[Mm, yup. Zack wraps around him, like Cloud had wanted; the weight on his back feels good, like safety, like if he wanted to he could crouch a bit and hike Zack up onto his back, carry him away.
He checks the knife. Sharp enough. Cloud takes one of Zack's wrists and pulls his arm out, carefully pressing the handle of the knife into his hand. Need to get those metal filings off before he finishes cutting up the veggies.] Wash that for me? [A request in tone, but also...a gentle instruction, almost. A respectful order. Testing the waters. Cloud soothes it with a kiss to Zack's jaw, right on that X-shaped scar.]
[Zack's cheek shifts beneath Cloud's mouth as his smile broadens, and he spins the knife deftly between his fingers as he draws back to do just that.]
You got it, boss.
[And maybe he knows what Cloud's doing. Maybe he likes being told what to do, the soldier (SOLDIER) instinct built in deep. Maybe he's just like that. Whatever the reason, Zack slips free, his knife-less hand brushing across Cloud's back - just above his waist, in between all those lithe muscles - before he separates entirely. The request may as well have been rhetorical. That knife is getting so washed.]
[The casual display of skill, the easy, smooth way Zack moves as soon as Cloud asks-
He's already at a simmer when Zack's hand trails across his back. Yeah. This is like the feeling he gets with Aerith. It's working out. You got it, boss. Chills.
Cloud watches Zack for a moment; he has to hunch a little to use the sink, a bit too tall for everything in the cottage, and it makes his shoulders look even bigger. Before he can make a complete dumbass of himself Cloud turns back to what he's doing, a hand over the pan to test the heat before he drops in the slices of bread to toast, layering on the meat and cheese to get everything nice and hot. Zack's first, then he'll feed himself.]
[It's a quick job to wash the knife, clearing off the stray filings and scrubbing away anything that could contaminate the rest of the vegetables. Once finished he rinses it clean, dries it, and offers it handle-first back towards Cloud, shifting closer to bump his hip, trying to nudge him sideways.]
Your knife, sir. [Yeah that one's intentional, too.] Move over, I'll watch that.
[Bit of a bossy britches, himself. But if Cloud's going back to the veggies, may as well make himself useful again.]
[SIR???? Cloud is going to bodycheck you into the lake when they get back out there, Zack Fair. Who do you think you are.
Cloud is moved because he does have to get to these veggies and he is hungry, but like. He's still kind of stunned here. The first tomato slice he makes after that little display is diagonal as shit.]
We're flirting, right? This is definitely- this is like, hardcore flirting? [HE JUST HAS TO CHECK. Flirting is so weird ok, sometimes he thinks he is but he isn't, sometimes he doesn't think he is but then he is. Many more times people are flirting with HIM and he doesn't realize because he's just trying to find the exits.
Not trying to find the exits now. But trying to make sure they're on the same page before he takes this any further like the bedroom or smth.]
[Zack blinks at him for a moment, then laughs, flipping over the bread in the pan.]
It better be flirting! Nobody felt up my ass giving orders before.
[Maybe not an entirely unreasonable question, though. Yes, they're dating now, flirting makes sense, but sometimes Zack just talks to people and they think it's flirting. Or sometimes it is flirting, because he's just like that, with the intent for it to go nowhere.
...Anyway, this is flirting. Going-somewhere flirting. And nobody felt up his ass here either, but maybe that's wishful thinking-]
[Zack just says 'giving orders' and Cloud's neck burns at the realization that not only was Zack willfully engaging in the so-called hardcore flirting, but he was very pointedly doing so knowing that Cloud was exploring with bossing him around, in a potentially sexy way.
Embarrassing. But...not in a bad way. Kind of like when Aerith had cinched that corset at his back and then felt him up.]
Don't mess with me, [Cloud complains, taking a tomato slice and shoving it into Zack's mouth to keep him from laughing again.] You know how many dating rumors you had back in the day? I'd just chat with you and the other guys in my squad would leave boxes of condoms on my bunk.
[There's a muffled, huffing exhale around the tomato as it disappears into Zack's mouth, chewed and swallowed in record time. You can't stop this man's mirth, sorry not sorry.]
On your bunk! At least the guys in Third Class left 'em in my locker. Security's more tight on the SOLDIER level, though.
[He'd probably have gotten in trouble with the science division or the Turks if he and Aerith had been actively sleeping together, though. Ugh, if they were watching- NOPE NOPE, erasing that train of thought. He's here for Cloud today, not to wonder just how much monitoring she was subject to.]
