~In Memory of Chaos -2008-2010- you are greatly missed~

Cloud sighed heavily as he sat up and grabbed his head. He looked at his bed and saw a few of his cats scattered across the top of the covers. He sighed as he fell back again his hand running across the cat lying on the pillow next to him, the pure black cat whose large amber eyes were shut at the moment, Chaos. He couldn't believe he was even dreaming about Zack now. It seemed that lately everything that went through his mind had something to do with him. Since when had Zack started to mean so much to him. It was almost annoying. There was a mewling from beside the bed and he looked down at his little calico cat, Seto, who was looking up at him tail wagging in a rather impatient fashion. Cloud smiled down at the animal as he sat up and pulled himself out of bed.

"Alright, you're hungry, I understand." Cloud said to Seto who seemed to understand his words. They also seemed to peek the interest of the white cat at the foot of his bed, Omega, and Chaos, both of which got up and followed Cloud and Seto down the stairs and into the kitchen. These cats were like his family now that he was all alone and he loved all of them. The other two were his black and white domestic short hair named Argento and his long haired orange tabby named Minerva. The sound of the pellet food hitting the inside of the large plastic bowl was like a call for all of the cats to assemble. He smiled down at them as they all started to eat before looking in the fridge for something for himself before ending up settling with cereal. He didn't think of himself as a cat person, but he was sure other people thought of him that way, not that he cared what other people thought.

His mind wandered though and he did find himself briefly wondering what people would think if he actually decided to get into a relationship with Zack. Quickly realizing what he was implying by thinking this he gasped and dropped his spoon he looked at it then to his cats, Minerva, who always seemed like such a haughty animal was giving him a look. He shook his head, "It's nothing just some...unwanted thoughts." he said to the animal who went back to eating after he spoke. It was funny how they seemed to understand what he was saying, though he was sure it wasn't completely normal to have conversations with cats no matter what the circumstance. He sighed and rested his forehead on the table. There was a light thud which he knew meant one of the cats had jumped up onto the table next to his head. He knew these animals well and knew it was the newest cat, his black cat Chaos. He lifted his head and smiled running his hands through the animals fur as it started to purr at him. "Why does life have to be so painful?" he asked the animal who reacted by rubbing up against Cloud's face. The blond couldn't help but let out a short laugh as he sat up completely and brought the cat into his lap. "I'm glad you guys can't talk." There was a meowing from the front door and Cloud couldn't help but sigh, so much for not talking. He put Chaos down on the ground as he went to the front door where Argento and Seto were sitting waiting to be let out. "Yeah, I think I'm going to go out for a while too." he said as he pulled on shoes and opened the door. The two cats ran outside as the door opened and he followed them closing the door behind him before starting on his walk, barely glancing at Zack's house as he walked by.

Like he usually did to clear his mind he ended up wandering down a path that led along the creek just in the limits of the town; he loved how calming it was, he loved the sounds that surrounded him. He knew there was a place nearby where the people from town liked to hang out but he tended to stay away from there though, he didn't like the fact that people could show up there at any time, he preferred to spend this quiet time alone with no one else around to bother him or intrude on his thoughts. This time around though he couldn't help but think that he wouldn't mind bringing Zack on one of these walks, but he quickly shook his head and got rid of that thought, this walk was supposed to get rid of thoughts of Zack. For some reason he knew it was impossible though. Despite how much he didn't want to he knew he would have to think about these 'feelings' he may have for Zack eventually, he was hoping that this eventually would be much, much later though. Maybe he would try and steer clear of Zack for the next little while, just so he could clear up his thoughts a bit more then the cluttered mess they were right now.

The path ended just inside of town, right beside the small shopping district and Cloud was a bit upset that this walk seemed to end so quickly and was about to head on back down the path to lengthen his trip, when his eye caught on a partially closed box off to the side of the road. He frowned as he looked at it and it moved slightly. He felt a small kick in his heart as he walked forward and opened it, unable to help himself. He gasped slightly as he saw what was inside a small kitten with a deep red coloured fur, it was lying in the corner shivering and looking up at him with large amber eyes. Cloud frowned as he picked up the small animal which mewled in protest before quickly accepting it as Cloud held it close to him trying to warm it up and let it know it was safe. He looked around but there was no one in the immediate area, so he decided then that he was going to bring the small animal home.

