd look in his eyes that he'd had under the bemusement when he'd first seen Cloud in the dress. "What do you want from me? I'm sorry, okay? You're hard enough to resist normally, but with the dress and the dancing and... fuck, I'm only human."

"Hard enough to resist normally?" Cloud repeated, blinking. Surely the odd look that he kept seeing in Zack's eyes wasn't, couldn't be, desire?

Judging by the stricken look on his friend's face, Zack hadn't meant to say that part. "Shit."

Laughing softly, Cloud shook his head. "Here I've been worried for months that you'd notice the crush I had on you and be upset."

"Crush?" Zack looked at him like he was certain he'd heard Cloud wrong. "You have a crush on me?"

"Good to know I actually managed to keep it hidden." Cloud blushed, ducking his head. There had been times when he'd caught Zack looking at him sideways and been sure the older boy knew, or when Cloud had inadvertently been more blatant than usual and he couldn't imagine how Zack could miss it. "So I mean, you don't exactly need to apologize. I wasn't objecting." The blush got hotter, but he managed not to stumble over the admission.

Gentle fingers under his chin tipped his head back up again, and reluctantly Cloud met Zack's eyes. The older boy was giving him that same odd look this time, and now that it wasn't hidden behind some other emotion Cloud could clearly recognize it as the heat of desire.

"You know it's probably just hero-worship," Zack told him, studying Cloud's expression like it held the secrets of the Ancients. "I remember how long it took you to stop being in awe of me, or convinced that there was no way I could really want to be your friend."

"It's not hero-worship," Cloud muttered. "Or, I mean, it's not just hero-worship. Trust me."

"Oh yeah?" Zack smiled, and it wasn't a smile Cloud had ever seen from him before. It bore no relation to his usual teasing grin or happy-go-lucky smile. This smile matched the look in his eyes, a slow burn that Cloud could feel all the way down to his gut. "You're that sure, huh? How often do you think about me when you touch yourself?"

"Zack!" The older boy had always had a penchant for scandalizing Cloud's small town sensibilities, but this went way beyond that. "How could you... I don't... Zack!" When words failed him, Zack's name generally served as an all-purpose protest. It happened distressingly often.

"That often? I'm flattered." The little chuckle Zack made could have been a physical touch, the way Cloud shivered at the sound of it. Zack took a step forward, and something about the predatory gleam in his eyes made Cloud instinctively back up. Zack kept moving forward until Cloud hit the far wall, next to the door.

Leaning in, Zack put his hands on the wall on either side of Cloud, effectively trapping him there. "So does that mean you wouldn't object if I kissed you again?"

All the air rushed out of Cloud's body like he'd been punched, and he couldn't draw breath to speak. Wordlessly he shook his head, his eyes locked with Zack's as the older boy leaned down and fastened his mouth to Cloud's.

It was different this time, more deliberate and intense. Zack took his time with it, ignoring the implicit invitation when Cloud opened his mouth, just working his lips and tongue against Cloud's lips. Shivering, Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and held on for dear life.

When Zack did finally slide his tongue into Cloud's mouth, it was with more of the same slow, deliberate motions. He touched what felt like every inch of Cloud's mouth and tongue, lingering over the spots that made Cloud moan or shudder. Cloud did his best to retaliate, but it was so hard to think when Zack was touching him like this and he wasn't experienced enough to be able to do it on instinct.

By the time Zack pulled away a bit Cloud was dizzy and breathless and every bit as hard as Zack had been in the hallway. He'd had no idea you could get this turned on just from a kiss; Zack hadn't even been touching him anywhere else. "Zack," he panted, the word closer to a moan than coherent speech.

"Oh yeah," Zack murmured, and the look on his face was very smug indeed. He drew back further, running his eyes over Cloud's flushed face and down his neck to his heaving chest, then further still until his gaze reached the floor. When he returned to looking at Cloud's face, the heat in his eyes made Cloud gasp again. "Right now, I think you are just about the hottest fucking thing I've ever seen in my life. Wish I had a camera."

"I don't!" Cloud protested, shaking his head to try to clear it a little. "The last thing I need is you having that kind of blackmail material on me." Inwardly he was a little uncertain, shaken by Zack's words. Was it just the dress that made Zack look at him this way? Cloud certainly couldn't remember him ever doing it before. "So you're saying I need to dress like a girl to get your attention, is that it?" He tried to make the words flippant, but mostly he just sounded hurt.