'm not messing with you, though. Someone gave me some real good advice the other day, actually. About you.
[Don't worry Zack, it was the same few boxes of condoms that ended up getting passed around and placed on people's bunks for the joke, because there's nothing else for troopers to do but make fun of each other and gossip.]
Yeah? What was it? [Tries to not look too interested in hearing what other people are telling Zack about him, and wondering who the hell it could be considering the number of people here Cloud talks to even on the semi-regular.]
[Zack knows his man, because the knife goes THOK against the cutting board when Cloud misses the tomato. He stands there for a moment, unmoving...
Puts down the knife. Turns away from the counter.
Reaches over his head and grabs two fistfuls of his shirt to haul it off over his hair, balling it up and flinging it in the direction of the hallway. That'll make its way to the bedroom whenever it happens.
-goes back to ch- chopping up tomatoes. Even though he's cut more than enough slices- u know what, lets ummm cut up the lettuce to make it more. Sandwich-shaped.]
[Oh. Oh wow. He really didn't expect that to happen, like, immediately. But there he is, Cloud Strife, shirtless.]
Holy shit, that worked.
[A moment passes, and Zack's cheeks turn pink as it sinks in and he looks, his gaze roving over bare skin, the arch of a spine, the way muscles roll and shift as he chops-
-oh. Zack swallows, his voice hushed.]
...Yeah I super should have told you that sooner.
[(Cloud does have a nice back. He owes Sharon again.)]
It's not like you haven't seen my back before, [Cloud mumbles, simultaneously preening and melting from embarrassment. Who cares if he's insecure! Zack wanted to see him shirtless more often, so Zack is gonna see him shirtless more often, god damn it!
Cloud clears his throat, pushing the finished vegetables to the side and taking the knife and cutting board over to the sink to wash them.] The, uh. The bread done yet?
Mm. [And when Zack turns back around to begin sandwich assembly, Cloud takes a quick unsure look at himself. Pale; not so much the arms, but his chest barely ever sees the light of day and it shows in how the veins are visible from close up. He's...toned, he guesses, but in a scrawny guy kind of way. He'll never have layers of muscle like Zack or other guys. He almost asks Zack "Are you sure," again, but that hurt expression on Zack's face from the bonfire flashes through his mind and he holds his tongue.
Maybe he leans into the Bond's effects a little harder than he usually would. Let himself calm down, quieting the near constant buzz of anxiety under his skin.]
Any other requests you need fulfilled, Mister Fair? [That's right, mask any negative emotions with cockiness. Be cheeky. Fake it until you make it, but in a far less damaging way than before.]
[Their connection buzzes pleasantly through him, and Zack closes his eyes for a moment, enjoying the increasingly familiar sense of calm he gets around Cloud these days. Usually they have no problem riling each other up - SOLDIER impulse, or whatever else drives them (since Cloud's got the chemicals but not the specific SOLDIER training and all) - but coming back down from that high is much, much easier. They know each other better, sure, but also, there's this.
He folds the sandwiches together, layer by later, considering Cloud's question. Anything else, huh...]
Think I got some juice on my face. [He lifts a hand to point at the corner of his mouth.] Right here. Help a guy out?
Zack's probably expecting a kiss, but Cloud just eyes Zack long enough to make it obvious that he's picked up on the hint. He lifts a hand, presses a thumb to the smudge at Zack's bottom lip, then wipes it off and lifts his thumb to his mouth to suck it clean.
Then takes the plate with his sandwich from Zack and heads over to the table.]
[Grinning to himself over here; maybe that was a little mean, but...Aerith is right. There's something thrilling about messing with him a little. Like a raven pulling a wolf's tail.
Cloud at least leans over the side of the table after Zack sits down to give him a nice, long kiss.] Sorry. [He can't forget Zack's wide, eager eyes when he'd practically begged, I wanna kiss you. Or you kiss me.
Cloud kisses him again, hand lifting to pet the hair at the back of Zack's neck sweetly.] You're just fun.
[Zack's responding expression looks torn between a pout and a pleased smile, the two wrestling with each other for a moment. The smile wins, though. It almost always wins.]
You're such a brat. [Without venom, of course. He leans in like a magnet, happy for what he's gotten, longing for more always.] I'll get you both back one day.
[This is a lie: he's too much of a puppy to withhold anything even for a tease. But he can pretend!]
[He really needs to eat, but.......Zack is being so cute and pretty right now......
Drags plate over so he can stand next to Zack and still reach his sandwich, taking a bite while he keeps petting Zack's hair, watching the way the guy just melts into his touch. Geez. He hasn't been doing this enough at all, has he? Cloud need to start paying better attention.]