His walk home was short, no matter where you were in town a walk was short so he was very glad that he got home within ten minutes knowing that eventually the small animal that he could hold in one hand would start to protest violently and probably end up getting him injured. Though at the moment Cloud didn't care about himself as much as he cared about the tiny creature. He stepped into the house, followed by Seto wanting in, and headed upstairs and into his bedroom, Omega was curled up on the foot of the bed and perked up when Cloud approached laying the small kitten on the bed next to the white cat who stretched and got up to examine this new being. Cloud knew Omega wouldn't do anything to hurt the little guy though, all his cats were very good with one another and with whatever new cat he happened to bring in. He quickly went downstairs grabbing a dish of water and a dish of food for the small creature, because who knew how long it had been since the little thing had had anything to eat or drink. Omega had gone back to lying down and the kitten was sniffing the older cat curiously. Both of them looked at Cloud as he approached and set the two bowls down on top of the bed. The kitten paused before stepping forward and going straight for the water lapping it like he hadn't had anything to drink in weeks. Omega didn't make any move to take the food or anything from the animal as it curiously went to work on the food as well.

The doorbell rang and for a moment Cloud was tempted to just leave it, but despite this he couldn't bring himself not to. He sighed as he left the kitten with Omega to watch and he headed down the stairs opening the door to see Aerith looking at him with a smile. "Hello?" He said with the slightest of frowns, she didn't have her cart with her or anything and recently it had become more and more rare for her to simply visit him.

"Hello Cloud." She said stepping inside as Cloud held the door open for her. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm planning on having a get together for my birthday in two days. You can just come over around three, alright?" she asked with a bright smile. Cloud was slightly shocked, he had always thought that people gave a good deal of notice before they had parties, but he didn't mind. He was sure he would end up forgetting if he was told a couple weeks or even just a week before hand.

"Alright, that sounds good." Cloud said with a smile as he closed the door.

"How are you Cloud?" Aerith asked in a more serious tone which caught the blond off guard. His eyebrows furrowed as he turned to look at her, and she looked as serious as she sounded. He let out a sigh, Aerith did have every right to be worried about him, so he wasn't going to say he was annoyed by how much she pried sometimes.

"I'm fine don't worry." he said shaking his head. He paused for a moment, "But do you mind coming up stairs I have something I'd rather not leave alone at the moment." he said with a small smile his brows showing an almost apologetic look.

"No it's no problem." she looked almost shocked by the offer to go upstairs but she followed him up the stairs and into his neat room without another word. She gasped as she eyed the little kitten which was still eating. "Oh my gosh it's so cute!" she said stepping forward quickly making the timid animal jump. "Where- no, when did you get him?" she said looking from Cloud to the red furred cat reaching out a hand tentatively to pet the small creature.

"About half an hour ago. I found him in a box out behind some shops." Cloud said from where he was leaning against the wall behind. She looked at him with a rather upset expression.

"That's horrible, who could do that to such an innocent little animal." she said looking back to the animal in front of her. Which seemed to have gotten used to her and was letting her pet him with the smallest of purring sounds arising from his throat. Cloud didn't answer and the two were silent for a little while before Aerith spoke looking from Cloud to the cat again, "So do you have a name for him yet?" she asked.

"No, I don't, I haven't even started thinking about one yet." Cloud said shaking his head and not moving from where he was leaning against the wall. Seto had walked into the room and was rubbing against his leg and eyed the bed and the new cat warily. Cloud looked down to the calico at his feet then to Aerith, "You can name him if you have any ideas." he offered.

"I think you should name him..." she paused and examined the small animal. It was completely red except for small streaks going up his legs and on his chest which were much darker, almost black. "Nanaki." she said incredibly sure of the name she had chosen. Cloud couldn't help but let a small smile come onto his face as he thought about the name she had picked.

"Nanaki." Cloud said testing the name himself, "It'll work." he said. Aerith smiled at him. The two of them were silent again for a while and Aerith seemed to be mulling something over, which made Cloud the slightest bit worried, having a feeling a question he wouldn't want to answer would be coming up with this silence.

"How is your mother?" Aerith ended up asking looking at Cloud as she moved the bowls off the bed and sat down pulling little Nanaki into her lap and looking at the blond with a serious face. Cloud was slightly shocked by the question, he couldn't remember the last time he had actually been asked that. He would have to figure it was a long time ago though.

"She's no better, no worse. She still can't come home though." Cloud answered with a shrug sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, petting Seto who climbed into his lap. "It's been like this for years what would make you think anything was different now?" he said not looking up from that cat that was nuzzling against his chest.

"Well I heard you brought Zack with you last time." She said quietly. Cloud tensed for a moment as she said that, but he should have figured Zack told her at least that much, they seemed to be such good friends of course he would share details like that with her.

"Yeah, I did." he said quietly looking off to the side and refusing to look up at Aerith whose gaze he could feel burning into the side of his head. She was clearly very curious and she had every right to be. Cloud was usually very anti-social and going out for anything with anyone was a strange occurrence that rarely if ever happened, let alone someone Cloud barely knew.

"What do you think of him?" Aerith asked. Cloud looked up at her and she was looking down at Nanaki, he could tell by her eyes that she was trying to hide something, he knew she wasn't the best at keeping her mouth shut.