"No, I'm saying that you flushed and panting for me with that dazed look in your eyes is fucking hot," Zack corrected him with a grin that had a bit of teasing under the heat. "The dress is just a nice bonus. Never really understood the appeal of crossdressing, but there is something sexy about knowing you're hard as hell under there. And getting to dance with you was nice." He leaned closer again and whispered, "Are you?"

"Am I what?" Cloud asked, his poor overheated brain not up to following Zack's conversational jumps.

"Hard as hell under there?" Zack prompted him, tracing his lips over the shell of Cloud's ear and making him moan. "I'll take that as a yes." He dropped one hand from the wall, sliding it over Cloud's arm and down the side of his body, pausing at his hip. "Permission to touch?"

"Oh gods, Zack," Cloud moaned. There was something about the formality of the question that made it feel more deliberate and intentional, as opposed to something they were doing just because their hormones were getting out of hand. "Ye... Zack, wait," Cloud interrupted himself as Zack started to run his hand down over Cloud's pelvis towards his cock.

Instantly Zack froze, his fingers inches away from the aching erection that was barely restrained by the little black panties that had come with the dress. There was a part of Cloud that was incredibly touched by the knowledge that Zack really would stop if Cloud asked it of him, even though he could see from Zack's expression that it was killing him.

That part was loudly drowned out by the rest of Cloud's psyche screaming frustration that he'd put on the brakes. It took an effort to remember why he'd said 'stop'. "Aerith," he finally gasped out. "Zack, we can't. Damn it." However caught up in the moment they might be, Cloud knew Zack would hate himself in the morning when he came to his senses and realized he'd cheated on his girlfriend.

To his surprise, Zack just gave that low, sexy chuckle again. "You're so sweet, you know that? It's one of the things I like about you. Aerith has always insisted that if I'm allowed to fantasize about her and another pretty girl in bed together, then I've got no call to object to her fantasizing about me and another hot guy. Not that I would have." Stunned, Cloud stared at him, and the chuckle became a laugh. "Considering how often she's had to listen to me bitch about how hard it is to keep myself from jumping you sometimes, I know exactly what she'd say if she could see us now."

"What?" Cloud asked breathlessly. He wasn't sure if he was asking what Aerith would say or just questioning his sanity for thinking he'd heard Zack confess to complaining to his girlfriend about his desire for another guy. Zack apparently took it as the former.

"She'd ask what we were waiting for," Zack told him, amusement mixing with the desire in his voice. "And then she'd probably ask if she could watch, but we won't go into that."

"She's crazy," Cloud said flatly, unable to process any of this. "As crazy as you are. No wonder you've lasted so long together."

"Says the boy in a dress and garters," Zack mocked him gently. He leaned in again and rubbed his fingers over the silky material of the dress, reminding Cloud of where they'd left off. Cloud whimpered as the motion dragged the silk against the bare skin where his thigh met his body. "So. Permission to touch?"

"Yes," Cloud gave in to what they both wanted so badly. He trusted Zack; if the older boy said his girlfriend would be okay with this, then Cloud wasn't going to argue. "Oh Hades, Zack, yes."

Zack closed the last few inches between his hand and Cloud's cock, wrapping his fingers around the hot, hard length of it right through the skirt and panties. Cloud choked and rocked his hips up; he couldn't have stayed still if his life depended on it. Zack wasn't even being serious yet, and it already felt ten times better than anything Cloud had ever done to himself.

The feel of the silk fabric didn't hurt, either. It glided over his sensitive skin, helping to cover the sword callous on Zack's palm so his hand moved more easily. Zack practically purred in Cloud's ear as he stroked slowly, dragging out each motion until it seemed to last for a year.

"Fuck, Zack," Cloud groaned, pushing his hips up in an attempt to get Zack to speed the pace. Zack just started trailing his mouth down over Cloud's neck, making his breath catch in his throat. "Please..."

"So impatient," Zack murmured, but even as he said it he was rocking into Cloud's hip, pressing his erection against Cloud at the same maddeningly slow pace his hand was moving at.

Emboldened by the obvious evidence of Zack's need for him, Cloud slipped his hands down over the older boy's chest and started undoing the buttons of his tunic with fingers that shook. "I want to touch you," he said, cheeks going pink at the corny stupidity of the phrase, but unable to think of anything that didn't sound like they were in a bad romance movie. Well, maybe the cliches were cliches for a reason.

