"Come on let's go!"

Glancing towards the sound of the voice blue eyes fell onto the small raven haired girl that gave a sigh of exasperation while crossing her arms impatiently.

"All the good tables will be taken!" She whined.

Finally catching onto what his coworker was getting at he shook his head.

"I'm not going to happy hour."

"But it's Friday!" Yuffie cried while adjusting the purse strap on her shoulder. "And it's been so long since you've come out with us!" Looking around her briefly she continued on more quietly "come on Cloud you know I don't like all these people. I need you!"

Laughing a little he ran a hand through his hair. He understood Yuffie's position, there was definitely some coworkers that could grate on the nerves. And since Yuffie was his friend and not just a coworker he usually went out to company events for her sake. But that hadn't happened for quite some time. He just didn't feel up to it anymore.

"You'll be fine after a mojito or two," he explained while closing some of the folders on his desk.

"Fiiiinnee!" Yuffie gave in while shooting Cloud a glare. But just as quickly as she gave it, it disappeared and was replaced with a look of concern as she leaned against the doorframe of his office. "But at least go home and not bury yourself in work. You can take a break ya know?"

"Yeah," Cloud replied instantly with a nod. "I know."

Hesitating at the door Yuffie gave him a small smile. "Good," she confirmed while pushing away from the door. "I'll call you later."

"Okay, have fun!" Cloud called out to her before she got too far away. Letting out a sigh he rubbed at his eyes. He hated that he was making his friend worry so much. She had been trying to get him to go out every weekend it seemed but he always had an excuse. And actually his recent promotion to chief editor couldn't have come at a better time, what better excuse to use than to say he was just swamped with work and simply too busy? He guessed he had sort of just gotten used to this way of things, but he knew that it couldn't last forever. But he just felt so…lost? Was that the right word? It was really strange how a breakup could affect a person so much.

He never thought he'd be the type, but here he was six months later still broken over it.

Pathetic.

Pushing himself away from his desk he began to pack up his stuff so he could get ready and go home for the day. A few coworkers passed by saying their goodbyes and he gave them smiles in return. He wondered if they had plans or dates. It was what people usually did on Friday nights. He used to be apart of those type of plans, and after two and a half years of being in a steady relationship it had just become a normal part of life. It was strange how all of it could just change. He sort of hated himself for getting so lost in someone, becoming so dependent on them. It made him feel…weak. But, it was what it was, the heart wants what it wants. He fell in love, deeply in love. He knew it was silly to be angry about that but he found himself feeling that way from time to time. But he knew that was only because the one that he loved had broken his heart into a million pieces.

However that was the thing wasn't it? Anytime you fell in love you ran the risk of having your heart broken. It sucked but there was really nothing to do be done about it.

He hadn't realized that he had become so lost in his thoughts, but somehow he had made the trek from work to home and was stepping into his apartment.

A soft meow caught his attention as he flipped on the light switch and his fluffy gray and white cat approached him.

"I'm home Jinxie," Cloud spoke while reaching out to pet the cat. A smile crossed his features as he thought back to how much his ex-despised cats. He always said it looked as if they were up to something. Cloud thought it was pretty amusing actually and loved teasing him about it. Besides, he knew no matter how much his ex griped, he really did love the cat…

Sputtering a few times the man swiped at the air in front of him. "Damn it Cloud Jinx's fur is all over the place."

Looking beside him to the cat who was curled up next to him on the couch and purring softly, Cloud frowned. "Really? I just brushed him," he explained while patting the cat on the head. His boyfriend simply tsked before relaxing back against the couch. Letting out a small laugh Cloud leaned against him.

"I would think you'd love Jinxie, Seph," Cloud began as a silver brow rose questioningly at him. "I mean you are pretty cat like yourself, what with those eyes and all."

Without missing a beat Sephiroth narrowed green eyes at the blond.

"I'll give them points for their eyes, but I don't have fur that gets everywhere."

"Oh…no?" Cloud asked with a tilt of his head as he wrapped a strand of silver hair between his fingers.