[Truly criminal not to be touchin' this handsome man at all times, right!? Ha ha, just kidding, unless...
For real, though, Zack basically turns to mush. True puppy behaviour. That thing dogs do, tilting their head into the scritches? Yeah. If he was a familiar and had a dog's tail it would be wagging like mad. He's loving this.]
[Cloud hums an affirmative, still drawing his fingers through Zack's hair slowly, rhythmically. Hopefully Zack's not neglecting his own sandwich, because they really are damn good, but even Cloud's only taking a bite every so often. Something else has caught his attention.]
...you're so pretty, [Cloud murmurs, looking down at how Zack's lashes are so dark and so long, especially looking at them from above. Zack's handsome, of course he's handsome; he's got big shoulders, sharp eyes, a jawline that looks like it was chiseled from marble...but here in the softness of the quiet between them, in a kitchen where Zack had cheekily said, yes sir and I wanna see you shirtless!, Cloud can't help but think that he's lovely, too. As careful as he is fierce, as malleable as he is solid.
Cloud waits for a moment to make sure he's not distracting Zack from his food before he lets his hand travel down, gently take Zack's chin and jaw in his hand (and it takes his whole hand, Zack's not even that much taller but he's so much bigger) to tilt his face up towards Cloud. Really...
[Ohhh no. Oh no. Cloud got him so good, there. At the comment - the compliment - Zack's eyes widen, showing off more than ever that beautiful mako blue. It's not the sort of compliment he gets often, but it does remind him pleasantly of the first he'd gotten from Aerith. She'd said his eyes were pretty. Cloud, though, he can tell that gaze is roving elsewhere, drinking in his features, not simply the one. He's pretty, huh...
As Cloud kisses him again, Zack winds an arm around him, drawing him closer, allowing their bodies to brush against each other. With Cloud still shirtless, he can feel the smooth curve of the other man's back, the tension of his muscles, the bend of his spine. He's warm to the touch, and the whole thing feels so... cozy. He likes this, turns out. He likes this a lot. Cloud doesn't get affectionate all the time, but he's been noticing a shift, bit by bit, little touches growing in volume and intensity, as they grow more comfortable with what's been happening here. They're figuring things out. And Zack, who thrives on all things physical, who doesn't typically hesitate to say what's on his mind, well... it's just perfect, for him.
When the kiss ends, he tilts his head and presses it against Cloud's neck instead, his voice soft, full of affection.]
'm extra pretty 'cause I love you.
[That was definitely from a romance movie. He thinks. (Definitely.) It's the only part he remembers, but damn it was a good line, wasn't it? Full sap. He means every word.]
[Zack's arm goes around his waist so easily, his skin so warm against Cloud's back; a few fingers press, briefly, into the dip of Cloud's spine and he shudders with it.
The line is definitely from a movie; Cloud doesn't remember which one, but remembers it being an inside joke in his squad for a while, so it must've been one of the musty VHS tapes they kept in the barracks for entertainment when the poorly-paid troopers couldn't afford to do anything fun with a day of leave. It's cheesy but the way Zack says that kind of stuff with the full force of his sincerity, Cloud believes it this time. Zack wouldn't lie to him, and certainly not about that. He really does love him, and...Cloud can't argue that it makes him want to see and know more of Zack because of it. Makes him more alluring, makes him more beautiful.
Zack's breath is hot against his neck, and Cloud can't keep himself from getting a little...anticipatory about it. What would Zack be like with more than this? Would he cling, would he whine? Would he try to hide his face, or would he let Cloud see it? What would he look like? That surprising, searing heat from the time he spends with Aerith flash-boils the doubt in his blood, reminding Cloud again that this is how it feels, how it's supposed to feel. When he wants someone.]
...let's stay inside, [Cloud says lowly, voice hoarse and deeper for it, his fingers combing through Zack's hair, curling locks between them.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He checks the knife. Sharp enough. Cloud takes one of Zack's wrists and pulls his arm out, carefully pressing the handle of the knife into his hand. Need to get those metal filings off before he finishes cutting up the veggies.] Wash that for me? [A request in tone, but also...a gentle instruction, almost. A respectful order. Testing the waters. Cloud soothes it with a kiss to Zack's jaw, right on that X-shaped scar.]
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You got it, boss.
