'Opposite Souls' Ch.6 - Sheriv

Chapter 6

He muttered and flipped over, growling in his sleep as the annoying poking sensation continued. He waved a hand behind him, attempting to bat it away. A snickering was heard, but the thing went away. With a contented groan, he let himself begin the long, luxurious fall back into sleep. The bed dipped slightly and an arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him back against some one. Mmmmm, I smell Zack. Smells nice. He smiled, refusing to open his eyes and instead curled in towards the warmth of what had to be a dream. Afterall, only in a dream could I ever get Zack in a position like this.

"Cloud. Cloooooud."

"Mmm...g'way..." The body next to him shook with laughter and he scowled in fustration. This dream was taking an unexpectedly annoying turn. "...sleep..."

Some more laughter and now a hand running through his hair. "No, its time to wake up. And as much as I'd like to stay here, you promised to bake and I need to get the liquor."

His face scrunched up in confusion. What? Why does it sound like Zack? Unless... He cracked open one eye, to find a shirtless Zack leaning on an elbow in bed beside him. "HOLY SHIT!" He jerked back, tangling in the blankets, and falling over the side in a huge mess. "Motherfuckingsonofabitch! What the hell are you doing in my bed!"

Zack pointed to himself. "Moi? I was just making sure you didn't sleep in is all. That would be rather embarrassing, you know." He leaned over the edge of the bed to watch the squirming bundle of human and cloth. "That looks like fun. Can I join in?" He slithered off the bed, moving to start unwinding the blonde from the sheet and blanket that had wound themselves around him. "Why Cloud, I never knew you only wore boxers to bed! What coincidence, I do too."

The blonde burned a furious red. "OUT!" He choked as Zack grabbed him in a hug, squeezing tightly.

"You're so cute when you're mad! Like a little puppy whose had his bone stolen away." He rested his chin on the struggling blonde's shoulder. "You know, I could be your new bone."

"What are you talking about! My new what!" Blue eyes nearly popped out as Zack licked his ear. What the hell is he doing!

Zack released him, getting up and rubbing his arms as the air chilled him, now that he was out of the blonde's vicinity. "Well, I'll let you get dressed then. See you in the livingroom."

Cloud growled, halting the other man in his tracks. "Its not nice to tease and not follow-through."

A chill, this time not from the air, flowed down the Soldier's spine. He turned slowly back to the blonde, currently sulking. "Don't tempt the hungry wolf, Spike. He might bite."

The door clicked shut behind the dark-haired man, leaving the blonde alone to get dressed. Zack padded to the bathroom. I need a shower. A cold, cold shower. He turned the knob all the way to the right, yanking off jeans and boxers. He stepped under the spray, teeth chattering in moments at the freezing temperature. He stayed there though, refusing to get out until his lips had taken on a blueish tinge and he couldn't feel his legs anymore. Cold is good. Cold is very good. Teeth chattering is bad though. Very, very bad. Oh gods, heat returning bad too! The man winced at the prickles of pain shooting through him as heat slowly filtered back through his body. He got dried as quickly as he could, growling at the realization he still hadn't grabbed a shirt. Whatever, I'll be warm soon enough.

He laid a towel over his shoulders to catch any stray drips of water from his hair, and walked out. Cloud collided into him, knocking the Soldier to the ground. "Ow..."

"Sorry, Zack! Gotta run! Practice!" Cloud rushed around the apartment, grabbing various bits and pieces to his uniform here and there, pulling them on as he went. How the hell did my shirt get on the ceiling fan? And why are my pants on the coat hook! "Where's my damn belt!"

Zack rubbed his head, groaning. "Did you check your room?"

"Yes!" He raced into the bathroom, yanking open drawers and cabinets.

"The livingroom and kitchen?"

"YES!" Cloud dashed out of the bathroom, heading for the snow-covered porch.

"What about my room?"

"No, why would it be in there? I never go in your room." He came back in, covered in a light dusting of white and the porch looking like a herd of rhynos had trampled over it. "Did you take it?"

"I think I might have." The blonde tore off for the dark-haired man's room, Zack following close behind. "Don't you dare destroy my room!"

He bumped into Cloud, who had frozen at his entry-way, jaw open in amazement. "Zack...how do you live in this!"

"What are you talking about?" He peered in and blushed at the clutter. Clothes were strewn around at random, along with books and magazines. A few weapons glinted along the walls where they had been tossed. Plastic, bits of ribbon and wrapping paper, and bows dominated one corner of the room, testimount to Zack's wrapping frenzy. "Oh...yeah. I been meaning to clean this up for some time now. Here, I know! I'll make it up to you, for losing your belt in this mess. Paper...paper..." He snatched up a piece of bright red wrapping paper, fishing around in the mess until he got a pen. "I can either make them not discipline you for the missing belt, or for a price, I can get you out of practice today so you can just lounge around here with me and claim dibs on the best drinks before everyone else comes."

