Circle of Kisses
By: Selim
Summary: A look at Zack and Angeal's realationship through a series of drabbles.
Warnings: Suggested themes, yaoi, language
Pairings: AngealxZack, SephirothxCloud
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. I am not making any profit off this piece of fanfiction.

Word: Negative

"Don't do that."

Zack dropped the sword he was using to skew vegetables from the garden. When Angeal's attention turned to watering the cabbages, the Second shifted his attention to another part of the garden where, as quick as a puppy, he went to occupy himself with the hoe.

"Stop that."

The hoe was dropped in a similar fashion as the sword from earlier. Batting practice with the wind chime could wait until Angeal went to bed. "All this negativity is going to stunt my growth."

"You're almost eighteen, Zack," said Angeal as he checked his tomatoes, "just sit still. We'll go down to the simulation training room after I'm through."

Grabbing his sword from the dirt, Zack rushed for a seat and waited patiently for Angeal to finish. When the man was done, long fingers brushed through dark tresses, "Good, pup. Let's go train." Basking in the warmth of praise, Zack grabbed Angeal's hand to drag the man quickly to the training room, promising himself not to take a hoe to Angeal's wind chime that night.

word: Goofball

What drew Angeal's attention to the dark haired man that would later become his student was Zack's personality. He'd seen men melt into a puddle of goo from just being in the same room as him or any of the other First Class SOLDIERs, but Zack was different. Their first meeting would forever haunt him as an embarrassing moment. He'd just returned from a mission, unshaven and smelling. His long hair had been tangling down his back and he'd known he would be draining ShinRa's hot water that night. Long story short, Zack had thought he was a homeless slum dweller and had given him five gil.

Then there were the times during basic training when Zack proceeded to be the unit clown, always having an answer to every question, every order, and every comment.

Genesis had once inquired what made Angeal want to take the goofball under his wing, and Angeal couldn't contain the smile as Zack came rushing into the room at that point and slid on the carpet, where he collided into the couch. Genesis had crossed his arms, watching the scene with a hint of interest. "If," Zack panted, climbing on his knees to dart out of the room, "Sephiroth comes in, you've never seen me!" That said, the dark haired man darted out of the room. A few moments later, Sephiroth (pink hair and all) came storming into the room with Masamune unsheathed. Both men pointed towards the door that Zack had fled through. When alone again, Angeal turned to his dearest friend.

"The goofball makes me laugh," Angeal chuckled. Genesis followed suit in agreement.

Word: Parents

"She had no right to say that!"

"You have to give her some credit, she didn't come after me with that knife like I thought she would."

"That's not the point! You make me happy! That's all that should matter not the fact that we can't have grandchildren! This went horrible! I'm so sorry for dragging you all the way here to be degraded! I'll make it up to you when we get back home. I'll do that one thing you like so much."

"Calm down, it wasn't that bad. I've heard worse from my neighbors when I set the cat on fire practicing with materia. Which reminds me: don't use magic when you're in a sadistic mood – no one wins."

"I'll remember that. But still: I want to make this up to you. This wasn't what I imagined when I brought this up during our last mission."

"Calm down, pup. Dinner with your parents was fine. Your mother didn't say anything my mother hasn't said to me already. No matter what anyone says I'm not going anywhere. A Gongagan woman wielding a just-sharpened butcher knife and ranting about grandbabies isn't going to make me go away—what's wrong Zack? Did you get dirt in your eye? There appears to have been a long dry spell in the area and…"

"It's always been dry here. No, it's not the dust. That's…the sweetest thing you've ever said. Screw when we get back to Midgar. I'll do that thing with my tongue here."

"Z-Zack!"

Word: Medication

"I don't wanna!"

Angeal huffed, blowing a strand of hair from his face. This wasn't how he wanted to spend his Saturday. Of course, he hadn't wanted to spend his Thursday evening out in the storms either. He could only thank his high mako levels for not being sick. Zack, however, hadn't faired nearly as well. The dark haired dog was huddled under a heavy blanket on his couch, gazing out with distaste at the medicines the doctors had prescribed to him. "Just swallow the stuff like a good soldier, Zack." Angeal tried again, playing on the puppy's ego.

A cute button nose scrunched and the blankets cocooned again, shielding the sick Zack from any attacks from the medicines. "It tastes all nasty."

Taking the white bottle in his hand, Angeal frowned, "but professor Hojo added a taste of cherry to it; you like cherries!"

"It still tastes like chalk. He's a liar." Zack shifted positions to lie on his side. It was a pitiful sight to the First. He had never liked being sick as a kid himself, and it was even worse to see his energetic student struck down by a case of the sniffles. "Can't you just cast cure on me?"

"You know I can't." Angeal took a seat on the couch; his large hand fell on Zack's shoulder. "Come on, puppy. The sooner you take your medicine the sooner you'll be better and we can go on that mission."

