Hi. I know it's been a while since I update here but I had my reasons. The first being real-life, which sucks, and the other being that I just couldn't write the love scene. I know, crazy right. Anyway, for whatever reason, my muse refused to write anything naughty for this chapter and so I have followed Shakespear's example and not allowed the sex to distract from the emotional elements of the stroy.

I hope you still enjoy it.

Scene 13

Unbeknown to those who now stood poised above the abyss of sadness still to come, of friends and confidents sheltered from stormy skies within the safety of a sacred church, of lovers who waited uncertainly for the union that both silently yearned for beneath a weeping sky, the family members of the Capulet household had moved on from their grief of loss to plan for a future of life. The parents of an only child, or at least one of them, having decided that no longer would their son weep tears of sorrow but instead ones of joy.

"Are you sure of this my dear?" Lord Capulet found himself asking, though he knew the question to be pointless once the women had made up her mind.

"Of course my sweet husband." Jenova replied coolly and with forced tenderness, her pleasant manor only holding in his presence due to the company that was now sat before them. "My child has suffered enough in just these few short hours, has cried his heart into his pillows until there is noting left to give. And yet…" she began, her dramatic pause adding more drama than was truly needed as if she were truly considering her words to be based on wisdom and knowing what was best for the boy. "… he continues to weep as if his heartache were to be never ending."

"Then most certainly we must act quickly to bring such sorrow within one so precious to an end." Rufus agreed wholeheartedly, his storm coloured eyes contradicting the purity of the words and flickering with emotions that did not fill Sephiroth with the comfort he knew they should have done when speaking of Cloud so.

Knowing that he now risked not only his wife's wrath upon his head for continuing to debate her beliefs but also the Prince's as well, Sephiroth was carefully to speak with a gentle tongue when attempting to protect his child from such a rushed affair. His conflicted heart already knowing that the fragile boy currently sleeping fitfully in his private chambers, would not be strong enough to handle the demands made by such a hurried courtship in his current condition. Especially the forcing of a marriage without a properly consented courtship.

"I only wonder if it not be best for Cloud to have more time to grieve our loss, to let him have more time to let go of his pain so that happiness may take its rightful place within his heart without being tainted by his current sadness."

"Surely there is no greater joy than to be bound to another eternally?" Jenova asked before Rufus could reply, her argument being firmly spoken as a very revealing flash of anger was seen to ignite within the others grey-blue eyes. The evidence of which let Lord Capulet know that it was his wife who was currently being the calmer of two storms now building within the people in front of him. "The act of undertaking such wedded bliss instantly erasing any morbid thoughts for our young child's head and lifting his spirits also."

"How right such wondrous thoughts are and indeed they are most supportive of our cause." The Prince added joyfully, his charming smile no longer fooling the Lord of the house even though the Lady herself still seemed happy to be swayed by it. "For is Cloud's happiness not our goal in all of this?" Rufus practically purred, his words though laced with honey clearly being spoken with a forked tongue that reminded Sephiroth so much of a venomous snake.

"Come then." Jenova practically cheered as she suddenly rose to her feet, the unexpected uplifting tone stunning Lord Capulet and hitting him very much like a slap in the face. After all, he had not expected his grieving wife to release her pain at Vincent's death so quickly as this, even if it were to seek a better alignment of family name with royal blood. "Let us go now to Cloud's bedchambers and tell him of this most wondrous of news so that his spirits might be lifted and he dream more sweetly."

"No." Sephiroth called out almost instantly; as he watched the pair suddenly began to take the steps necessary to carry them towards his fragile son's side. His own heart suddenly racing and tripping in its beats as both his wife and the Prince turned to gaze upon him with equally hardened expression upon their eager faces.

"No?" Rufus echoed questioningly, the tension in his voice nothing compared to the warning light in his narrowed eyes.