Taking his other hand off the wall, Zack yanked at his dress tie until it was loose enough for him to pull it right over his head. He dropped it to one side, uncaring of where it ended up. He had to let go of Cloud to shrug the tunic off, and Cloud whimpered quietly at the loss of touch. Zack hadn't bothered with a tank-top under the tunic, so his muscled body was bare to the waist. Cloud couldn't keep from reaching out to run his hands over that smooth expanse of tanned chest the way he'd dreamed of doing so often.

Zack's chest was warm under his hands, the skin roughened by the fine hair scattered across it. Now it was Zack's turn to moan as Cloud's fingers found and played with his nipples, teasing them into sensitive peaks. Cloud decided he liked making Zack moan, so he set out to cause it as often as possible.

Their lips met again in a much more urgent kiss, Cloud straining up on tiptoe to try to get more of Zack's intoxicating taste. The older boy's hands went to cup the globes of Cloud's ass, and lifted him higher still. There were times when Cloud forgot just how strong the SOLDIERs were; having Zack holding him off his feet with no visible effort was a pretty good reminder.

Freed from having to support his own weight, Cloud tried to wrap his legs around Zack's waist but was hampered by the skirt. Frustrated, he left off teasing Zack's nipples and moved to undo the bodice of the dress so he could get out of it.

"Don't," Zack ground out, pushing forward so he was pinning Cloud against the wall with his whole body. "Leave it on, it's sexy. I like the silk," he all but purred, rubbing his chest against Cloud's. The way he was leaning against Cloud had pressed their cocks flush together, and the rubbing motion made them shift against each other in a way that caused them both to moan. The most the skirt would allow was for Cloud to hook his feet around Zack's calves, pressing as close as he could.

"But there's too much cloth in the way," Cloud complained breathlessly, rocking up hard against Zack's cock and squirming at the resulting wave of heat that washed over him.

Nuzzling just below Cloud's ear, Zack blew out a breath that gusted over his throat and made his whole body tingle. "Depending on how far you want this to go, I'm not sure that's a bad thing," he said, his voice husky.

"How far?" Cloud repeated, huffing a laugh. "What, are you worried about offending my delicate sensibilities or damaging my virtue? For the last time, just because I look like a girl right now doesn't mean I am one." He rocked his hips up again, making very sure Zack knew the boy in his arms was one hundred percent male. "I'm a sixteen-year-old boy, and you're in the middle of making just about every fantasy I've ever had come true. You think I'm going to tell you to stop?"

His words made Zack shudder against him, and the older boy nipped Cloud's ear hard enough to make him gasp. "Almost every fantasy?" he repeated, his words hardly more than a growl. "Who got the rest, Sephiroth?"

"Some of them," Cloud admitted, bewildered by the sudden change in mood. Zack growled and bit him again, and Cloud shivered. "Zack, are you jealous of Sephiroth?" Cloud asked as the truth dawned on him, thinking back on his friend's odd behaviour after Sephiroth had rescued Cloud from the president. "C'mon, are you seriously telling me you've never done it while thinking about him?"

A sheepish expression crept over Zack's face as he lifted his head to look into Cloud's eyes, and his lips twitched. "Well, no," he acknowledged. "It's just... damn it, watching the look on your face when you danced with him, I could have killed him. Especially because it just reminded me that I had no claim on you at all, and I wanted to."

"So? What are you waiting for?" was Cloud's only question. Zack looked back at him for a long moment, the heat growing in his eyes with every moment as he convinced himself that Cloud really meant it.

Then, to Cloud's surprise and dismay, he set Cloud back on his feet. "Don't move," Zack ordered him, and turned away to go dig in his trunk.

Oh. Of course. Cloud flushed again as he realized what Zack was after. He knew the theory of the mechanics of sex between men. You could hardly avoid it, living in the army, though most of the information had come from crude jokes tossed back and forth between the men.

He leaned against the wall and waited, trying to take the opportunity to catch his breath. There didn't seem to be enough air in the room, as if someone had let off a Fire spell in a contained area and it ate up all the oxygen. Cloud was still panting when Zack returned with a bottle of the oil used to care for the leather bits of his equipment, and the fierce, heated look on Zack's face didn't help at all.

"You are," Zack said, kissing him briefly but hungrily, "the fucking hottest," another kiss, hotter still, "thing I've ever seen. And if you keep looking at me like that, this is going to be over a lot faster than it should be. Turn around."

A little disappointed that they wouldn't be able to kiss any more, but more than understanding the need to make things just a little less intense if they wanted it to last, Cloud turned and put his hands against the wall. Zack pressed up close behind him, his cock rubbing up against Cloud's upper ass and his hands stealing around the younger boy's waist to trail over his stomach and hips.