"Of Zack?" he asked. Aerith looked up at him and nodded. "Well...I don't know, he's definitely not a bad guy, but I still don't really know what to think about him." He wasn't completely sure how the conversation had been dragged to the topic of Zack, the one thing he had been trying to keep off his mind all day, but he figured it would be done soon and he could go back to finding a way to get him back out of his head. Though he wasn't lying with what he said he still really didn't know what to think of Zack, and this answer seemed to be enough for Aerith though he really didn't want to know what sort of conclusion she had ended up jumping to.

"Well, I think I'm going to go okay? I have to go talk to a few more people." she said with a laugh putting Nanaki down beside her though the little red kitten didn't seem to want to leave her warmth. Cloud pushed Seto off of him and stood up. He nodded and she led the way out of the room and back down the stairs. "I'll try and come by tomorrow, alright Cloud?" she said after slipping her shoes back on and moving to open the door and let herself out. Cloud just nodded, not saying a word. She smiled at him as she left without another word.

Cloud started right back up the stairs as the door closed behind the brunette. He sat down on his bed and looked at the kitten which had gone back to sniffing at Omega. Seto had jumped up onto the bed and was eyeing Nanaki from Cloud's pillow. The little cat had seemed to really like Aerith. Cloud decided then that he didn't have enough room for another cat anyway, he would give Aerith Nanaki for her birthday, he was sure she would appreciate it. Now though he had to go back to trying to find a way to get Zack out of his head again.

After lying there for a few minutes trying to get him out of his mind his accumulation of cats lying on and next to him increased. Nanaki had curled up in the junction of his neck and shoulder and was purring loudly in his ear; Omega hadn't moved from his spot at the end of the bed; Seto was lying on the pillow next to Cloud's head; Chaos had come into the room and was lying on top of Cloud's legs while Minerva was sprawled out on Cloud's chest. He had had no success in getting the tan skinned man from across the street out of his mind and had decided an easy way to bring his thoughts away from Zack would be a drink. He turned his head glancing sideways at the clock mounted on the wall, it seemed to have been much more then a few minutes he had been lying here thinking though, maybe he had drifted off for a while here and there because he was pretty sure it hadn't been nearly six in the afternoon when Aerith had left. He sighed loudly as he pushed the cats away from himself and pulled himself out of bed, multiple sets of feline eyes rested on him but he found that completely normal, he had for a long time now. He glanced down at Nanaki who was still fast asleep, he wondered briefly if it would be a good idea to leave him on his own with the others, in the end he just set up a bowl of food and one of water in his room for the kitten before kicking all the other cats out of his room and closing the door, he really wanted to get out of the house so he decided that would have to do for now. He left the house, locking the door behind him, pretty sure he wouldn't be back for at least a couple hours.

He walked into Barret's bar after a few minutes of walking and sat down at the end of the counter with a sigh. Barret looked over at him before pouring him his usual and placing it down in front of him. "Thanks." Cloud said quietly pulling the tall, cool glass towards him wrapping his fingers around it before bringing it to his lips and draining nearly half of it in one go. It was right then that he realized it was going to be a very long night.

"Yo Cloud, I'm closing up now." Barret's voice rang loudly in his ears sending a sharp buzz through to his mind. The blond groaned as he lift his head off the bar. He looked at Barret, barely able to keep his gaze focused.

"How much do I owe you...?" he slurred out running a hand through his hair and frowning his voice was even quieter then it usual was but out of everyone Barret was one of the few that were used to this tone and could decipher what he was saying with no problem what so ever.

"S'on your tab don't worry." Barret said with a shrug. "You need a ride man?" Barret asked the blond as he stepped out from around the side of the bar.

"No...I'm fine." Cloud stated standing up wavering ever so slightly before managing to find his balance. Barret didn't argue, Cloud had a relatively bad temper when he was drunk, and Barret didn't want to go through another strange episode where Cloud flipped on him, it just wasn't normal. Barret waited, watching as Cloud left the building, before closing up. He couldn't help but follow the blond for a while before he had to turn, he did notice though that Cloud wasn't headed for his own house, but he knew where he was going and he knew it was a path burned into the drunken Cloud's memory.

Cloud just let his feet move him along, his mind not completely sure of where he was going, at least not until he was knocking on the door of a house that was clearly not his own. There was complete silence around him before the door opened and Reno stood there with a cocked eyebrow. "Yo Cloud, what's up?" the red head asked scratching his bare chest, it was very clear that he was tired, or had even been asleep before Cloud had bothered him.