"Not no, exactly." Lord Capulet was quick to correct, his voice faltering as he hastily drew a steadying breath and fought to find the right thing to say. "Just … not yet." He added cautiously, very much aware of the tightrope he now walked before the already decided pair.

"Why ever not my dear?" Jenova asked evenly, her determination and strong will always pushing him to accept her way in things, always forcing him to allow her wishes to be granted so to keep the peace between them. "For surely now is as better a time as any. Do you not agree?"

No Sephiroth realised, as he found himself finally starting to stand tall in front of this women. His love for his son having never been felt more strongly or more needed than it was in this one moment in time.

"Cloud has already been through so much this night, more than I feel is to be expected of one so young and fragile within this world." He began to explain, his firmness clearly startling both his wife and the Prince as they appeared to contemplate this new man before them. "My son may indeed have wept himself into exhaustion this night, his dreams in doubt being haunted by such sorrows as you speak of, but I cannot allow you to disrupt what small semblance of peace he may have found now that dreams do finally fill his head.

"I …" Lady Capulet began, her words of protest not being cut off by Sephiroth this time but in fact her future son-in-law.

"How right you are Lord Capulet." Rufus agreed openly, the tension which had been building within his shoulders now slipping away effortlessly as he appeared to have considered the words spoken and seen value within them. "For if indeed we were to wake him then my precious angel would have even more trouble returning to a restful state this night and such a thing cannot be let to happen. Not if he is to look his best for our wedding in a few days."

"Of course, how right you are." Jenova crowed politely, her agreement in this only now coming to pass because the Prince himself willed it so. "For much beauty sleep will he need in preparation for such a sacred day, and well rested he should be for your first night together as husband and wife."

"No doubt have I, that you will make it so my Lady." Rufus purposefully flattered the Lady of the house, his smile not being missed for the smirk it really was by the Lord who still stood beside them. "And come the rising of the sun in three days time then so shall I be woken a single man for the last time, the setting of the sun seeing my wooed and weeded bride safely held with my arms upon a freshly made marital bed."

"Three days, but surely that is too soon." Sephiroth gasped, unable to contain his thoughts once more.

"Nonsense my love." Jenova cut in effortlessly, her thoughts nowhere near his own as was evident with the words she continued to speak. "Three days is more than enough time to make preparations and have our child ready for such holy union with the fair Prince."

Lord Capulet made no move to argue this time as Rufus bid them both goodnight and made his leave from their home, his world weary heart knowing that his protests would have only fall on deaf ears and that his displeasure at this exchanging of vows would in turn not be approved of. He knew now that he had been wrong to reassure Cloud that his son's consent was paramount in all of this, understood that even he no longer had a choice in things that were soon to pass. As far as Jenova was concerned their only child was now bound with another, his place by the Prince's side securing her a much higher status within society and being a good thing for all involved.

But Sephiroth knew better and for once found himself unable to follow his wife to their room that night, his heavily burdened form taking refuge in the study as he drowned his misery in a bottle of finely aged scotch. Thoughts of his precious son's virtue being used so coldly like a bargaining chip cutting deep within him, his inability to save such a delicate soul from such a cruel fate following him into his dreams so that his night too, was filled with troubled and unrelenting nightmares of past wounds which had never been given a chance to heal. His repressed memories of happier times and a joyously misspent youth not bringing the comfort they should have, but instead tormenting him even more.

XXX

However, far from sleeping as his parents thought him to be, Cloud was in fact pacing within the safety of his private bedchambers like a frightened and caged animal. His fragile soul torn by the turn of events and endlessly tormented by thoughts of what was, what had come to pass and most painfully of all what could have been. Though he had no knowledge of the things which were currently being discussed about him in the rooms below, his heart was heavy within his breast. The plans that were being made for him still unknown, and thankfully remaining so until the rising of the morrow's sun, having no influence on the sickness which seemed to consume him even more with each passing minute he was alone.