Gasping when Zack rocked into him hard, Cloud braced his hands and pushed back, refusing to give way so that Zack ground against him and made them both moan. Zack's hand found Cloud's cock through the fabric of the dress again, stroking briefly before trailing away again.

"Tease," Cloud accused him hoarsely, and Zack chuckled again.

"No, that's what you've been doing all damn night, swaying around in those sexy heels and looking so incredibly fuckable," Zack replied, his voice rough with need as he spoke right into Cloud's ear. "You have no idea how much effort it took not to pull you up to me and kiss the hell out of you while we were dancing."

"So are you going to pay me back, or just talk about it?" Cloud asked, and Zack growled again.

Strong hands bunched in the sides of his skirt and lifted it, flipping it up over his back so that his ass was exposed to the cool air but it still draped down to his ankles in front. He shivered, from cold this time rather than lust, but Zack didn't leave him to stand bare for long. The older boy pressed close again, the linen of his dress trousers coarse against Cloud's skin after feeling the silk all night. "You're still... wearing too much," Cloud managed, trembling as Zack rubbed his cloth-covered erection into the crack of Cloud's ass.

"So're you," Zack said almost smugly, trailing one hand down over Cloud's hip to his bare leg. He snapped one of the garter straps gently, and for a moment Cloud thought he meant to unfasten them.

Instead, Zack slipped his fingers under the crotch of the black silk panties, the backs of his knuckles brushing against the underside of Cloud's balls and making him groan. With one quick yank the SOLDIER tore the panties like they were made of tissue paper, leaving Cloud still dressed in the garters but otherwise bare from his knees to his hips.

"Zack!" Cloud exclaimed. "That belonged to Aerith!" It was difficult to work up any kind of real indignation; his aching erection had been freed by the removal of the panties, and the soft fabric of the skirt was brushing against his tip with every breath he took. It was distracting, to say the least.

"Not the first pair I've torn," Zack muttered into the skin under Cloud's ear, and he could feel the older boy's smile. "I'll pay her back." He ran his hand along the arch of Cloud's hip, then down over his ass, flirting with the crack. Cloud got more and more tense with every moment, trembling with anticipation and unfulfilled need.

"Please, Zack," he begged, fighting the urge to reach down and touch himself to help relieve the ache. He could do that anytime he had five minutes of privacy. Right now, he wanted to feel Zack's hands on him. "Please."

"A tease and you're greedy," Zack laughed softly, and pushed his fingers in more firmly. His index finger found the tight ring of muscle around Cloud's asshole and traced over it, adding more pressure with each pass. Cloud gave a startled groan, surprised that it felt so good. He knew there was supposed to be something good in it for the bottom, but he'd thought that was a spot inside somewhere.

"Relax, Cloud," Zack whispered, and Cloud did his best. Zack put his free hand on Cloud's hip and urged him to move out away from the wall, guiding him sideways a bit until there was a shelf Cloud could use to grip as he leaned over at an angle. That made it even easier for Zack to reach his hole, and the older boy slowly pressed one fingertip inside.

It felt... weird, sort of full and it made him want to squirm. He forced himself to hold still and relax a little more, and Zack's finger slipped in far enough to be past the muscle. That felt really weird, but not unpleasant. Zack's other hand moved around to stroke his cock slowly, and that helped Cloud relax further and start to actually get into it.

Enough so that when Zack pulled out again, Cloud made a disappointed noise. "There's plenty more where that came from, but I don't want to hurt you," Zack promised him. He reached over to where he'd put the bottle of oil on the shelf, and twisted the cap off with one hand. He had to let go of Cloud's cock to pour some of it onto his palm, but when he then moved to spread the oil over Cloud's ass and his finger slipped inside almost without resistance, Cloud forgot to complain.

"Yeah, that's it," Zack encouraged him, slowly working the finger in and out. Cloud found himself breathing in rhythm with the movements, his hips rocking slightly to meet the intrusion. And then Zack touched something inside him, and any doubts Cloud had still been harbouring about how fun this was for the bottom were instantly destroyed.

"Sweet Shiva," Cloud choked, his whole body shuddering with the force of the sensation. "Oh, Hades, Zack, do that again!"

Laughing again, Zack obliged him by stroking his finger repeatedly over that wonderful, amazing, incredible spot inside him. Cloud was left gasping and leaning most of his weight against the wall, hardly able to stay on his feet. When Zack withdrew briefly and added a second finger it made Cloud's ass burn and stretch almost painfully around them, but Cloud didn't care in the least. Not as long as it kept feeling that good.