"Reno..." Cloud slurred out letting out a heavy sigh as his eyes flicked over the red head, taking in his half naked form. Cloud stepped forward an arm draping over Reno's shoulder and lacing into the hair which for once hung free around the thin mans shoulder. Reno did not fight it, this was not an uncommon occurrence to him . Cloud kissed him, more lust behind it then usual but Reno didn't complain as he kissed Cloud back, pulling at Cloud's waist pulling him farther inside so he could kick the door closed. The sound did not stop Cloud in the slightest as Reno continued to pull them back. Their lips moving from a series of closed mouth kisses to longer, more passionate open mouthed kisses. Reno let himself fall back onto the couch, trying to lead them without hurting himself, he couldn't help but be sick and tired of falling to the ground when Cloud was like this.

Sitting back on the couch Cloud put a hand on either side of Reno's head, placing a knee in between the red head's legs and continued kissing him. Reno was much happier with this position though he knew they'd probably be moving soon, if he could manage to get Cloud to let up for a moment or two.

"Cloud." Reno stated sharply pulling his mouth away from Cloud's though the blond continued to move forward trying to press their lips together again, but Reno resisted putting one hand to Cloud's lips. "Lets move to the bedroom." Reno suggested. Cloud moaned as he started kissing and licking up Reno's fingers, the red head had to admit it was quite the turn on watching the way this man used his mouth, no matter where he was using it. Reno pushed at Cloud's hips with his free hand and the blond reluctantly moved Reno stood up and led Cloud to the bed stopping when the backs of his knees hit the top of the mattress, letting Cloud push him down onto the top of the bed. Cloud attacked Reno's lips again as Reno started to push Cloud's shirt up his very nicely defined chest, just by looking at him people wouldn't be able to tell that Cloud was as muscular as he really was and Reno was pretty sure he was one of the very few people who actually knew what Cloud looked like completely naked.

"...-want you, Reno..." Cloud slurred moving his mouth to Reno's neck after Reno pulled the shirt over Cloud's head and threw it into a corner of the room without a care.

"I want you too Cloud...so damn sexy, yo." Reno said quietly into Cloud's ear which got a moan from the blond as he ground down against Reno's groin, earning a shiver of anticipation from the red head. It had been a while since he had slept with Cloud, and it was normally only when Cloud was drunk that he ever got the chance, there were very few times he and Cloud had fucked where the latter had been completely sober. Reno's hand trailed down Cloud's perfectly toned chest and reached into the front of his pants, giving his erect cock a rough squeeze getting another grind out of the blond as he let out a moan.

Cloud made very quick work of ridding both of them of there pants and underwear, as he usually did. He ground down on Reno, the feeling of friction of skin on skin sent a shiver up Reno's spine as he arched his back, pressing his body up against Cloud's before letting the blond find his lips again pulling him into another heated kiss.

One of Reno's arms flailed out at the side as he blindly searched for the night table beside his bed and from there the drawer. He wasn't the biggest fan of raw sex, he liked it when he was able to move in the morning. He fished around as best he could, though he found it incredibly hard to concentrate on anything except what was really going on at that moment, but after a while of fishing around he managed to find the tube of lube he kept in his bedside table at all times, for just such an emergency. He poked Cloud in the face with it earning a disgruntled moan as Cloud broke away from the kiss and sat up, seeming to move as though pre programmed. Reno couldn't help but just smirk as he watched Cloud apply a generous amount to his fingers though he was mentally preparing himself.

Cloud simply stuck both lubed fingers into Reno's hole stretching it for a few moment before pulling them out and going back applying a lot of lube onto his erection and rubbing it slightly. Reno let out the briefest of strained laughs just before Cloud thrust into him, his head sank back into the bed as his back arched and he let out a loud, pained moan, his eyes shutting tight. Cloud completely disregarded the sound as he began to thrust into Reno repeatedly, not letting up his pace and letting out very erotic sounds of pleasure which Reno found very attractive especially as the pain started to fade as Cloud struck his prostate sending a jolt of pleasure through his body causing him to let out a moan of his own.

Reno brought one of his own hands to his throbbing erection pumping himself to match Cloud's thrusts. He kept his eyes open as much as he could, fighting the urge to relax and let his eyes shut, he wouldn't miss seeing Cloud like this for the world since he knew he was probably the only person in the world who had seen him like this.

"Z-..." Cloud started, Reno couldn't help it, he cocked an eyebrow. Cloud's blue eyes were shut tight and his teeth looked like they were being ground together. "Za-Zack." He mumbled, Reno frowned as he stopped pumping his own cock, feeling almost betrayed as the name left Cloud's mouth. Cloud hit that sensitive bundle of nerves again and Reno arched his back letting out a deep moan again his eyes closing, but he couldn't help but every once and a while hear Cloud saying Zack's name under his breath.

It didn't take very long after that for Cloud to cum hard in Reno's ass, thrusting as deep as he could as he released his seed. Looking at Cloud and the look of pure pleasure on his face as he reached his climax, along with his own pumping managed to get him to reach his climax as well as he came on Cloud's chest. Cloud opened his eyes looking down at Reno with soft blue eyes, Reno bit his lip before Cloud pulled him up slightly kissing him again, Reno kissed him back willingly. He knew now that he didn't come first to Cloud but for some reason he was alright with that, he knew he was never really Cloud's first anyway, although he would have liked to be informed of this without Cloud being piss drunk.