"What's the price?"

"A. Clean my room and the mess that's going to be generated tonight. As well as hauling out all the drunks into the hallway. Or, B. Clean the room and sleep here tonight so Seph can take your room. I swear, that man does not understand the meaning of, "Stop drinking while you can still walk." Besides, last time he woke up in here, he shoved me off the bed and took it for himself."

"That's cruel, Zack. Can't you give me an easier option?"

"I did give you an easy one!"

Cloud sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Alright, you win, I'll haul the Soldiers out into the hall tonight and clean this mess." He smothered a smiled behind a hand at Zack's astounded look. "Well, the other choice was a lot harder."

"You know you still have to room with Sephiroth, right?"

"That wasn't part of the deal!"

Zack grinned smugly. "Ah, but I outrank you, so what I say, goes. Now let me write up this letter."

"Fine, Zack. You win. I'd rather chance a night in here, then one with him." Cloud shuddered. "I feel like a deer in a lion's gaze when I'm around him."

Zack snorted with laughter, rapidly scribbling on the white side of the wrapping paper. "Hardly. I'd say Seph is more like an anti-social kitten then a lion. You just gotta get to know him better. He really is a softie at the core. Its deep down in there, I mean waaaaaay waaaaaay deep down, but its there. Here, hand this to your officer, I told him I needed you for information gathering and other such junk."

Cloud gave him a grateful smile, before rushing out of the apartment, ricochetting off a wall, and heading in the right direction finally. Zack shifted through a few piles in his room, picking out a few things and putting them in their correct places. He sighed, walked out, and returned with an empty trashbag. In moments, he had it filled with trash and barely a dent showed in the mess. "Its going to be a miracle if we can get this room in order. And several miracles to find that cot I had in here at some point."

He wearily grabbed another trashbag, shovelling discarded papers and wrappings. Well, I suppose if I did the laundry and actually hung it up, that would clear up a lot of this junk. The man looked around at the vast landscape of dirty and clean clothes, all liberally mixed together. "Dammit. This sucks." Just think of the reward. He did feel awfully nice this morning, remember? An idiotic grin crossed Zack's features, eyes glazing over as he remembered. Happily, he bounced to his feet and started throwing clothes randomly into his un-used clothes hamper.

Cloud arrived back to find the man in his daydream-inflicted stupor, carrying a new load to the washer located down the hall from them, and putting his first load into the dryer. "Zack? Is that you're laundry you're doing? But, you still have clean clothes. You never do your clothes until you're down to your last clean shirt."

The other man shrugged. "Its too early to go buy everything, so I decided I'd help you get that hellhole of mine fixed up."

"You have a hidden agenda. Why are you helping?" Cloud asked suspiciously, following his roommate to his room, where three full bags of junk were stacked to either side of the doorway.

Zack pointed at them. "Can you run those outside to the dumpster. I'll get started on another one. I've actually cleared a patch of ground! As for why I'm helping, I don't want you feeling uncomfortable, so I'm looking for a cot I kept in here. That way, you have an alternate option as to where you want to sleep."

"That's so...thoughtful. I'm a little afraid."

"I'm expecting a positive return for my thoughtfulness. Maybe another chance underneath the mistletoe to prove just how good of a kisser I am?"

Cloud shook his head. "I knew it. You know, when I first saw you, I never took you as one who liked boys. I always heard you were a slut amoung the girls."

"A what!"

"A slut. Oh yeah, I heard about how you slept with anything that was female, alive, and walked on two legs."

Zack had halted where he was, getting a new load of clothes ready for the washer. "I do not! Well...not anymore. Nowadays, I'm more equal-oppurtunity." At the confused glance from Cloud, he threw up a hand. "Alright, I'm bi. Girls, boys, I find them both to be attractive in their own ways. I suppose its why I find a lot of the guys my age nervous around me. If you haven't noticed, I tend to flirt a lot." He gave the blonde a wink. "So what about you? Where do you stand? I've never seen you show the slightest bit attraction towards anyone. Unless it was the attraction of your fist to their face."

The blonde sat back on his heels, stacking magazines. "Not too sure really, never thought about it. I've never been interested in girls. Before Aeris, they were only another reminded of...yeah. I suppose, I'm more attracted to boys to be honest." He shrugged and went back to scrounging through the mess for more magazines. "But, I've never really thought on it. Do you really want to keep these?"