He could feel Zack trembling against him, feel the way the older boy's cock was so hard against his ass that it had to be painful. "Do it," he urged, voice cracking in the middle when Zack stroked over the spot again. "Do it, Zack. Now. Please. Fuck me."

"Shit, Cloud," Zack groaned, his fingers pausing as he leaned his forehead against Cloud's shoulder and shuddered. "You are a hell of a test of my self-control, you know that?"

Once again Zack's hands vanished, and Cloud swallowed the keening noise that wanted to escape him at the loss. This time he heard the sound of Zack undoing his belt and shoving his pants and boxers down over his hips. When Zack pressed in again, it was his oiled cock rather than his fingers that probed between the cheeks of Cloud's ass.

Letting his breath out, Cloud firmed his grip on the shelf and leaned over a bit more to give Zack a better angle. He did his best to stay relaxed, but Zack's cock was a hell of a lot bigger than two of his fingers had been. It hurt at first, a sharp burning pain that made Cloud hiss despite his resolve to remain silent.

"Shh," Zack hushed him, reaching around to stroke Cloud's cock again. The blonde had gone a bit soft with the pain, but Zack's hand felt good anyway. "It stops hurting fast, I promise."

"You've... you've done this? Before?" Cloud asked, dazed at the idea.

"Hey, I was a starry-eyed new recruit once myself, you know," Zack replied, amusement threading through the desire in his voice. "Now, relax. Deep breaths. Remember how good it felt a minute ago."

Cloud did his best, and slowly Zack eased himself further into Cloud's body. Once the head of his cock was past the initial restriction it wasn't nearly as painful. Finally he was all the way inside, his thighs pressed tight against Cloud's ass, his hand stroking almost lazily over Cloud's cock.

Panting, Cloud squeezed his eyes shut and struggled to adjust to the feeling of being split nearly in two. Zack's heated breath was gusting over his neck, making him shiver with each breath, and he could feel the tension in the older boy's body as he waited for Cloud to give the go-ahead.

Eventually Cloud drew a deep breath and exhaled, opening his eyes again and focusing on the shelf in front of him. "Do it," he said, his voice rough, and he heard Zack moan in response.

Having Zack pull out again was almost as painful as him pushing in, as his cock dragged over tissue now stretched and raw. When he pushed back in again, though, the pain was starting to fade at last and Cloud's body started to respond to the odd sensation that was left. Zack had still been stroking him all this time, and now Cloud was fully hard again.

Rocking into Zack's hand, Cloud focused all his attention on the sensations in his cock. If he could just concentrate on that, the pain would fade soon enough.

Sooner than 'soon enough', in fact. Zack pressed his free hand between Cloud's shoulder blades to urge him to lean over more, and the shift in angle caused the head of Zack's cock to suddenly rub over that spot with every thrust. Stars burst in Cloud's vision, and he gave a strangled shout as he bucked against Zack.

The older boy held him more or less steady, speeding his pace a bit. Moaning, Cloud subsided and just abandoned himself to the sensations, tossing his head and rocking back into each thrust as hard as he could. Any thoughts of pain were long gone, submerged in sheer ecstasy.

"Cloud," Zack was moaning, his words garbled with lust. "Cloud, gods, Cloud... you have to come, soon, now, please, please, oh gods you feel so fucking tight and hot and good and shit, Cloud, please tell me you're near the edge..."

"Go..." Cloud's voice broke on his first attempt to speak, and he had to cough and clear his throat a couple of times before it would obey him again. "Go ahead," he urged, more than a little flattered and extremely turned on by the knowledge that he'd driven Zack into begging. "Do it, I want to feel you come in me. Zack..."

"Cloud!" Zack's rhythm stuttered and turned into jerky motions, hard but shallow thrusts that moved almost continuously right over that spot. After less than a minute of that he felt Zack shudder against him and still, body pressed close to Cloud's as his hips moved in minute little jerks.

Maybe it was only Cloud's imagination, but he thought he could feel Zack's semen spurting hot inside him, and the thought drove him wild. He moaned and rocked his hips, trying to get some kind of friction or stimulation. Zack's hand had stilled at the same time as the rest of his body, and Cloud whimpered with frustrated need.