Cloud assaulted his lips for a while fingers teasing Reno's nipples, pulling out of the red head and grinding against the shorter man, but it was clear by the droop of his eye lids that he was incredibly tired. This too wasn't uncommon, Cloud would get incredibly tired but be to horny to go to sleep and would end up passed out until late the next day. Reno got like that too sometimes, but only around Cloud and only on really bad days. Cloud's body was pressed flush against Reno and the red head could tell that Cloud was already partially erect again and ready for another round. Reno moaned into Cloud's mouth already knowing that this was going to be a very long night, he was not looking forward to the blond switching names to. Reno couldn't help but be shocked though; Zack was probably the last name he would have ever guessed Cloud would be moaning so erotically in bed with someone who was clearly not Zack, but he wasn't going to question how Cloud's drunk mind worked.

Reno pushed on Cloud's shorter urging him to roll over, and after a short amount coaxing he had Cloud on his back, trying to not have his lips be assaulted over and over again, but being unable to fend off from Cloud's persistence. He kissed Cloud deeply once before moving his lips down to Cloud's collarbone and from there a tongue passed over one of Cloud's nipples, farther down following the slightest of curves given as he arched his back, his abdominal muscles so perfectly defined, hard but not unattractively overbuilt. Finally he licked up Cloud's heated length earning a throaty moan from the blond man beneath him as fingers laced into his long red hair. Reno took the head into his mouth licking the tip before taking as much as he could into his mouth, bobbing up and down in a steady rhythm. Cloud arched his back and yanked rather roughly at Reno's hair. Reno chanced a glance up at the blond's face, his eyes were closed tight, but at least he wasn't calling out some other person's name anymore. Reno soaked in every moan Cloud made, closing his eyes and listening intently. Cloud didn't say another word though, not that Reno was complaining he was content with the sounds of pure pleasure that the blond was emitting.

Cloud bucked his hips as he came in the back of Reno's throat. Reno swallowed before he pulled his mouth away from Cloud's cock. It wasn't the most appealing taste, but again, it was something he was used to, he was pretty sure he would only do this for Cloud anyway so it didn't really matter. He crawled up Cloud's body kissing him again. "You gunna go to sleep now?" Reno asked in a quiet voice. Cloud mumbled out what Reno was pretty sure was an answer. The blond kissed Reno before turning onto his side, wrapping the covers around his body. Reno smiled as he got up and headed into the bathroom. He was more used to paying attention to Cloud when he was over then to himself, there was just something about Cloud that made him like this, but none the less he decided finishing himself off would be the best idea at the moment.

He returned to the room a couple minutes later with a goofy smirk on his face, glad that he had listened to Cloud so closely, it made great 'material' he was relatively satisfied with this, he didn't get sex as often as he would like it so he would take anything he could get. He pulled on his underwear as he climbed into his bed next to the blond who was passed out deeply not even moving as Reno pressed up against him wrapping an arm around his waist and nuzzling into his finely muscled back loving the warmth of sharing a bed with someone.

"G'night Cloud." Reno mumbled as he closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep knowing he wasn't going to get an answer from the blond who was so far away from the waking world at the moment.

With a loud groan Cloud opened his eyes finding himself looking at a very blurry and unfamiliar ceiling above his head, which at the moment was killing him. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply trying to collect his thoughts which seemed to be incredibly scrambled at the moment. Slowly but surely everything started to click. He opened his eyes again and finally clued in to exactly where he was, and with a glance to his side looking at the man with long red hair sprawled around him simply confirmed his thoughts. Cloud sat up rubbing his head trying to move slow enough not to aggravate his throbbing head ache. He groaned again barely realizing as the man next to him started to stir.

"Yo Cloud, you up?" Reno said sitting up, his hair cascading over his shoulder as he stretched and yawned before rubbing at his eyes. Cloud lowered himself back into a lying position with another sigh.

"No." he stated, he had meant to make it a very sharp note, but he couldn't manage that, he sounded drained, he sounded pained and he was both. He should have guessed he would end up at Reno's before he went out to drink, but he never planned to end up here, but he had to admit he did enjoy Reno's company, he was someone that he found he could always go to.

"Hey Cloud..." Reno started, Cloud had closed his eyes and had no intention of opening them at the moment. He did hear the distinct clicking sound of a lighter and then the smell of cigarette smoke wafting through the air. Reno seemed to take his silence as the go ahead, and he had to admit it was, "You do realize you called me Zack more then once last night." Again Cloud was silent as a blush crept onto his face. Reno rested himself on his side draping an arm around Cloud as the blond turned onto his side to avoid eye contact. "What goin' on with you and him, yo?" Reno asked taking his cigarette between two fingers.