"Naw, toss them all. I don't ever read them anymore." So, he's not straight. This is an interesting little fact. Which opens up so many more opportunities.

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"You two cleaned your room? I've seen it, there's nothing in the world that could make me want to attempt that. How'd you do it?" Sephiroth asked, later that evening.

"I told him I'd get him out of practice."

"Ah! Okay, I'd clean your room for that too."

The two sat on the kitchen counter, watching a very drunk Cloud, riding on the back of a very drunk Soldier. The blonde was giggling, tugging on the hair of his 'horse' and kicking him in the sides, while other Soldiers mimic'ed the two. Eventually, an impromptu jousting match was arranged. The two joined in the laughter as the 'jousters' were knocked from their mounts by any assortment on items.

"What a mess they're making."

"Yeah. Looks like fun though." Zack murmured, envy tinging his voice. "Hey Seph..."

The General instantly shook his head. "I'm not that drunk. Well, at least we got the presents out of the way. Except those over there." He pointed to a smile stack.

"Ah, those are for tomorrow. You're spending the night, right?"

"Yup. No way I'm driving home. I may be Soldier, but that means I ain't stupid. Or something like that. I don't know anymore, with all the shit Shinra's spouting out these days." The older man smiled slightly as one of the men went rolling on the ground, tousling with another. Moments later, Cloud had dive-bombed into the mass. "Oh, and thank you for the cologne. I don't know where to find that stuff anymore."

"No poblem. I got contacts."

Cloud stumbled up to the two, practically collapsing on them. "Zack, Zack! You...you gotta come join in! Its so much fun!" The blonde's eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the ground below them, snoring instantly.

Sephiroth stared down at him, moving just far enough off, to poke the smaller man with a toe. "You gonna help him?"

Zack shrugged, reaching back to pluck a bottle out of a cooler full of ice. "In a bit. After these guys start wandering off and passing out."

"You threw a good one this year, although the mistletoe was a bit much."

The darker-haired man chuckled. "Maybe, but I got what I wanted tonight."

"I assume you're referring to the five-minute liplock between you and Romeo down there."

"Mhmm." Zack straightened with a smug pride. He had managed to catch the blonde underneath the plant about half-way through the party, when everyone had a fairly nice buzz setting in. In fact, it was too the point when most of the girls started excusing themselves and were leaving, a couple with one of the Soldiers. Zack had spotted the blonde standing there, talking with one of the newest members to Soldier, and he had taken the oppurtunity to prove to Cloud just how good he was at kissing. Surprisingly, Cloud had returned the kiss, AND taken the initiative.

Sephiroth chuckled. "Still, it gave them way too much incentive to go after the girls. No wonder they left early, with all the guys trying to get them under it."

"It gave comedy relief."

"I personally thought Reno streaking was rather amusing." Sephiroth grinned full-out at the memory.

"It was even better when Rude joined in."

"Hey, speaking of them, looks like the Turks are the first to go this time." The two stared at where the three Turks had collapsed into a sort of puppy-pile in one corner, the red-head Reno twitching in his sleep. "Want me to get them, or you?"

"Can you?" Zack staggered to his feet, careful to avoid bumping into Cloud. "Alright boys, free-loading is done. The food and drink is gone, so get out." He said it with a smile, and the others shot back some good-natured insults. Most however, were looking forward to getting to bed. "Take your junk with you too! And someone wake up those three morons after we get their lazy asses out of here." He lurched to the side, grabbing a wall for balance. "Whoa!"

He wandered over to where Tseng was still slumped on the ground, Sephiroth dragging the other two out already. He grabbed the Turk by his collar, and started dragging him out, another Soldier helping him out by grabbing the man's legs. Zack grabbed him by his wrists and they tossed him on top of the other two, waking all three of them in the process of doing so.

"TSENG! Git off!"

"Why are you under me? Damn it Rude, you're sunglasses are digging in!"

"GET OFF! OW! Damned Soldiers." Reno growled, as the one who smacked him turned his head to stick his tongue out at the Turk. "They're all a bunch of Zack-clones, I swear."

"Elena's going to be pissed at us." Tseng muttered. "Well, come on already."

Quietly, so not to attract their attention, Zack closed the door after the last person had walked out and the last drunk tossed out, the three Turks still bickering good-naturedly. But, at least they had gotten to their feet! "Well, that was fun. My head is going to kill me tomorrow though." Zack muttered.

"You're telling me. Where am I staying?" Sephiroth asked, weaving slightly where he stood. "The room...spinning..."