What troubled the young blonde and made his heart race fearfully within him, were the thoughts which raced just as wildly through his head. The doubts and uncertainties created by Vincent's death and Zack's exile making the very air around him almost impossibly hard to breathe. His very soul aching with the knowledge that he did not grieve as he should for his cousin, that his feelings of loss were not for kin but instead born of fear at never seeing his husband again.

"Gaia, help me." He croaked, his voice barley able to produce a whisper of sound as he forced the words past his lips. "Please." He begged, the simple plea ending on a choked sob as the poorly contained emotions he'd fought so hard to bring under control once again made themselves know to the world.

A fresh wave of warm wet tears quickly made their way down over already reddened cheeks, the delicate and terribly pale flesh now horribly stained with unsightly pink tracks after hours of endless weeping. The silvery trails having passed over angelic features so many times in the past few hours that the baby-soft skin no longer held its peachy toned hue, but instead reflected all the rawness of the pains that were felt within.

"I know not what to do." The blonde managed to confess breathlessly, his voice strained as he fought to keep it quiet yet make sure his questions were heard by the goddess herself. "If banished is he then so am I also, the punishment of one in turn befalling the wedded partner also." He stated simply, the determination as he spoke revealing that such a thing were in fact a matter of truth and not just his personal beliefs. "But live I cannot if he is to die, or worse yet live alone if I am to be abandoned in this moment of madness."

Once again anger swept through the young Lord at what had come to pass, as his thoughts turned back towards the actions of all involved and the fates which had befallen each and every one of them. In his mind no one person could be blamed for the outcome of this unfortunate incident, no single being be held responsible for the deaths which had resulted from heated words and acts of violence. So easy would it be to place fault on Vincent who had first sought out the Montague's this day, the wild and unforgiving nature of his cousin making Cloud certain that the young man would have been out for vengeance and most likely bloodshed. So easy would it be to accuse his kin of being guilty of looking for such violence this day, to state with utmost certainty that Vincent would have slain Zack just as quickly if given half the chance. And yet, in the same breath, had his own husband not acted just as rashly when seeking vengeance for the death of his most treasured friend?

Yet, in his heart the blonde could not fault his love's actions just as he could no be angry at one of his own kin, could not place blame where it so clearly belonged for either party. It was wrong after all to accuse his soul mate, his wedded husband, of such crimes, just as it were unforgivable to blame the dead and dearly departed when they had no breath to argue their case, no life in their bodies to justify their actions. Instead it left questions and room for doubt, a sense of knowing and almost certainty, but never quite being able to find a ground solid enough to build any strong feelings of anger and betrayal upon. And perhaps that was what hurt the young Lord the most in his time of grief, the feelings of hurt and treachery which now ran rampant through his trembling body unchecked and wild like a tempests storm. After all, what right did he have to criticise and condemn his dead cousin so? What right did he have to find fault with one who upheld the name of Capulet, when he himself had already given it away so willingly?

Sorrow was quick to consume him as anger and self-loathing moved on, as they ebbed and flowed amongst all the other emotions consuming him and made way for another until their time would return once more. Grief at the loss of kin was instantly outweighed by the fear of losing another, one more precious then life itself. His beloved's very soul, perhaps even more in peril than the one currently being judged by Gaia as it waited to enter the lifestream which existed beyond this world. How frantically did the blonde's heart now beat as it worried for the thousandth about a husband not yet found, as it pounded out an accelerated rhythm in fear that newly made vows would have been wasted and that once more he was alone in this life, as it raced in trepidation that never would it be paired with its one-true-love again. His soul mate, his wedded partner, his very reason for living, his love, his life, his everything.

"Tempt me not fate, for already I am tired of the games you play with me, with my heart." Cloud cried out pitifully, his spiralling emotions containing such despair now that even the spirits of Gaia held their breath in uncertainty as they waited to hear what else would be said or what actions would be promised with his next breath. "I will not be toyed with anymore, will not be fooled into thinking that I might have a chance for happiness, will not be ..."