He received a look of surprise from the other and he couldn't help but to burst into a fit of laughter.

"How dare you," Sephiroth started with a grin before leaning in to nip at his boyfriend's ear. They fell back against the couch shortly after, Cloud's laugh surrounding them and Jinx's spot on the couch feeling too crowded. Sephiroth placed the cat on the floor, without pulling away from the other for even a second. All worries of cat fur quickly forgotten.

Genuine laughter. Silliness. Cloud missed the hell out of sharing things like that with-

"Damn it," Cloud mumbled to himself as he stepped into the kitchen. "Stop thinking about him." Pulling a beer from out of the fridge he leaned against the counter. During the six months that he and Sephiroth had been broken up he would randomly find himself thinking about his ex. Wondering what he was doing now, or reminiscing about old times. Or someone would ask him a question which would trigger some memory or something. Then Yuffie, his best friend, giving him those looks of sympathy and tell him he needed to forget him already. But…easier said than done. Even if he knew she was right. And considering everything that had happened, you would think he would've said good riddance…

"Don't be so naïve! He's a fucking cheater!"

Shaking his head while sitting at the booth in the bar Cloud spun the small shot glass in his hands.

"I just…he would never hurt me like-"

"Bullshit!" Yuffie shouted angrily while smacking her hand on the table. "He breaks up with you with some lame ass reason, saying he feels like you two are at different places in your life. Makes you feel like shit and like you did something wrong to push him away. And not even a fucking week later he's out on a date with another guy!?"

"Yuffie…"

"No fuck that! Fuck him! He's a damn liar, he was seeing that guy all along and gave you some bullshit reason to make himself feel better about the situation!"

Cloud didn't have to have Yuffie tell him. He knew it…he knew. So when she told him that she saw Sephiroth out with some guy after they'd barely broken up…he didn't doubt her. There was signs, red flags towards the end of their relationship. All things he dismissed because…well…he loved him. So, so much. And he never thought Sephiroth would hurt him…ever. He didn't want to believe that. And honestly, that in itself…hurt even more.

Seeing the pain and sadness on her friends face, Yuffie let go of her anger before getting up from her seat on the opposite side of the booth and moving to sit beside the blond.

"If he could do something so cruel…he never deserved you," she explained softly. It was all she had to say before he completely broke down. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, trying her best to console him.

"I'm so sorry. But you deserve so much better."

You would think after that that it would've made the breakup easier, that he would've wanted more than anything to forget Sephiroth. And it wasn't that he hadn't tried…he just couldn't.

Plopping down on the couch Yuffie's words rang in his ears.

"You're not going to be able to move on until you start dating again. Get back out there!"

Cloud visibly cringed at just the thought of it. He knew Yuffie was right, he had to eventually. And it sucked to know that Seph had moved on with someone else and he hadn't. But the idea of "dating" just really bummed him out. He didn't really know why but it just did.

It had been so different with Sephiroth. They met back in college and Sephiroth pursued him later. And their relationship just flourished and grew gradually. How in the hell was he supposed to go on actual dates? He really had no experience with them. And just where would he find people? He wasn't the type to go out "clubbing." And if he went out for drinks it was with friends. Didn't really leave much of a window to mingle. Sephiroth was the outgoing one, Cloud never had been. They balanced each other that way. Even though Sephiroth used to tease him, calling him a nerd because he was so studious back in their college days. He didn't mind it though, he probably was. He was never much of a social butterfly. In fact he was pretty shy and took a while to warm up to people.

"The perfect recipe for success," he said to himself sarcastically while flipping on the television and browsing through the channels. It seemed hopeless, he just wasn't that kind of guy who could just put himself out there like-

Halting mid thought he glanced at his cellphone.

'Although…didn't Yuffie put some weird app on my phone?'

"Online dating!"

"Give me a break Yuffie, I'm not that desperate."

"Excuse me? Online dating itsn't Taboo like it once was! Everybody does it now!"

