PROJECT BREAKUP.

CHAPTER ONE

"Strife, I'm gonna need you to stay after class."

It wasn't the first time the blond had been asked to stay after class, and it seemed like it wouldn't be the last either. He froze in his position, looking as miserable as possible as he nodded in acknowledgment. His classmates were already shuffling toward the door, their reactions mixed—some looked sympathetic, other jealous. Usually no one wanted to be held after class, but in this case? Alone time with Instructor Fair didn't sound like such a bad thing, no matter how ominous his tone was.

Zack walked toward the door, closing it when the rest of the students were gone. "You were last…again." He shook his head as he turned around, eyeing the blond with as much seriousness as he could muster. Even that wasn't much, an obvious smile tugging at his lips as he began his approach.

The cadet tried to keep playing along, but he was having the same difficulty; he didn't find anything about his instructor scary. "Are you going to punish me, sir?"

"Punish you?" Zack repeated, chuckling at the idea. "I was going to thank you, but if you prefer punishment, I can think of a few things."

Cloud's worried expression had already cracked into a growing smile as his instructor stepped closer. "I'm beginning to think you do it on purpose."

"Do what?"

"Put me in impossible situations," the cadet accused, jabbing a finger into the Soldier's chest when he was within reach.

"Impossible?" his instructor scoffed, grabbing the cadet's hand and giving it a quick squeeze before letting it drop. "I just expect the best from you."

"Or you like having me stay after class."

"That too."

The younger boy looked satisfied with the response, but his eyes grew wary. "I need you to stop doing that."

"I'm the instructor here!" Zack teased, eyes lighting up playfully.

Cloud couldn't fight off another smile, but he tried to hold his ground still. "If you want to instruct me, that's fine! If you just wanna talk, then—"

His words were cut off as Zack's lips grazed his, a bit too briefly for either of their liking. "Maybe I just wanna kiss my boyfriend."

"Me too, but this isn't the best place. We could get in serious trouble if someone sees us."

"Hey!" Zack exclaimed, a genuinely hurt expression forming on his face. "I wouldn't do anything that would get you in trouble, Spiky. Plus, this all started before I even got this position, so it's not really our fault we're in this situation."

"Did it?" Cloud countered, shaking his head as he thought about it. "I mean, we were talking, but nothing really happened until after you started."

"It's not my fault that I didn't realize how cute you looked in your uniform."

"Uh, I think I was wearing it when we first me, so if you didn't notice…" The cadet shrugged, laughing as Zack frowned. "I'm still glad this all happened, but no one really knew we were friends before. They're asking a lot more questions now, especially since you're asking me to stay after class every day now."

"Don't act like you're so innocent. You've been giving me bait!" Zack declared, looking sure of his assessment. "I think you mess up on purpose so that I'll have an excuse to have you stay."

The boy's face grew red, and he was unable to deny that it was at least partially true. Sometimes it seemed like Zack would ask him an impossible question for an excuse to 'scold' him, but on days he didn't…it took some creativity. "That's not the point!"

"Then what is? No one knows about us," Zack insisted, grabbing the boy's hand into his own. "And they won't. Not till after this semester ends. When your birthday passes—"

"And when you're not my instructor," Cloud added, still nervous just by the idea of it.

"And that," the Soldier agreed with a nod. "We'll be careful until then."

"They think I'm gonna get kicked out of the program if I don't start doing better."

"Well, c'mon, Spiky! I know you like being around me all the time, but you don't hafta mess up on purpose! I can just find another reason to get you to stay. I mean, your shirt isn't even tucked in properly. That's against regs," he pointed out, shaking his head as he pulled the boy closer by the hips.

"It's tucked in—" he began, quickly silenced against Zack's lips once more. A hand began to tug at the shirt while their lips were pressed together, and soon Zack's words were proven true. "Not fair!" Cloud muttered, not breaking away from the kiss.

"Hmmm, not supposed to be," Zack replied, wrapping his arms around the cadet and pulling back just slightly. He stared down, admiring the younger boy's features up close and contemplating another kiss. "If the other kids are buggin' you about it, I'll stop," he promised, not sounding pleased with the idea.

"I have another class," he said, letting out a disappointed sigh as he forced himself to take a step back.

Zack smiled down, nodding in understanding. "Okay. Why don't you swing by after and we can hang out? I just bought that new game, so I can whoop your butt until you're sulking…then I'll try to think of something to do to make you feel better."

Cloud glared up at his boyfriend, not distracted by his shameless hinting. "We'll see who's sulking. Just because you're better with a sword doesn't mean you can beat me at a shooting game."

"Is that a challenge, Spiky?"

"Of course it is!"