The blonde's words however were not given a chance to be finished, his fateful promise falling to silence as a shadow passed by outside his window and drew his attention immediately. Almost at once a fear so strong that it actually stilled his heart in its beatings rose up within him and heaving breaths were made to catch in a swan like throat as the young Lord once again tried to regain what little control he had over his racing emotions.

Logically there could only be one person who would come as they did now on this of all nights, only one soul who would dare to place themselves on his balcony at such an hour, and in truth had more right than any other to do so again. And yet, for all Cloud's joy at hoping the one he waited for was finally here, so to did his chest tighten in fear that it had only been his imagination which saw what his heart so desperately needed to see. Because he did need, in a way that a man dying of thirst needed water, and it hurt to think, if only for a moment, that his oasis was merely just that, an illusion created by desperate thoughts within an unstable mind.

The gentle tap against eloquently stained glass seemed to snap the young Lord out of his internal struggle, the hesitant and almost unheard sound being like a thunder clap in such a quiet room and shocking Cloud into realising that he was not imagining things, and that the shadow now visible just beyond his balcony doors did in fact have a very real human form to accompany it. Quickly did he hurry to unlock the glass doors and open them wide, the mighty winds instantly blowing back the fine lace curtains which concealed the storm currently raging outside and revealing a single drenched figure stood within a mighty downpour.

"Zack!" Cloud gasped, his lithe form paying no head to the cold and bitter conditions outside as he threw himself into the arms of the one he loved with all his heart, into the warm embrace of his husband. The solid weight which instantly wrapped around him letting the young Lord silently know that he was now being held with all the love that the raven haired teen had to offer.

"Gaia, I love." Zack choked, his words filled with such heart felt emotion that it once again caused the blonde's own mighty organ to stutter in its beats. "So very, very much." The raven haired Lord managed jaggedly, the warmth of his breath against Cloud's rapidly cooling skin quickly informing the younger Lord that they were both in danger of becoming ill should they remain out in the storm much longer.

"Come inside, quickly." Cloud instructed as evenly as he could, the fears and worries which consumed him relentlessly still so very evident in his voice.

"I … I shouldn't."

The stuttered decline was like a punch in the gut to the younger Lord, the words clearly being spoken with uncertainty by his newly made husband but still managing to confirm so many unwanted thoughts which had been made to pass through the blonde's trouble mind in the past several hours.

"Do you still love me?" Cloud demanded to know fearfully, his voice now more harsh than the icy wind which tore at them.

"I … it's not …" Zack stammered to reply. His heart unwilling to let go of the one he had sworn his life too, but his head still unable to accept that he was truly forgiven and needed as Tifa had said he was.

"Do you love still me?" The blonde all but shouted in heart-ache and anger, his voice easily rising high above the howling wind so that all in Midgar might hear it.

"With all my heart." The raven haired Lord replied in a shocked gasp, his panicked violet eyes already looking wildly around them in case someone had indeed heard such a desperate cry from the angel in his arms.

"Then doubt not my feelings for you and please, for all that his holy on Gaia, come in from the cold with me." Cloud beseeched his husband, the fathomless pools of blue which forced themselves to meet conflicted amethyst orbs instantly silencing any more questions or uncertainty that Zack would have given a voice too in that moment.

Quickly both moved from their place on the balcony and with only a few short steps found themselves once again in the blonde's bedchamber, the raven haired teen only releasing his hold on his newly made bride so that he could close the decorative doors behind them and shut out the bitter-cruel tempest outside. Only once he was sure the lock would hold against the prevailing winds and torrential rain did Zack turn to face his love once more, his saturated clothing having no effect on the others current state as both now stood in sodden robes holding each other tight.

"I'm sorry." Was all that Zack could say as he took comfort in the arms which held him tightly once more. His mind silently whispering words of thanks to Gaia that his embrace was truly still wanted by his love.