"Still I-"

"Here," Yuffie started while grabbing his cellphone, "I'll download the app for you. This one is pretty popular, and you never know right? It's nice to at least have options!"

After he and Sephiroth had broken up Yuffie seemed thrilled at the idea of him dating. Maybe because she wasn't really a fan of Sephiroth's to begin with. His ex had a strong personality and so did Yuffie, and the two used to end up fighting a lot. Mainly because Sephiroth used to throw a lot of sarcastic jokes her way and Yuffie would throw them right back. They didn't hate each other but they definitely could annoy one another.

It was months ago that she installed the app but he didn't really pay it any mind, it was just Yuffie being Yuffie. But…he guessed it couldn't hurt to at least check it out. Locating the app on his phone he almost immediately backed out when he saw the heart with an arrow through it on his screen. But he held his breath and clicked on it anyways.

The first screen that welcomed him had tons of pictures of happy couples and he nearly gagged.

'Just bullshit fairytales,' he thought as he scrolled through the screen. It mostly consisted of testimonials and random pictures of "supposed singles" but the pictures looked too flawless and professional for him to believe. However the site said it hosted matches for all types, straight, gay and lesbian. So at least Yuffie had picked an app that he could maybe benefit from. The next screen was to "create your profile and find love today!" Cloud hesitated at this, one because it asked for a photo and he didn't know how he felt about posting a photo of himself for thousands of strangers to see. And second because there was a million questions for him to an answer. Was this a dating app or a job application? But!It was Friday night and he had shit else to do, and wallowing over his ex didn't sound appealing anymore. So he decided what the hell.

Once he got into it answering the questions wasn't so bad. It was posting the photo that was difficult. He hated taking pictures, and the ones that he had taken and liked were pictures of he and Sephiroth together. And he was guessing posting a picture of him and his ex was a bad idea.

He finally found what he thought was a semi decent one and posted it quickly before having any second thoughts. There. His profile was officially done.

"This is ridiculous," he mumbled to himself before shifting to a more comfortable position on the couch and scrolling through his phone. It didn't take long before his phone was vibrating, alerting him of notifications from the app. They consisted of messages and winks? Whatever the hell those were. He read some of the messages, some were kind of blah and some were…highly inappropriate. He quickly deleted and blocked those ones. And the pictures of the guys who contacted him were not really his type.

It wasn't that looks were everything but there had to be some sort of physical attraction. Not that Cloud thought he was some kind of bombshell or something but…he was cute. Sephiroth was like a damn supermodel, and he always used to wonder how someone so gorgeous would date him. But there had been times when they would be out together and Cloud would get hit on. He was always really shy and nervous when things like that would happen and politely turned them down. But Sephiroth…he definitely was the jealous type. He always gave a death glare to the person and would instantly appear at his side. It was only when that type of thing would happen that Cloud started thinking to himself…I must be pretty okay. He just never really thought about that kind of thing when it came to his own looks. At least until he started to get hit on.

The next message he received was from a much, much older man and he was beginning to think he was right and that the online thing wasn't meant for him. But then his phone vibrated again and he opened the message cautiously.

"Hey how's it going? Enjoying your Friday night?"

Glancing at the senders profile picture Cloud clicked on the link. He read a bit of the guy's bio before clicking on his picture and scrolling through to view more. The man was tall, had really nice eyes and a great smile. He kind of struck Cloud as the jock type, but…he was pretty cute.

Hitting the reply button Cloud typed out a message.

"I'm doing good, you? I guess my night is okay just relaxing and watch T.V."

Hitting send Cloud frowned. Geez maybe he shouldn't have been so honest, that made him sound pretty lame. Before he could really dwell on it though his phone was vibrating with a response.

"Awesome! That's the best kind of night! I'm doing well thanks for asking! My name's Zack by the way."

'My names Cloud,' the blond typed out before pausing. Was it a good idea to give his real name? Did people do that on these things? Shaking his head he hit send, of course it was, besides he had already posted his picture so might as well be all in.

"That's a unique name, I really like it! Nice to meet you Cloud! (Or well informally meet you.)