Zack grinned, watching as the boy hurried to tuck his shirt back in. "I just wanna tear it off," he said, laughing softly as the boy's face turned red again. A hand trailed across Cloud's face as he stared fondly, pleased to see the boy was amused despite his embarrassment. "You sure you gotta go to class? I don't have anything going on the rest of the day."

Cloud frowned, easily tempted. His time with Zack was always limited to early mornings, late nights, and stolen moments between classes. Usually that was because the Soldier's schedule was packed with classes, paperwork, and training...It wasn't like they could be seen out in public, and Zack's friends monopolized his free time without even knowing. Skipping class wasn't an option though.

"I have an exam," the cadet replied apologetically. Zack didn't try to conceal his disappointment, but he made no argument. "I'll come by as soon as it's done."

"Okay. Want me to order pizza, or something else?"

"Doesn't matter," he replied with a shrug.

The blond looked down at himself, making sure his uniform wasn't too disorderly before meeting Zack's eyes again. He was ready to say his goodbye, but as he was looking up he realized that at some point in during their conversation, the door had opened. A large figure had stepped into the room, and was watching the pair carefully from a short distance away. Cloud recognized the man immediately, though they had never met.

When he fumbled into an awkward salute, Zack arched an eyebrow, following the boy's gaze. His pale blue eyes widened just slightly, but he tried not to allow his panic to show.

"Hey 'Geal," he said, much more tentatively than his usual greeting.

Cloud's eyes had fallen to the floor, and his worry was much more apparent. He didn't wait in the room to react though; he rushed toward the door, not daring to look at Zack as he exited. The moment the door was closed again, the elder Soldier crossed his arms and eyed his former student intently.

"What was that, Pup?"

"Uh," Zack scratched the back of his head. "Depends how much you saw?"

"Since when do your answers depend on anything?" Angeal replied, frowning. "We've always been honest with one another."

The words hit hard, prompting a wave of guilt to wash over the younger Soldier. "You're right. It's just…complicated this time."

"He's your student."

"I've known Cloud for a long time now."

Angeal just shook his head, his expression stern. "It doesn't matter. He's a child still."

"He's 16!" Almost, but that didn't seem worth adding. A month would only change things from a legal perspective—it wasn't as if Cloud would have a sudden transformation when the day actually passed.

"Then what were you saying about waiting for his birthday?"

"How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough. You didn't even hear the door open." He paused, giving his former student a moment to understand the severity of the situation. "Imagine how different thing conversation would be if someone else had walked in here."

"I get caught up when I'm around him, and I just…I know what it must look like to you, but it's not like that."

"He's your student."

"Doesn't matter how many times you say it, I already know, and I already thought about it. We met months before I got placed on teaching duty. It was all just a bad coincidence when I got his class."

"That doesn't change the fact that it's now allowed. Policy prohibits these kinds of relationships for a reason, Zack. Being an instructor puts you in a position of authority over him. So long as you have control over his grades and progress, he may not feel like he can say 'no' to you. It doesn't matter how old he is, or how genuine his consent seems."

"You think I'd use my position to pressure him into something?" The hurt he felt came out with every word, and he stared at his mentor with clear disbelief.

"No, Zack," Angeal said, his expression softening in an instant. "I know you. That doesn't change the fact that you aren't exempt from the rules. I have a responsibility to act when I see a situation like this."

"I'm not sleeping with him, 'Geal," Zack explained carefully, his eyes pleading with his mentor. "We both agreed that we're not gonna cross any serious lines till after the semester ends. I'll be outta the instructor rotation, and by the time it's my turn again, he won't be a cadet anymore. None of this will matter then."

"I believe you, but that doesn't change anything. It's still not an appropriate relationship for you to have with him under the circumstances. If you choose to resume things after the semester, so be it, but it needs to end for now."

"And if it doesn't?"

"It won't be up to me to determine your punishment—it'll go directly to a review panel. At minimum, you'd be placed on short term suspension from all duties, depending on what the investigation turned up," Angeal told him with a sigh. "Don't put me in that situation, Pup. Take care of it before it goes that far. Understood?"

"I understand," Zack responded slowly, which wasn't the firm 'understood!' that the situation required.

Angeal stared at his former student knowingly. "Zack..."

"I know what you wanna hear, but I don't wanna lie to you. He's important to me, and I can't just end things because you want me to."

"It's not because I want you to, it's because it's against policy," Angeal reiterated.

Zack wasn't convinced. "C'mon, 'Geal. If Gen had been the one to walk in, we both know he wouldn't have cared. I'm not doing anything wrong with Cloud, and you know it. You're just making it into something else because you've got a weird thing about situations like this."