"I don't know," Cloud muttered after a short pause, then he couldn't help but pause again. "I guess...I like him...I just don't really know what to do about it." He said pushing Reno's arm off his shoulder and sitting up looking down at Reno who looked up at him taking a long drag from his cigarette, sitting up so he could knock the ashes out into the ash tray on his bed side table. Reno looked down at the cigarette and the trail of smoke that came off the tip of it then back to Cloud.

"Tell him." he said with a smile, shrugging; Cloud's expression turned to utter shock at those two words. "It would suck to lose you to him, but anything to see you happy, yo. Besides you know I'll be here for you if he hurts you." The smile on his face was genuinely caring, Cloud smiled weakly back at him. Reno put the cigarette into the ashtray turning back to Cloud to have the blond press his lips against Reno's. Reno couldn't help but be slightly shocked at this sudden show of affection, but he quickly applied his own pressure moving it quickly to a passionate, open mouthed, kiss. Cloud did love how he could be so intimate with Reno without having to worry about it being serious. He was pretty sure Reno was fine with the relationship they had to, as nothing more then sex friends. Reno pulled away from Cloud and smirked at the blond, "You know I love ya, man." He said, he wasn't exactly kidding but he wasn't 100% serious either, he just wanted the blond to be happy even if that meant being with Zack, he was fine with not being in a relationship anyway, because a relationship means commitment and commitment was not something Reno did well.

"Yeah I know." Cloud said, "I'll tell him." He finished with a small smile running his hands through Reno's hair absentmindedly.

"Then I bid you good luck." Reno said with a laugh. Cloud let go of Reno, standing up to search for his clothes, but groaning as he got to his feet sitting back down and holding his heads in his hand unable to bare the constant beating on the inside of his head. Reno didn't move but took another drag from his cigarette as he brought it back to his mouth. He frowned as he looked at the pained blond getting himself out of bed with a sigh, resting his cigarette between his lips as he gathered up Cloud's clothes from the floor. He felt the blond's eyes on him the entire time but didn't once look at him, until he had all the clothes in his hand and sat down next to him looking at him with a small smile. "Hold on a sec, alright, I'll get you something for your headache." he said around his cigarette a small smirk on his face. Cloud smiled appreciatively at the red head. Reno put the clothes down as he headed out of the room and into the bathroom.

Cloud let out a sigh and ran a hand through his messy blond hair. Now he just had to think of a way to tell Zack how he felt. It would wait though, he just wanted to go home and sleep for as long as possible. He slowly started pulling on clothes, getting into his underwear and pants before Reno came back with some pills and water for his headache.

"And usually, we're both messes when we wake up." Reno said with a smile, his mouth free of a cigarette now. Cloud smirked at the comment knowing it was completely true. He let out a sigh as he downed the medicine Reno gave him chasing it with water.

"Thanks." Cloud said. The blond pulled on a shirt, trying to ignore the way Reno was just staring at him before he turned to the red head again, fully dressed, "What time is it?" he asked in his usual quiet voice.

"About noon." Reno said with a shrug getting up and finding some clothes of his own to wear. Cloud was silent and Reno took this silence as a time to get dressed before turning back to the blond, "Do you want me to give you a ride home?" Reno asked cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, thanks Reno, that would be great." Cloud mumbled looking down longingly at the bed again wishing he were still asleep, knowing full well that was what he was going to do when he got home.

The two men headed outside and Cloud couldn't help but wince at the light of the sun which seemed to fierce after just waking up. He groaned slightly and he rubbed his eyes and followed Reno to his car. It was a sleek black car and though Cloud barely noticed Reno seemed to find it very amusing in itself. "This is a company car, no one knows I have it so lets keep it on the down low, aight Cloud?" Reno said with a wink pressing a finger against his own lips which were curled up in a humoured smile. Cloud just gave him a half assed smile in reply before pulling open the passenger side door and sitting down, pulling on his seat belt with as much enthusiasm as a rock. Reno couldn't help but frown slightly but he was sure Cloud was just tired as hell, he couldn't blame him. The red head ran a hand through his hair before sitting in the driver's seat next to Cloud and buckling himself in and starting up the vehicle.

Cloud sat there, temple pressed against the window, eyes staring no where in particular as he seemed to survery the surrounding area. Reno didn't say anything knowing that Cloud didn't want to be bothered, he clearly had a lot on his mind. Cloud seemed to jerk from his thoughts of what he was going to say to Zack, when he got the chance, as the car came to a stop in the driveway of the blond's house. Reno switched the car into park as he turned the vehicle off and looked at the blond.