Cloud gave a small smile as he read the message. He replied back explaining to Zack how his mom had gotten his name from a character in a book that she really loved. The messages continued back and forth, seeming to feel so natural and comfortable. Cloud realized that he was actually…enjoying it. It wasn't until his cellphone beeped at him alerting him of a low battery that he realized they had been conversing for a while. Not being able to locate his charger at the moment he quickly sent a message to Zack, apologizing to cut the conversation but that his phone was going to die any minute.

"Oh! No worries! I didn't realize how late it'd gotten. I really enjoyed talking with you Cloud, can I message you again?"

"Sure," Cloud quickly replied, hoping that his phone wouldn't cut off for just a moment longer.

"Great! Have a nice night, talk to you soon! Goodnight!"

'Goodnight,' Cloud typed, but just as soon as he hit send his phone died.

"No! Damn it," Cloud started while placing his drained phone on the coffee table. 'Well, hopefully he got it, I did hit send.' He couldn't help but to laugh at himself a little though. Why was he freaking out? Could that mean that possibly he could be interested in Zack? It was entirely too soon to think about things like that but, if not anything else he seemed to be a nice guy. Maybe they could be friends. Who knew right?

"Good morning Cloud!"

Cloud was a bit surprised to see the message in his inbox first thing in the morning when he checked his phone. But the little smiley emoji that followed after it made him smile himself. And that was kind of the start of it all he guessed. Zack and he exchanged messages everyday through the app since he had decided to create a profile on a whim that one Friday evening.

They talked about everything and Cloud especially loved the messages he would get from Zack while he was at work. They always made him laugh and put a smile on his face. So much in fact that Yuffie had begun to grow suspicious.

"Who are you texting?" She asked him one day when they were on their lunch break.

"Oh, just a friend. Sorry," Cloud replied while wiping the smile off of his face and setting his phone down. He continued to eat his lunch, as if it were no big deal. Yuffie didn't buy it though and she couldn't stop the smirk of her own that appeared on her face. Cloud pretended not to see it though. It wasn't that he was trying to hide things from his friend it was just that…well, there wasn't really anything to tell. Cloud liked messaging Zack, they seemed to be able to talk so easily and…well they definitely had both done some subtle flirting but no more than that. They were just getting to know each other, and whatever it was Cloud was enjoying it. So he just wanted to keep it to himself for now.

He always quickly replied to Zack's message whenever he got a moment to. That is until one day while at work he received a message that practically knocked the air out of him.

"Would it be okay to get your phone number?"

Staring at the message for a lot longer than he probably should have he closed the app without replying and got back to work. 'My phone number?' They had always messaged each other through the app, just text in other words. But his phone number? Did that mean that Zack wanted to actually speak to him?

For some that he wasn't sure of, that…scared him. Texts were fine, he could really think about his reply but talking…hearing Zack's voice? It was…he just didn't know. Or maybe he did. Maybe because it would make Zack real and not just a picture and words. Maybe he was nervous about that.

He tried to put it in the back of his mind and just continued on with his work day. Since it was busy time passed by quickly and he was able to sort of forget…but only sort of. He had just exited the building for the end of the day before he pulled out his phone. He saw that he had a few more messages now when he opened the app and he quickly went to read them.

"Or not? Lol!"

Then about two hours after that.

"Aah! Hey I'm sorry if that made you feel uneasy! You don't have to give it to me! I just thought it would be nice to talk off the app and that it'd be easier. But that's totally okay! I'm glad to talk with you here all the same."

"I'm so lame," Cloud mumbled to himself as he began to walk to the subway. It was just a phone number! Why was he so anxious about it?

'I'm so sorry for the late reply! I was so busy at work today.'Lie.'I don't mind you asking at all,' he typed out before adding his phone number. He hit send before he lost his nerve and continued to the station all the while thinking if and when Zack may call him. Maybe he would just text him? But that would probably be the same like they had been doing. Surely that wasn't the reason why Zack asked for his number.