The elder Soldier frowned just slightly, taking a minute before responding. "What if I didn't?" he asked, the hesitation in his voice barely detectable. "I think what you're doing now is completely inappropriate, but what if I realized it wouldn't always be that way?"

The color drained from Zack's face as the question hit his ears, and he felt his heart sinking. He would have assumed he was imagining the double meaning behind his mentor's words, but the way the questions were posed seemed too careful to be a coincidence. "What?"

"What if I told you that maybe he's too young for you now, but it wouldn't be that way indefinitely?" he continued, brows furrowed as he met Zack's eyes. "You won't always be his teacher. The things that make it wrong now won't last forever."

The younger Soldier opened his mouth, but was unable to speak for a minute. "Are you saying…?"

"I think you know what I'm trying to say."

His heart was racing faster than he would have liked to admit, but there was no stopping it. This was what he had wanted to hear for years. He eyed Angeal carefully, knowing how he wanted to react, and knowing that he couldn't. The fact that this was happening now was just cruel.

"I think so too, I just don't get why you're saying it now!" Zack exclaimed, shaking his head fervently. "I didn't choose to be with a student to prove some kinda twisted point to you. I'm with him because he's important to me, and it didn't matter if he was a cadet, Soldier, student, or anything! It was just about me and him, and how we felt. And you!" He pointed a finger at his mentor, shaking his head once more. Again he was at a loss for words, pacing as he tried to figure out what to say next. By the time he met Angeal's eyes again, he was too frustrated to hold anything back. "I can't believe you'd come here and say that now. I told you how I felt about you. I told you!"

Angeal didn't visibly flinch, but Zack could recognize the struggle in his mentor's eyes. "I remember."

"And you told me no," Zack reminded him, a long, drawn out sigh coming out as he threw his arms up in defeat. "Not just no, but never. Even when I wasn't your student, you said it couldn't happen. I would always be too young for you. I would always be your 14 year old puppy, and you could never think of me any differently. That's what you said!" He didn't care that he was basically repeating himself, or that he sounded as bitter as he felt. It wasn't something he was accustomed to feeling, and it seemed better to vent it out rather than let it build.

His mentor hadn't responded to anything, and didn't look like he was ready to just yet. He knew Zack too well. The younger Soldier had never been good at holding his feelings in, though usually they were all positive feelings—excitement, amusement, enthusiasm. These frustrations needed to be aired too, and they were justified. All he could do was watch as his former student tried to grasp it all, wishing he could reach out, but knowing that wouldn't help this time.

Zack came to a halt again, staring expectantly at the older Soldier. "Why're you saying this now? What changed?"

"Nothing changed," he admitted, forcing himself to remain composed despite the ache he felt inside. "Every time you confessed your feelings, I wanted to tell you I felt the same way. I couldn't though. There were things you didn't know. You were too young, and it wasn't appropriate to—"

"I told you on my 16th birthday…" Zack's stare was contorted with a familiar sadness; one that he thought he had moved on from. "I told you again after my promotion to First. I told you again when I first started to have feelings for Cloud because I knew…The moment I met him, I knew he was someone I'd be interested in, but I was still holding out for you."

Angeal's heart fell further with every word, and he nodded in acknowledgment. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. I could never be mad at you," Zack told him, running both hands through his black spikes. He knew deep down that Angeal wouldn't deliberately hurt him, and while it didn't make the situation easier, it was pointless to try to hold a grudge. "The thing is, it doesn't matter. I'll always feel something for you, but none of it changes how I feel about him."

"I won't report you or press the issue for now," his mentor promised, eyes falling to the ground. "Just be more careful. I won't be able to look the other way again, and I can't protect you if someone else were to find out."

"Okay." There was an awkward feeling in the air between them, and neither seemed to know what to say next. They had gone through awkward conversations like this before—usually ending with Angeal telling Zack that things would stay normal between them, despite his unrequited feelings. Zack frowned, realizing it was his turn to be the reassuring one. It didn't feel right, but he wasn't about to let things stay awkward with Angeal. "What'd you really stop by for?"

"I just wanted to see if you had time for lunch."

"Still wanna?"

"If you do."

"Of course I do," he said, his enthusiasm returning gradually.

Angeal met his eyes, forcing a slight smile. "Let's go then."

Zack nodded, trying to play along as happily as he could. They exited the room together, both processing everything that had just been said as they carried on with the first pointless conversation Zack could come up with.

I hope you enjoyed Chapter One! Reviews would be great! I have the chapters all planned out already, so I'll have more up as soon as I can. Title and eventual ASGZC aspect will make more sense after a while—it's not a quick transition.