"You need me to carry you up to your bed?" he asked with a smile. Cloud gave him a look and Reno just laughed and shook his head, "Alright, be careful." He said making sure the doors were unlocked as he watched Cloud get on of the car and head up towards his house. He did not move the car until he was sure that the blond was in his house.

Cloud watched as Reno drove off through the window beside the door. When Reno was gone he headed upstairs and into his room. He smiled lightly at the sight before his eyes all of his cats including the new kitten, Nanaki, were all curled up amongst one another on one side of his bed, his considerate animals had left just enough room for him to climb in next to them which he did, not even bothering to undress. He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, locked in a deep slumber where he could forget everything that was happening and what he was going to set out to do and maybe sleep off the major headache that was pounding in his skull.

Cloud woke up as what seemed like a larger weight started to move beside him. He groaned as he opened his eyes and saw his cats all getting up and stretching. Then he heard the doorbell ring, probably for the second time. He groaned and pulled the covers up over his head ignoring as one of the cats started to walk on him and he had to guess that it was Chaos, he really did know his cats very well. The doorbell rang a couple more times in quick succession and Cloud finally decided, he had to get up because he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep right now. He pushed the cat off of him and slipped out of bed standing on feet that didn't want to support his weight at the moment. He half walked, half shuffled his way down the stairs and to the door half expecting it was going to be Aerith, she was the only one that ever really came to visit. So he was slightly surprised when he opened the door and saw Zack standing there, looking at the ground with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey Cloud, sorry if I'm bothering you, but can we talk?" Zack asked looking up at him. Cloud paused for a minute before nodding and opening the door to let Zack in, three cats running out between his legs. Zack looked down at Omega, Minerva and Argento as they ran past him before smiling at Cloud and stepping inside. Cloud headed down into the living room and sat down with a sigh waiting for Zack to follow. Seto had come downstairs and jumped up into Cloud's lap. The calico cat curling up and silently insisting that Cloud pet him, which the blond did. Zack came in and sat down next to the blond, once his body hit the furniture an awkward look crossed his face and he seemed at a complete loss for words.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Cloud said quietly, his words slightly slurred due to his tired state of mind, he was just trying to coax words out of Zack, he was planning on doing more listening then contributing, as he would usually do, even if he wasn't on the verge of passing out. Zack was silent for another short while before he finally spoke.

"I was just wondering about...our, well 'relationship'." Zack said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. Cloud stopped, his thought process failing to work for a moment before it finally seemed to reboot itself. He had to think about that word for a while though. It was one he did use or even think about often, but for some reason he had a feeling that with Zack the word would be coming up a lot more often.

"What about it?" Cloud said with lack of anything better to say in response.

"Well, I mean I know that kiss was probably nothing, but I was wondering if it actually changed anything between us or not." Zack said quietly looking down at the ground, dragging a hand along Chaos's back as the black cat walked by him. Cloud was again at a loss for words, he hadn't been planning on telling Zack anything for at least another day or so, this was way to fast for him. He was silent for a moment.

"Wh-what are you getting at?" Cloud asked not taking his eyes off of Seto's back, refusing to look at Zack knowing that in this moment of weakness his emotions would be far to easy to read in his blue eyes, and he didn't want to see what kind of expression Zack was making at the moment, fearing the worst already, and fearing where this conversation was headed. Though there was something else making his chest feel like it was thrashing.

"Well...Cloud." Zack fell silent after those two words and the silence made Cloud look up, in that split moment hoping that his stoic face was back and Zack wouldn't be able to read past the barrier he had built for himself in the past years. Zack's face was like a shot to the heart though, the emotions leaked through every part of his face and Cloud knew what he was going to say probably before Zack even had the courage to admit his words; much different from the usually oblivious person Cloud could be, "I really do like you...like not just as a friend...and..." the tanned skinned man looked at Cloud with a crooked smile his eyes had a sort of solemn deepness to them that really hit Cloud. Zack looked back down again and was silent.

"And?" Cloud's voice was a lot more quiet then he would have liked it to be, but he couldn't help it, this conversation alone was a bit of a strain on his sanity, he wasn't sure what the hell he thought about it or how he really felt about hearing this confession from Zack. Especially the day after he had slept with Reno, just a few hours after Reno had told him to go for it, it seemed a little to surreal.

"I was just...you know what, never mind. You probably think I'm so weird right now." Zack said standing up, "I'm sorry for bothering you, I'll just leave." Zack said shaking his head, his face was a very heated red and Cloud didn't take his eyes away from the deep blush the rested high on Zack's cheeks. He grabbed Zack's wrist before he even knew what he was doing. In doing so the look that usually graced Zack's face returned and he looked down at Cloud with an almost shocked, not to mention confused, expression.