Stepping onto the subway he took a seat before his phone chimed, alerting him of a text message. He looked at the screen and saw a number in his inbox that he didn't recognize.

"Hi Cloud! It's Zack, thanks so much for giving me your number. I really thought maybe it wasn't okay to ask. I'm still at work but would you mind if I called you tonight?"

There it was. A text message from Zack on his phone, with no app between them. He felt bad though to make Zack worry about asking for his number.

"No I don't mind, I guess I'll talk to you later then."

"Okay! Talk to you soon!"

The rest of the ride back Cloud just couldn't calm his nerves. What if once they spoke on the phone they didn't have anything to talk about? What if his shyness bled through the phone line and Zack could pick up on it?

Finally arriving back at his apartment Cloud just decided to keep himself busy. He couldn't just wait for the phone to ring, he would be even more on edge that way. Although he did make sure to keep the television down low and made sure his cellphone volume was up and not just on vibrate. He made something quick to eat and was debating on whether he should take a shot or something. Maybe that would make him chill out a bit. But no. No he didn't want to have to "liquid courage" to get through a phone call with Zack.

He was sitting on the couch when Jinx jumped into his lap and he gave him a few scritches behind his ear. His cat probably could sense his nervousness and came over to calm him down. He couldn't help but to laugh a little at that just as Jinx started to kneed his paws into his leg.

The sound of the phone vibrating on the coffee table caught his attention first before his ringtone started to play. He let it go for a second before letting out a breath that he wasn't even aware that he had took in. Quickly leaning over to pick it up he felt a little disappointed when he read the name that flashed on the screen.

"What's up Yuffie?" He asked with a bit of a sigh.

"Oh please, try to contain your happiness," the girl replied with a tsk.

"Sorry I just…I thought…nevermind. What's going on?"

"Vincent and I were going to go out for a few drinks. Want to come with?" She asked excitedly.

"Oh, no thanks," Cloud replied while leaning back further into the couch.

"Cloud! You're coming! I've had enough of you being a hermit lately!"

"I'm sorry," Cloud started while furrowing his brows, "but the idea of being a third wheel just doesn't really appeal to me."

"Don't be so dramatic, it's drinks! I'm not asking you to come out on a romantic carriage ride with us!"

Laughing at the mental picture he got of that scenario Yuffie joined in as she did the same.

"That escalated quickly," Cloud started as Yuffie continued to laugh. He was just about to throw a jab her way when a dull beep sounded in his ear. Pulling the phone away to glance at the screen his eyes widened as the name Zack appeared. He had saved his number in his phone earlier when he texted him.

"Okay Yuffie I got to go, talk to you later!"

"Huh? Wait Cloud, so you'll meet us there then!?"

"No, but you have fun! Goodnight!"

Not waiting for her to reply Cloud quickly hit the call waiting, pausing a moment before lifting the phone back to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi Cloud."

Cloud felt as if his stomach did a backflip when he heard Zack speak. Zack was actually on the phone with him. Zack…the guy who he had been exchanging messages with all this time over a dating app. It was so surreal.

"Hi," Cloud breathed, his voice coming out much quieter than he intended. Just hearing that initial greeting made his heart race. He really had to get a grip.

"Sorry to call so late," Zack continued, "hopefully I'm not interrupting anything. I'm usually not at work for that long it just got a little crazy today."

"Oh," Cloud started while clearing his throat. "No you're not interrupting anything. Was everything okay at work?"

"Yep, I saved the day!" Zack joked with a laugh. It was strange to actually hear that laugh, Cloud thought. Throughout their messages that they had exchanged he had come to discover that Zack definitely had a carefree personality, and he was always quick with a joke in their exchanges. Cloud had always imagined the laugh that was behind those "lols." It was nice to actually hear it for himself now. Just the realization of it all made him smile.

"Is that so," Cloud replied with a chuckle. He didn't know exactly what Zack did but he remembered he had mentioned he did something in graphic design, which piqued Cloud's interest because that must've meant Zack had a creative side and Cloud liked that.