"…I got the mission?" Zack's head left the blankets. The man had been vying for the Mideel mission, going as far as to ass kissing to get sent on the mission. Not only would it be a vacation but it would also be an excellent training experience considering the monsters around the hot spring resort were known to be extra strong. "…but it tastes like chalk…"

Measuring out some of the thick, white medicine, Angeal held the clear cup under Zack's chin. "You can trust me, it'll taste different this time."

With an untrusting eye, Zack downed the contents, cringing. "You liar—"

Angeal sealed their mouths together. It was true, the supposed cherry medicine was still chalky, but it was for Zack's own sake. "Did that make it any better?" He huskily whispered after.

"Will you give me my medicine tomorrow?"

"Yeah, pup, I will."

Word: Reminding

Genesis had reminded him that he was expected to be back in Midgar by Friday if he wanted to think about breathing again.

Angeal arrived on Thursday.

Sephiroth reminded him that they needed to be up and ready by eight. Any later and he promised to kill the Commander.

Angeal was ready by five.

Cloud, in a squeaky, uncertain voice, reminded Angeal of his lines. Those blue eyes darkened just enough to promise bodily harm if the First forgot what to say.

Which was why it was all written on his wrist – just in case.

Zack's sweet face greeted him at the podium. The dark haired Second blushed, looked down and whispered his own greetings. "I thought you wouldn't make it."

"After all the reminders I was getting, how could I forget?" Angeal smirked. "I'm ready to marry you, puppy."

"I'm glad." Zack smiled.

Word: Fear

SOLDIER was no place for a person afraid of needles. Though subjected to dozens of them in his youth, Angeal still had an irrational fear of them. His annual mako injections put him on edge for weeks. This wasn't the same though. Angeal cringed as the tattoo artist approached him and Zack.

Just looking at the device made his back stiffen. "Zack, are you sure you want to do this?"

"All the SOLDIER guys have one!" The brunette smiled up, raising the sleeve of his shirt. The tattoo artist took a seat, preparing the area.

"Name three."

"Tisnel, Usu, and Golapsi."

Slapping the top of his head, Angeal sighed. "Respectable SOLDIERs, Zack."

"Um…Sephiroth. He has a 'one'."

"Okay, so he's a number. You're going to be remembered as the crow guy."

"It's a vulture."

"Every dying SOLDIER needs his own. Very promising."

Zack's face grimaced at the realization that a vulture did, in most cases, mean an impending death. "Gotcha – hey, man, how about that skull?"

"I knew a man," Angeal crossed his arms trying to appear nonchalant, "who had a skull on his back – flamed one, looked cool. Dead in a week; his skull was crushed by a rock." That needle was getting too close to Zack's skin, making Angeal nervous again.

Zack tensed. "Maybe a rose?"

"Poor Anderson, that's why we have a regulation about touching foreign flora. We thought it was just a rose like the one on his chest."

"Wutaiian symbol?"

"Poor Basch, we veterans of the Wutai war will never forget you or your 'friend' tattoo." Angeal touched his chest.

"I'm starting to think you're afraid of needles."

Scoffing, Angeal turned his head away, "Me? A SOLDIER? Afraid of a needle? Hah! Never."

Zack rolled his eyes, looking at the annoyed tattoo artist. "Can I get a piercing instead, man?"

"Make your father go away so I can do my job." The burly guy snorted, putting away his tattoo tools in favor of a piercing gun.

Angeal knew that he'd won the first battle against the needle, but the new battle was going to be a harder one. "Zack—!"

Word: Rain

It rarely rained in Midgar but when it did, it poured. Some said that the clear droplets were a means for the area to cleanse itself of the pollution brought about by the reactors, others said it was just the region Midgar was located in. Zack couldn't care what the reason was; he preferred the long droughts to the rainy jungle season that he'd grown up in. Children in Midgar were enchanted when it rained while children in Gongaga were kept inside until the rain stopped and the flooding subsided.

In the end, Zack hated the rain. It meant long hours indoors with nothing to do. The first droplet of rain had started in the early hours of morning – a week ago. Already schools were canceled and all were worrying about flooding in the Midgar area. Zack didn't see all that much of a problem with a few puddles but he considered with the area being made entirely of machinery it was a big problem.

On the third night of rain, Angeal had made himself at home in Zack's apartment. Apparently the roofs of the higher ranked officers were leaking and Zack owed his mentor a lot. As if the brunette would turn away the man he loved on account of the rain.

Only, this lead to Genesis moving in followed by Sephiroth. Then the cadet barracks had flooded and cadets were being handed out to those who had room – Zack received one extra guest named Cloud Strife (a weird name). With his personal space being held by his commanding officers (and one cadet), Zack had found that even he could feel subconscious about the littlest of things.