"Never question what I feel for you. Never." Cloud instructed firmly, his teeth chatting slightly as he spoke and making the cold now seeping through his bones more obvious to the raven haired Lord who held him.

"You're shaking." Zack pointed out needlessly, the near violent tremble which was quickly beginning to run rampant through a delicate frame giving a new reason for guilt to be born anew within him. "And it's all my fault."

Cloud, however, was not given a chance to argue the words, to correct the older teens perception of events and remind him that the blonde himself had willingly stepped out into the unforgivable elements outside. Instead he was quickly rushed over to the bed with barley a chance to find his footing before coming to a halt again and the thick comforter, which had previously been spread over the top sheets, was wrapped tightly around his shivering form.

A moment later and the words "I'm sorry" were released with a heavy sigh against a mass of damp golden locks as Zack carefully pulled Cloud in more firmly against his well-toned form and tenderly tucked a head of sodden blonde hair beneath his chin.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about." Cloud whispered back with just as much heart-felt emotion, a desperate need to make this one thing clear to the other forcing everything else to the back of his mind.

"But I do." Zack insisted, his sorrowful violet eyes now shinning with their own gloss of tears. "I hurt you … my actions, have hurt you. The wrong's that I have done to your kin wounding you greatly also."

"It's true that I morn Vincent's passing, that my heart weeps over the death of my dearly departed cousin." The younger Lord admitted sadly, his lithe form gently pulling away just enough to raise watery sapphire gems up to meet troubled violet spheres as he spoke. "But it's you I love and have vowed to spend the rest of my life with, not Vincent. Had it been your death I mourned this day and not his, then I swear to you I would not have survived it."

"Then truly, you do not hate me for what has come to pass?"

"I could never hate you." The blonde managed to force out through a suddenly tight throat, his heart aching terribly at the relief which now shone clearly in shimmering amethyst orbs. "You are my husband, my soul mate, and I wish for nothing more than to spend my life with you, always."

"Then truly blessed by Gaia am I to have been wed to one as wondrous as you." Zack choked out, his own hushed tone holding a notably strained waver to it as he once again drew the blonde's supple body more firmly against his own.

For a short time neither moved from their positions held within the others arms, each young Lord still dealing with their spiralling emotions as best they could and finding themselves desperate to remain exactly as they were so that both could give and receive the comfort which was sorely needed. So much had happened in such a short space of time, so many joys being shared as well as so many sorrows inflicted. Pain and conflict befalling one, while hurt and fear consumed another, their hearts and minds put to the test as their love for each other was challenged in a way neither had thought it would be. Yet now, in this precious moment in time, none of it truly mattered to the pair. All that had come to pass fading away like the setting sun at day's end, the things neither spoke of still there in the shadows ready to rise again the next day, but for now hidden from sight and easily forgotten as other more important thoughts began to creep through them.

"Cloud…" Zack whispered softly, his hands now moving to support the blonde's lithe form rather than press it so tightly against his own. "I know that a lot has happened this day and I will understand if it has all been too much for you, if you are in fact too tired to … share yourself with me tonight…"

"Don't..." The younger Lord interrupted beseechingly, his small slim fingers quickly rising up to lay themselves lightly over plump trembling lips and silence the words which had begun to spill forth from them. "Sworn we are to each other from this day forth, to share in each other of body, mind and soul." The blonde reminded him firmly, the softly spoken words indeed reminding the young Lord of the vows both had exchanged earlier that day. "Do not leave me alone this night in our marital bed without the memory of your touch upon my body, do not take away from me the one experience I have a right to feel as your wife before you leave me upon the first rays of sun at dawn."

"No wish do I have to be parted from you come the morrow, nor desire do I feel to leave as silently as the moon does once day break shines down upon this world."