"Wow," Zack spoke quietly.

"What?" Cloud asked in confusion. Had he missed something?

"No I just," Zack started before pausing briefly. "You sound exactly how I imagined you would, right down to your laugh. Is that…strange that I've thought about that?"

Cloud felt the heat rise to his face and he was so glad that this wasn't a facetime call.

But it was almost as if Zack could read his thoughts. He definitely thought of the same, wondering and imagining the sound of Zack's voice. He had sort of created an idea in his mind just going by his pictures and the messages. But…Zack's actual voice was way better than he had imagined. It was kind, and cheerful, deep, but not too much. And his laugh was infectious. In all honesty Cloud that he could listen to him talk for hours.

"It is, isn't it?" Zack asked when he received silence in response to his question. "That must've sounded creepy, sorry!"

"No!" Cloud blurted once he realized he had gotten caught up in his thoughts. "It's not creepy…I just, uh, is that a good or a bad thing?" He knew how just hearing Zack's voice made his heart race…but was it the same for Zack?

"A good thing!" Zack quickly replied once he understood the miscommunication. "I…like your voice."

Cloud had shared with Zack through their messages that he wasn't very outgoing and that he actually used to be pretty shy, only slowly outgrowing that back in his college days. And even then just a bit. So Zack kind of assumed that he may have been a bit soft spoken, his shyness even bleeding out into his tone maybe. But behind it all a sweetness.

"Oh," Cloud replied with a smile. "Well good…in that case."

Zack smiled too while running a hand through his hair. "Yeah! I'm just…happy to hear it finally. I'm really glad to actually talk with you, ya know?"

This guy. Did he know what he was doing? Every word was making Cloud blush brighter and brighter. How could Zack be so forward? Cloud was happy to hear it, but he couldn't ever say such words right away! But then…since Zack had admitted it already…

"Yeah," Cloud replied softly while sinking back further into the couch. "Me too."

"The other reason I wanted to speak with you," Zack started, "was because I wanted to ask you a question, and I didn't want to ask it in a message."

"Uh, okay," Cloud responded cautiously.

Zack laughed at that before continuing. "Are you free this weekend?"

"This weekend?" Cloud asked, more to himself than anything but Zack still replied with yes. Cloud clutched the phone more tightly in his hand. He was pretty certain he knew where this was going.

"Yes, I don't have any plans I think," he replied softly while biting his bottom lip.

"Would you like to meet up for coffee?"

Zack was glad that he delivered the line smoothly but truth was he was holding his breath for the answer. He had been wanting to ask Cloud out for a while now, but from the things he knew about him so far he didn't want to scare him off. He knew Cloud was new on the dating app that they met on, and Cloud had explained to him once that he had reservations and was even a little paranoid about it. So Zack wanted to make sure that if they ever were to meet face to face that Cloud would be comfortable with it and not feel uneasy in any way.

So that was why Zack thought coffee would be the best way to go. They could go to a nice café, it would be daytime and in a place with others so Cloud would feel alright hopefully, but at the same time it wouldn't be too busy to the point where they'd be distracted.

Besides coffee sounded way more easy going and maybe not as intimidating as an actual dinner might be.

"Coffee sounds nice," Cloud spoke, causing all of Zack's inner worries to halt.

"Yeah?" Zack asked, just to confirm that Cloud had indeed agreed.

"Yeah," Cloud repeated, "I'd like that."

"Great!" Zack exclaimed as a wide smile spread across his face. "How does Saturday afternoon sound?"

"Saturday sounds good," Cloud replied, all the while his heart pounding against his chest. If he was this nervous just at the thought of it, how would Saturday actually go?

"Awesome," Zack agreed with a grin. "It's a date!"

Authors Note: Intro chapter 1! This is not going to be a long fic by any means, just something that I've wanted to write for awhile and it's not leaving my brain so onward! Just what will become of this upcoming date between shy and still heartbroken Cloud and cheerful, stunning Zack! Can he get over his ex or is he simply rebounding? Until next chap!