[And maybe he knows what Cloud's doing. Maybe he likes being told what to do, the soldier (SOLDIER) instinct built in deep. Maybe he's just like that. Whatever the reason, Zack slips free, his knife-less hand brushing across Cloud's back - just above his waist, in between all those lithe muscles - before he separates entirely. The request may as well have been rhetorical. That knife is getting so washed.]
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He's already at a simmer when Zack's hand trails across his back. Yeah. This is like the feeling he gets with Aerith. It's working out. You got it, boss. Chills.
Cloud watches Zack for a moment; he has to hunch a little to use the sink, a bit too tall for everything in the cottage, and it makes his shoulders look even bigger. Before he can make a complete dumbass of himself Cloud turns back to what he's doing, a hand over the pan to test the heat before he drops in the slices of bread to toast, layering on the meat and cheese to get everything nice and hot. Zack's first, then he'll feed himself.]
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Your knife, sir. [Yeah that one's intentional, too.] Move over, I'll watch that.
[Bit of a bossy britches, himself. But if Cloud's going back to the veggies, may as well make himself useful again.]
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Cloud is moved because he does have to get to these veggies and he is hungry, but like. He's still kind of stunned here. The first tomato slice he makes after that little display is diagonal as shit.]
We're flirting, right? This is definitely- this is like, hardcore flirting? [HE JUST HAS TO CHECK. Flirting is so weird ok, sometimes he thinks he is but he isn't, sometimes he doesn't think he is but then he is. Many more times people are flirting with HIM and he doesn't realize because he's just trying to find the exits.
Not trying to find the exits now. But trying to make sure they're on the same page before he takes this any further
like the bedroom or smth.]no subject
It better be flirting! Nobody felt up my ass giving orders before.
[Maybe not an entirely unreasonable question, though. Yes, they're dating now, flirting makes sense, but sometimes Zack just talks to people and they think it's flirting. Or sometimes it is flirting, because he's just like that, with the intent for it to go nowhere.
...Anyway, this is flirting. Going-somewhere flirting. And nobody felt up his ass here either, but maybe that's wishful thinking-]
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Embarrassing. But...not in a bad way. Kind of like when Aerith had cinched that corset at his back and then felt him up.]
Don't mess with me, [Cloud complains, taking a tomato slice and shoving it into Zack's mouth to keep him from laughing again.] You know how many dating rumors you had back in the day? I'd just chat with you and the other guys in my squad would leave boxes of condoms on my bunk.
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On your bunk! At least the guys in Third Class left 'em in my locker. Security's more tight on the SOLDIER level, though.
[He'd probably have gotten in trouble with the science division or the Turks if he and Aerith had been actively sleeping together, though. Ugh, if they were watching- NOPE NOPE, erasing that train of thought. He's here for Cloud today, not to wonder just how much monitoring she was subject to.]
'm not messing with you, though. Someone gave me some real good advice the other day, actually. About you.
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Yeah? What was it? [Tries to not look too interested in hearing what other people are telling Zack about him, and wondering who the hell it could be considering the number of people here Cloud talks to even on the semi-regular.]
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That I should tell you, I wanna see you shirtless more!
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Puts down the knife. Turns away from the counter.
Reaches over his head and grabs two fistfuls of his shirt to haul it off over his hair, balling it up and flinging it in the direction of the hallway. That'll make its way to the bedroom whenever it happens.
-goes back to ch- chopping up tomatoes. Even though he's cut more than enough slices- u know what, lets ummm cut up the lettuce to make it more. Sandwich-shaped.]
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Holy shit, that worked.
[A moment passes, and Zack's cheeks turn pink as it sinks in and he looks, his gaze roving over bare skin, the arch of a spine, the way muscles roll and shift as he chops-
-oh. Zack swallows, his voice hushed.]
...Yeah I super should have told you that sooner.
[(Cloud does have a nice back. He owes Sharon again.)]
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Cloud clears his throat, pushing the finished vegetables to the side and taking the knife and cutting board over to the sink to wash them.] The, uh. The bread done yet?
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[Openly, at least. ...Oh, right, the bread. Hastily he goes back to the stove, flipping the slices just before they get uncomfortably burned. Phew.]
Uhhh, looks about done! Sandwich time?
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Maybe he leans into the Bond's effects a little harder than he usually would. Let himself calm down, quieting the near constant buzz of anxiety under his skin.]
Any other requests you need fulfilled, Mister Fair? [That's right, mask any negative emotions with cockiness. Be cheeky. Fake it until you make it, but in a far less damaging way than before.]
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He folds the sandwiches together, layer by later, considering Cloud's question. Anything else, huh...]