"I know that, and though it pains me so I also understand the fate that will befall you should you stay." Cloud hurried to reassure, his lips trembling as he tried to draw a breath and make his thoughts clear for the other to hear what was truly felt within. "My heart is now joined with yours in a way that words cannot describe, almost as if it has become half of a newly made whole, and the idea of it beating solely once more making my chest feel crushed in a vice like grip. I know with utmost certainty that I would not survive if your life were to end, if it were indeed made to beat alone again in this cold and cruel world we live in."

"Then think not of my absence to come, but instead of my arms around you now. Of the warmth my body holds for you and the love I wish to share, now that vows are exchanged between us." Zack encouraged soothingly, his voice soft and gentle like a tender caress. "No sadness shall touch us in this moment only light, the stars and moon being our witness to the confirmation of a wedded union made beneath Gaia's blessed sun."

To this simple request Cloud had no reply, no words to explain that he too wanted to feel such a thing. His heart fluttering with both joy and sorrow as he desperately tried to do just as his husband had asked.

With a strength never before needed of him the blonde fought his own battle of emotions and quickly pushed all the fears within his heart away, a determination like no other driving him to ignore all that weighed him down and instead rise above it. Tonight was not about fear or uncertainty, it was about love and commitment. Their hearts and minds already one through the sharing of sacred vows, their bodies and souls soon to make the union between them complete through an act of physical love.

Zack couldn't have explained the things he saw within those fathomless pools of blue as they continued to look up at him, yet somehow he understood it clearly. He knew that everything dark and painful within those glorious blue orbs was being washed away for him, that though the shadows of sadness would remain after he left Cloud would not let them be seen now just as he had asked, and in that moment the raven haired teen knew that he could never possibly love another as he did the angel before him.

"I swear to all of Gaia that I will love you for all of eternity." He whispered, the words becoming a solemn oath as they were given life. "And know that whatever fate befalls us, from this day fourth I will always find a way to be by your side."

The light press of warm soft lips upon his own could have easily been taken as a sealing of the deal, of an unspoken acceptance of his pledge, and yet, Cloud still managed to speak his own promise in return, one which stole the young Lord's next breath and led them both to move forward in the way that the night had intended for them to do so.

"And I will always wait for you to find me."

From high above the world the spirits of Gaia watched as the ill-fated lovers came together just as they had been destined to do so, their union not only being made complete in the physical world but also in the spiritual one as well. The threads of their lives becoming permanently interwoven so that one would no longer be able to exist without the other, the fibres so closely knitted together it would be impossible to ever separate them again.

Their love was like no other, of that both were certain, and though there was some pain at first it was soon forgotten to the pleasure which followed. Neither noticed how the mighty winds helped to conceal their breathy moans and heated groans as lust began to control them, their need for each other so strong that they didn't even hear how the mighty storm rocked the world with thunder at their completion so that no other soul might hear their cries of rapture.

It was only as they settled beneath the sheets afterwards, held safely within each others arms, that the pair finally noticed how much louder the world outside had become and found themselves grateful for it. Neither certain just how loud they had been, yet both somehow knowing that they had indeed shouted their joy to the very heavens themselves in the end. Now though there was alone silence between them, a comfortable sense of calm acceptance as they lay bathing in each others radiance. Small, shy smiles being shared between them as each took pleasure in the way the other glowed even as exhaustion finally moved forward to consume them, the strains of the day finally catching up with the pair as they lie peacefully in each others tender embrace.

And so it was with love in their hearts and hope in their thoughts that Zack and Cloud let themselves slip into a deep and dreamless sleep, the fates once again picking up their needle and thread and beginning to sew interlocking patterns in the tapestry of life. The storm outside gradually calming so that soon it was only the rain which fell from the skies above, each raindrop being a tear shed by Gaia herself as she wept for the lovers who could not. Her sadness being their own as the night silently past them by and the moon began to make its descent towards the horizon so that the sun would rise once again on a new and sorrowful day.