"Sorry," Zack muttered hoarsely, and started stroking him again. This time it was fast and hard, his grip almost but not quite too tight, guaranteed to drive Cloud over the edge in minutes. After a moment he withdrew from Cloud's body, but before Cloud could protest the sudden empty feeling Zack had thrust three fingers into him, filling the space and pressing firmly against that spot.

That was all it took, and with a shout Cloud came harder than he ever had before in his life. It felt like he must have emptied everything inside him onto Zack's hand, and he was vaguely aware of Zack murmuring encouragement into his ear.

When it was finally over, Cloud sagged against the wall and Zack's hold, not sure how he'd managed to stay on his feet through the whole thing. "I can't move," he said absently, somehow feeling as if that should have disturbed him more than it did.

The statement earned him another one of those smug, sexy chuckles from Zack. "Good," the older boy all but purred. "You stay there, and I'll get the camera."

"Zack!" Jerking upright, Cloud glared over his shoulder at his friend. Zack was laughing quietly, grinning back at him in the way that meant he felt he'd gotten the better of Cloud. "Jerk," Cloud muttered, but there was even less heat behind the word than usual.

Glancing down, he made a face. "Shit. I think we ruined the dress," he said as his dismayed glance ran over the large wet stains on the front of the skirt. He'd come rather a lot, and the skirt had been rubbing into his precome for quite a while before that.

"That's okay," Zack assured him softly. "I mean, where would you ever wear it again?" He laughed as Cloud turned far enough to punch him in the shoulder, and deftly caught Cloud when the motion threw the still wobbly younger boy off balance. "Careful. You seem a little weak in the knees."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed, sagging into Zack's arms. "Maybe lying down would be a good idea?"

"Probably," Zack agreed. Without another word he scooped Cloud into his arms, the skirt trailing down as he carried the younger boy over to the bed. "You're not going to insist on sleeping in the bedroll, are you? The bed's big enough for two."

"Only if we don't mind getting real friendly," Cloud said automatically, eyeing the width as Zack laid him on the mattress. Then he thought about what he'd just said, and grinned. "I guess we don't. I don't have to sleep in the dress, do I?"

"No, dumbass," Zack snorted fondly. He was shoving his trousers and boxers the rest of the way off his hips; he'd apparently only pushed them down far enough to let him get at Cloud. He kicked off his boots as Cloud fumbled with the fastenings for the dress, and finally managed to undo the bodice enough to let him get it off. He was more than happy to rid himself of the stuffed bra.

He had to sit up to get the dress off, and Zack took it from him and turned to drape it across the chair. Cloud reached for the first garter, and Zack mock-pouted at him. "Aw, you're not going to leave them on? You look sexy like that."

"I am not sleeping in these," Cloud said, rolling his eyes as he peeled the stockings off and wriggled out of the garters. Those he dumped unceremoniously beside the bed, then scooted over when Zack gestured at him to make room.

It was surprisingly easy to settle in comfortably together. Cloud would have expected it to involve a lot of awkward shifting, but it just seemed natural for him to lie on his side and let Zack curl up around him. It certainly felt pleasant, even if it was probably the 'girl's' position. Considering the events of the night, Cloud could hardly start protesting being the 'girl' now.

"Zack?" he asked hesitantly after the older boy had snuggled against him. "Are we... going to do this again?"

"Which?" Zack asked, clearly amused even though Cloud couldn't see his expression. "The sex, the skirt, or the sex-in-a-skirt?"

"The first one," Cloud clarified hastily. Then he paused, and admitted in a small voice, "I might not mind doing the last one again sometime." It had been strange, but there was something arousing about the taboo of it, not to mention the feel of the skirt against him as Zack thrust into him. Plus, if it was going to get Zack that hot... "But I am not wearing a skirt in public again!"

Chuckling, Zack squeezed him briefly in a one-armed hug. "I wouldn't have asked. And yeah, I'm kinda hoping for a repeat performance or three. Or thirty. If you want to?"

"Hell yeah," Cloud agreed instantly, relaxing and closing his eyes with a smile. "As long as you're sure it's okay with Aerith."

"Then we'll do it as often as we're stationed in the same place," Zack promised softly, dropping a kiss on the back of Cloud's neck. "If I found you hard as hell to resist before, there's no way I'll be able to keep my hands off you now that I know how good you feel. You're stuck with me for the duration, kid."

"Good," Cloud said, satisfied. He shifted so he could feel Zack's body in a warm line all the way from his shoulders to his knees, and sighed in contentment. Measuring everything else against this, he could only conclude that the night had been a smashing success.