Think I got some juice on my face. [He lifts a hand to point at the corner of his mouth.] Right here. Help a guy out?
[Can you recognize his flirting now, Strife?]
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Zack's probably expecting a kiss, but Cloud just eyes Zack long enough to make it obvious that he's picked up on the hint. He lifts a hand, presses a thumb to the smudge at Zack's bottom lip, then wipes it off and lifts his thumb to his mouth to suck it clean.
Then takes the plate with his sandwich from Zack and heads over to the table.]
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LIKE AN ABSOLUTE LOSER]
Wh- dude! Dude! You can't- [chases him to the table!!!
....goes back for his sandwich, because he's still hungry. And cranky now. Hunky.]
Brutal...
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Cloud at least leans over the side of the table after Zack sits down to give him a nice, long kiss.] Sorry. [He can't forget Zack's wide, eager eyes when he'd practically begged, I wanna kiss you. Or you kiss me.
Cloud kisses him again, hand lifting to pet the hair at the back of Zack's neck sweetly.] You're just fun.
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You're such a brat. [Without venom, of course. He leans in like a magnet, happy for what he's gotten, longing for more always.] I'll get you both back one day.
[This is a lie: he's too much of a puppy to withhold anything even for a tease. But he can pretend!]
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Drags plate over so he can stand next to Zack and still reach his sandwich, taking a bite while he keeps petting Zack's hair, watching the way the guy just melts into his touch. Geez. He hasn't been doing this enough at all, has he? Cloud need to start paying better attention.]
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For real, though, Zack basically turns to mush. True puppy behaviour. That thing dogs do, tilting their head into the scritches? Yeah. If he was a familiar and had a dog's tail it would be wagging like mad. He's loving this.]
This fun, too?
[He hopes so. Sure feels nice.]
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...you're so pretty, [Cloud murmurs, looking down at how Zack's lashes are so dark and so long, especially looking at them from above. Zack's handsome, of course he's handsome; he's got big shoulders, sharp eyes, a jawline that looks like it was chiseled from marble...but here in the softness of the quiet between them, in a kitchen where Zack had cheekily said, yes sir and I wanna see you shirtless!, Cloud can't help but think that he's lovely, too. As careful as he is fierce, as malleable as he is solid.
Cloud waits for a moment to make sure he's not distracting Zack from his food before he lets his hand travel down, gently take Zack's chin and jaw in his hand (and it takes his whole hand, Zack's not even that much taller but he's so much bigger) to tilt his face up towards Cloud. Really...
Really, really beautiful.
Cloud leans down to kiss him again.]
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As Cloud kisses him again, Zack winds an arm around him, drawing him closer, allowing their bodies to brush against each other. With Cloud still shirtless, he can feel the smooth curve of the other man's back, the tension of his muscles, the bend of his spine. He's warm to the touch, and the whole thing feels so... cozy. He likes this, turns out. He likes this a lot. Cloud doesn't get affectionate all the time, but he's been noticing a shift, bit by bit, little touches growing in volume and intensity, as they grow more comfortable with what's been happening here. They're figuring things out. And Zack, who thrives on all things physical, who doesn't typically hesitate to say what's on his mind, well... it's just perfect, for him.
When the kiss ends, he tilts his head and presses it against Cloud's neck instead, his voice soft, full of affection.]
'm extra pretty 'cause I love you.
[That was definitely from a romance movie. He thinks. (Definitely.) It's the only part he remembers, but damn it was a good line, wasn't it? Full sap. He means every word.]
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The line is definitely from a movie; Cloud doesn't remember which one, but remembers it being an inside joke in his squad for a while, so it must've been one of the musty VHS tapes they kept in the barracks for entertainment when the poorly-paid troopers couldn't afford to do anything fun with a day of leave. It's cheesy but the way Zack says that kind of stuff with the full force of his sincerity, Cloud believes it this time. Zack wouldn't lie to him, and certainly not about that. He really does love him, and...Cloud can't argue that it makes him want to see and know more of Zack because of it. Makes him more alluring, makes him more beautiful.
Zack's breath is hot against his neck, and Cloud can't keep himself from getting a little...anticipatory about it. What would Zack be like with more than this? Would he cling, would he whine? Would he try to hide his face, or would he let Cloud see it? What would he look like? That surprising, searing heat from the time he spends with Aerith flash-boils the doubt in his blood, reminding Cloud again that this is how it feels, how it's supposed to feel. When he wants someone.]
...let's stay inside, [Cloud says lowly, voice hoarse and deeper for it, his fingers combing through Zack's hair, curling locks between them.]
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