"If I thought you were weird..." Cloud started his face with a serious set to it as he spoke, "no, if I didn't like you...I wouldn't have let you kiss me, Zack." he said in a serious tone of voice, meaning every word that left his mouth, though he had said them before his brain had even had the time to process what it was that he was saying. He did slowly start to realize what it was that just left his lips as he let go of Zack's wrist and looked down at the cat in his lap again, a blush dusting across his pale skin.

"Cloud..." Zack started, getting Cloud's attention again, the surprised look had not left the older mans face as he continued to look at Cloud as though something had just happened that he would have never expected to happen in a million years, yet alone in his lifetime. "Was that a confession?" he finished with a question, and Cloud felt his blush flare up, surely turning his entire face bright red as he looked down at the floor.

"Yes." Cloud said so quietly he himself wasn't sure he had said it at all, but none the less Zack seemed to hear him as he sat back down next to Cloud, a lot closer and much more confidently then last time, resting a hand on Cloud's knee, Cloud's eyes didn't leave the carpet beneath his feet.

"Cloud..." Zack practically sighed, Cloud did not look up at him. "You have no idea how much it means for me to hear you say that." he said in a quiet voice, his words seeming to trace along the curves of his ear more then anything else he had heard in his life, hot breath seeming to drag across his skin sending a shudder through his spine. He didn't think Zack was that close. "Will you be my boyfriend...at least for a while, to try it out." Zack asked the voice didn't seem as close that time and it sounded more like that Zack that Cloud was familiar with. Cloud paused at the question though, wondering briefly if this was what he really wanted.

"Yes." his voice was a bit stronger this time but still incredibly silent. He had to admit, at the moment this was what he wanted...and Zack had said this was to try it out right? He would take that to mean he could cut it off whenever he wanted. He looked at Zack and the look of sheer delight on his face was almost touching. Cloud smiled softly. He looked down at the ground before he continued, "But, if you don't mind, can I go back to sleep, I'm dead tired right now." Cloud said shaking his head. He saw Zack nod out of the corner of his eyes.

"Of course it's not a problem." The two of them stood up, Seto jumping off of Cloud'slap at the last second. They headed towards the door walking side by side in close proximety in the narrow hallway. They paused though as Zack stopped to put his shoes on to leave. The tan skinned man turned to Cloud putting a hand on his cheek and leaning in pressing his lips to the blond's without much but a small amount of pressure in return. Even this tiny little response got Zack riled up though. He put a hand on the wall on either side of Cloud's head, which seemed to really wake the blond up. Zack pressed his lips back to Cloud's. Managing to slip his tongue into Cloud's mouth in the blond's shock. Cloud's sudden instinct was to fight him off. He shoved at Zack's chest pushing him off of him from where his body was practically pressed against the blond's.

"Z-Zack!" he exclaimed turning his head to the side forcing his mouth away from the taller man's. A hand was rested on his hip, fingers had started to trail up his shirt but all movement stopped in the instant the name left his mouth. Cloud looked into Zack's blue eyes to see complete shock as he let go of the blond and took a step back, holding his hands up on either side of his head. Cloud was shaking despite himself, he had not been expecting that, Zack didn't seem like the sort of person to just impulsively attack him like that. The blond sunk to the floor, leaning against the wall and staring at the floor paying attention to nothing in particular.

"I...I'm sorry. I just..." Zack stuttered, clearly trying to come up with something to justify this invasion of personal space. "I'm sorry." he lowered his hands to his side, his head hung in shame as his face practically lit up from his embarrassment. Cloud couldn't think of anything to say. Zack was silent to before he turned putting on his shoes and rushing himself out the door. The door closed with a dull thud and Cloud did not move. Chaos came up and sniffed at him before sitting in front of the door but still Cloud did not move, he was not completely sure of what had just happened.

It took him a while but he did eventually manage to gain his composure and stand up suddenly feeling very bad about what he had just done. He shouldn't have pushed Zack away like that, it had just come as a shock to him and he wasn't sure how else to react to it. He couldn't say he had ever done anything sexual while sober so it was slightly strange and he had never had someone who had actual feelings for him before. It gave him butterflies just thinking about it but he wouldn't say he disliked it. He opened the door and let the black cat outside before heading upstairs. He sat down on his bed and stared at the wall. He had to make it up to him somehow, especially know that they were 'together'. He let himself fall back onto the bed and a cat climbed up onto him. His little kitten Nanaki and it came to him how and where he would make it all up to Zack. He could apologize at Aerith's party and, perhaps, afterwards he could really make it up to him. The thought though set his cheeks on fire, something sex wouldn't usually do. It just seemed different knowing that it would be with Zack and not Reno for once.

"I don't know what I've gotten myself into." Cloud said running his hands over the small reddish animal sitting in his lap. He looked up at the ceiling, he also wasn't sure whether in the end he was happy with this decision or not but he guessed he didn't have anything to lose and maybe he was getting his life back together with this, just maybe.