"If you throw up, you're cleaning it. Take Cloud's room for tonight, he's staying in mine. Neither of us want to be booted out of bed by a certain cold, dominating, heartless, blanket-greedy General." Zack stumbled his way back across the litter-strewn floor, to where the blonde was sprawled out on the floor. "I don' know 'bout you Seph, but I'm goin' to bed. 5 am is way too late for me to be up." He looked back at a loud crash, to see Sephiroth had walked straight into a wall.

"Damn wall, got in my way." The man continued to try and find the door into the blondes room, leaning heavily once he found it so that when he opened it, the General unceremoniously sprawled forward and stumbled to the ground. "Damn gravity."

Zack watched incredulously as the man crawled his way to the bed, and pulled himself onto it, sprawling out as much as he could. "You drink too much!"

One hand raised up, middle finger extended. The taller man kept his face buried in the pillow, not even bothering to look at his friend as he laughed. Zack shook his head and then eyed the situation he was currently faced with.. On one hand, he wasn't completely smashed. On the other, he could still barely walk. What are the chances of me carrying him, without dropping him. I'd say, not good. He shrugged and bent down to slide one arm under the blonde's legs and the other under his shoulders, picking him up bridal style.

The blonde murmured and cracked open one blue eye. "Zack? Party done?"

"Yeah kid, its done. Damn, how much did you drink! You stink of alcohol."

He lazily through an arm around the Soldier's neck for leverage. "Not a kid. And you're one to complain. I can practically taste the beer on you."

"Can you get the door, my hands are kind of full." He jounced the smaller boy in his arms for emphasis.

Grumbling, Cloud obligingly waved his hand around, until it came in contact with the doorknob. He shoved open the door, letting his hand drop limply. "Hey Zack, there's someone in here already." Cloud giggled.

"The hell...?" Zack set the blonde down, striding over to find Elena passed-out on his bed. "Oh, hell no! I don't care if she's a girl." He shook the Turk hard until she finally opened her eyes. "You need to go home. Hurry up and catch up with those three boys of yours."

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Got it, sir." She stumbled out, still wiping sleep from her eyes. "Reno! Tseng! Hey, why are you all out here?" The two men heard her ask as the door opened to allow the sounds of the three male Turks still fighting to come through.

"Holy shit! Elena!"

"We thought you went home."

"Naw, I took a nap. I don't think Zack liked it much. Holy shit, are you three drunk!"

The door closed and the rest of the argument was cut off. Zack stared after the girl for a few minutes longer, before heading back to lift Cloud up again. He dropped him on the bed and started working on yanking his boots off. When did he put these on? Did he have to put the cross-over knot into it. "Hey Cloud, you still awake?"

"M'yes. What're you doing?" The blonde lifted his head to watch the man struggling and laughed. He waved him off and simply toed the boots off.

"Good, finish undressing yourself. That way I can't get in trouble with you in the morning. And I don't think you want to sleep in those things." He rubbed his eyes, vision swimming in and out of double-vision.

"Where you sleeping?"

"On the floor." He yanked off his shirt, tossing it into the now-clean corner of his room. Cloud's shirt went sailing over his head to join his shirt.

"Why?"

"Because you're on the bed."

Cloud paused, trying to work out that logic through the fog that seemed to have covered his mind. "So? Its big, sleep here too." He tryed to get the stiff denim pants off, grumbling. "Won't move. Well? Why not, I don't mind." Cloud demanded as the other man shook his head.

"Because, in the morning you'll kill me. Ack!" He stumbled back as a yank on one black spike had his head jerked. He was staring at the ceiling and falling back. Major vertigo! "What the hell was that for!" He demanded the moment his fall was arrested by the bed.

"You're being stupid." The blonde shoved the other man to the side, and kicked off his pants, wriggling under the blankets.

"Fine, but I'm not responsible for this. If you hit me tomorrow morning, I claim rights to exact my revenge in any way I wish." He hesitatingly finished getting ready for bed and slid in next to the blonde. Why are you still argueing! You've been wanting a chance like this for awhile now and you know it!

Cloud watched him through slitted eyes, waiting till he had relaxed before he moved closer and through an arm around the other man's waist. Surprise, Zack. He felt the other man go taught as a wire.

"Cloud?"

He said nothing, simply using the other an's shoulder as a pillow and slipping off to sleep, a small grin on his face. Zack stared down at him for several long moments. Well now. Isn't this nice. No! Bad boy, Zack! He's asleep! He itched to take advantage of the situation, but simply sighed and wrapped an arm around the sleeping blonde, hand resting chastely on his side. Why me? Why do all the worst temptations happen to me, when I can't even accept them?

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