Genesis had already gone through all of his drawers, after having commandeered the bedroom, and chastised his lack of literature ("Not even a porno, it's a shame."). Meanwhile, Sephiroth had taken control of Zack's personal work consol to do some paperwork while the rain had the rest of Midgar out of commission. Angeal busied himself cleaning the small space, leaving nothing without a through scrubbing (thus Zack realized half the food he'd been eating was expired). The only one who'd kept out of the SOLDIER's private space was the cadet who was just excited to have a television to view – poor kid had been raised without, what he refereed to as, "a talking picture box".

Though his personal life was now on display, Zack realized as he got to know the cadet, that maybe rain wasn't that bad – in small doses.

Word: Empty

"Fuck."

In all his years of knowing Angeal, Zack had never heard the older man curse. To be honest, it wasn't all that nice to hear after he'd had his own mouth washed with soap when he used such colorful language. "Something wrong?" He murmured, relaxing under Angeal's own weight. He was so hot and ready.

"It's empty."

Zack's eyes flashed open, looking up at Angeal for a clear understanding at what the man was getting at. He'd known Angeal was older but…that old? Whatever he'd been thinking had to been clearly written on his face because Angeal smacked the Gongagan boy upside his head while opening drawers. "No. The lube. Have you got any more?"

"I keep hordes in my closet," Zack rolled his eyes sarcastically. Had he not been in the right state of mind he would have told his older lover to screw it and screw him but Angeal wasn't exactly a little fellow. Lubricant was the only thing that was going to make the night bearable as well as pleasurable. "Maybe we've been doing this too much."

"There's never 'too much', Zack. There's 'not enough' and there's 'just about enough', but never 'too much'. We're doing this dry then." Angeal grabbed a leg to stretch Zack out more.

"No! No! Put me down! G, go ask Genesis for some or…" Zack blushed. "No more if the lube is empty." Rolling out from under Angeal, Zack rushed off towards the bathroom to lock himself up and relieve the pressure that was building. He knew Angeal wouldn't go ask Genesis for anything – apparently that broke a law between friends, no sharing money, boyfriends, or lubricant.

From the bedroom a loud thump of a fist hitting wood resounded throughout the apartment. It was a sworn promise between the two that from then on, the lubricant would never get close to empty again.

Wishing

Wishing doesn't bring anything.

Zack had wished he could be a hero ever since he was little and saving village girls from make believe dragons and evil sorceresses. He wished he could have a girlfriend but the same girls he once protected felt he was too immature for them.

He wished he could be a strong SOLDIER First Class, but because of restrictions in numbers unless a First suddenly died, Zack would remain a Second. He wished he could be much more with his mentor, but Angeal was as heterosexual as they came.

He wished he could fight alongside his mentor, to be there when things got too tough. Angeal ended up saving Zack from harm. Some hero he turned out to be.

The night of his Wutai mission, Zack wished for the war to end. It ended, and he lost Angeal.

Zack later wished he could see Angeal again. It was a painful memory that would forever haunt him.

Zack only wished for his feelings to be returned. No one would know that as he helped Genesis out, the dying swordsman whispered in his ear that Angeal had always returned those feelings but Zack, too busy wishing, had never acted on them and Angeal, too honorable to do so, had left everything bottled up inside.

His wishing never did bring him anything but sorrow.

Word: Children

Zack probably should have kept his mouth shut, but he couldn't help it. "If we had kids, I wonder what they'd look like."

The coffee he'd just swallowed came back up, causing the First to cough. "What?"

"Our kids."

Afraid he'd drop his coffee cup, Angeal placed it down on the desk so he could give Zack his undivided attention. "Unless you are one messed up man, I don't think that is possible Zack. End of discussion."

"I know I can't have children but I wonder what our genes would mix into." Zack rolled off the couch. He was quick to approach Angeal, to touch the man's face. "I bet dark hair cause we both have it and…your strong cheek bones – did your dad have that too?"

"Yes but—stop thinking along those lines. We can't have kids and if you could we sure the heck wouldn't be…ahem, you know…without protection." Angeal rubbed his temples, fighting off his oncoming headache. "I wouldn't punish a kid with my genes."

"I think our kid would look cute. I hope it has your eyes, they're so deep I could stare into them forever." The dark haired teen climbed on Angeal's lap, staring longingly into Angeal's eyes. Reflex kicked in, making the First wrap his arms around the younger man to keep Zack from falling. "My nose – that's a strong feature in my family. Um. Pretty blue eyes and a gorgeous smile."

"Like your own?" Angeal smiled, causing Zack to blush. "If we had a kid," he agreed, "he'd be the epitome of beauty because of his mother."

"Angeal…"

"So what brought this all on?" Angeal brushed his lips across Zack's neck.

Lifting his head, Zack blushed red at the feeling going straight to his groin. "Well…mako does some crazy things."

"Yes, wings sprouting out of SOLDIER backs, monsters with extraordinary strength, and crazy scientists." Angeal agreed, raising his arms around the round rump his student called a butt.

"I'm pregnant. Is 'Zangeal' a good name? Angack? Angeal, what's wrong? Um…wake up. Hello!"