Disclaimer: I do not now or before and most likely not in the future, own Final Fantasy, Square Enix or any of the characters.

A/N: I am taking the geography of the FF VII world into account, same as with the monster population and pseudo science. However, I am taking liberties with some of it, just for the sake of the story. The OCs that I have won't be main characters, just supporting characters if that much. Well that and just plain old fashioned cannon fodder. This isn't the typical fem-Cloud story, this is not yaoi, it is not a crack plot, this is an alternate reality and alternate universe romance between Zack and a female version of Cloud. Italics are flashbacks, dreams or in some cases music lyrics.

I have been working on ITI, but this popped into my head. It was just something that I started pondering while I was at work. As usual, I had to get it out of my head before I could move on in ITI. I hope you like it, please R&R and tell me what you think. I am going to re-work this chapter soon, just don't know when.

Reviews, critiques, and flames are welcome. I absolutely love all reviews about the story as it gives me motivation, I utilize good constructive criticism to help my writing and I feed the flames to the fires of my imagination!

I do not have a beta, so forgive any mistakes and just enjoy them, I do!

"Experience does not err; only your judgments err by expecting from her what is not in her power." –Leonardo da Vinci

To You I Give My Heart

~Accidental Attraction~

Chapter 1

"So, where are you from?" Zack let his eyes twinkle as he put his best smile on. He just couldn't help it; she was, to put it simply, an absolutely beautiful girl. Creamy white skin lightly blushed, but her unwavering look told him that she wasn't buying what he was selling, so he tried a different tactic, "Well, I guess you don't have to talk to me, but hey since you're new, if you need any help, just give me a holler."

He started walking off slowly when he heard a sweet lilting voice, "How am I going to do that, you haven't told me who you are." Finally getting to see her smile, he didn't know that there could be any way for her to be prettier, but there it was, she was melting his willpower.

"Oh, so she speaks," He smoothly slipped back over to her, trying not to seem desperate to help her, get her number or even get her, "I'm glad you asked." A roll of her eyes got a smile out of him. As she was looking over his Soldier uniform, his smile gained a renewed vigor and with a wink he said, "I'm Zack, I showed you mine, now show me yours." He let out a light chuckle and wagged his eyebrows. The sparkle in her deep blue eyes almost set him on fire.

A brighter blush tinted her cheeks and he hoped that she couldn't tell that he used his charm on every female he was interested in, "I'm not showing you anything." She smiled, shook her head and finished, "But I will tell you, my name is Cloud."

He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, but could not stop smiling at her, "So, Cloud, what brings you to Shinra?" Flipping her blond hair back over her shoulder with her hand, she smiled and pulled out a piece of paper from her bag. Before he could stop the words, he said, "Oh, so you are going to show me yours?"

Her face fell, the blush intensified and she turned as if to walk away, angry. Taking a hold of her arm he gently turned her around, "I'm sorry. That was a bad joke. Come on, tell me."

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, she pulled some of her hair that fell forward back behind her ear, "I'm here to enlist, but I want to be a Soldier. I was told that if I enlist in the infantry, it would be easier for me to get into the Soldier program."

To be more surprised than he was at that moment, he would have had to wake up with his hands super glued to his face, "You want to be a Soldier?"

"Yes, what's wrong with that?" She looked so damn adorable with her hands on her hips and a new smolder in her eyes.

"Nothing, it's just that I haven't ever seen anyone as dainty as you want to be a Soldier," If he wanted anyone worse, it was her right then. The way her eyes hinted at her innocence, but the sheer determination behind them was what attracted him more than anything.

Physically, he couldn't frown, long thick blond hair that waved down to her waist. The tight faded blue jeans she wore, showed off every curve of her hips, butt and her thin, but shapely legs. She was short, the top of her head easily came up to his shoulder. The loose T-shirt portrayed a cute chocobo that said 'Most Likely to Bite,' but what he was able to tell so far, there wasn't anything about her that he didn't like.

Actually looking at her and then the chocobo, some of her hair stuck up in the front, very similar, he liked it.

"I don't see any reason why I can't," The way her lips moved when she talked had him distracted, so when she snapped her fingers in his face, he jerked back, "You zoned out there, welcome back to reality."

Zack concentrated on what the issue was, and he thought that if he helped her, then maybe she would agree to go out with him, "Let's see here," Looking over the paper he felt confident, "Well here's the problem. You need to go to the secondary building for your enlistment counselor. Come on, I'll walk you there." Bending over and picking up her large duffel bag at the same time she did, they ended head butting each other, "Oh geez, I'm sorry." He knew that with his mako enhancements, it wouldn't hurt him near as much as it would her.

As she crumpled toward the floor, she made an odd noise, but with his extra speed, he caught her just before she hit the floor. Thinking how good she felt in his arms, he stared at her soft face, Gaia she was beautiful.

After her eyes stopped rolling around her head, she focused and looked up at his face, "Uh… I think you can let go of me now, I'm okay, really."

Holding his hands up to stop her from moving for her bag, "Okay, I'll get your bag, you wait right there." There it was again, that blush that rose to her cheeks and made her just that much more attractive.

Getting her to where she needed to be, he asked, "So can I take you out for dinner sometime?"

As the digging in her bag intensified, she sounded flustered and irritated, but it didn't diminish the gentle voice, "Maybe. I just need to do this enlistment thing first, okay. Just give me your number and I'll call you."

Pulling out a piece of paper, he wrote it down and she shoved it into the side pocket of her duffel. He hoped that she would use it, but she didn't.

That was when they first met and two months later, he ran into her at a convenience store and she almost blew him off again, but she was much friendlier. Ever since then they had become really close friends and she never wanted anything more, but he had gotten used to it. Just being around her was good enough for him at that time.

Now looking at her from across the room, her face twisted as she cried out in pain, his heart and stomach ached for her. Beautiful deep blue piercing eyes found his, wishing them out of there. Hojo didn't let up on her, wasn't easy on her, he was determined to break her and make her his new project. Hojo probably wanted to know what made her tick, what made her special that she was the one who was able to kill Sephiroth.

Her screams for him had his skin cringing, there was nothing he could do but watch as Hojo tortured her, seemingly for his own amusement.

"No please don't, I… please don't do this!"

He hated hearing her lovely voice pleading as the pain intensified. Hojo never told them what he ultimately wanted, what he was trying to do, he hurt them almost daily. It had been almost three years now and all Zack wanted to do was hold her and comfort her as best as he could.

"Zack!"

"Cloud, I'm right here, I'm not going to leave you," His words almost stuck in his throat as he tried to comfort her. However, it was just a matter of time before any reassurance he provided was ripped away from her by the Professor in his madness.

Being in different cells, he couldn't hold her, he couldn't be that shoulder for her to cry on. At least they could talk to one another since they were held in barred rooms next to each other.

Taken back to their cells, they took up their normal positions behind their bars. If they reached out at just the right spot in the bars, they could touch their fingertips. That was the only physical contact that they were allowed since they had been there.

"Cloud, are you okay?"

Hearing her sniffle, she tried to sound stronger than she was, "Yes, I think so."

Swallowing hard, he began to lose it but he quickly tightened his voice, "I wish you were in here, I wish I could give you one of my hugs that you love so much." He hoped that he could cheer her up a little at least.

"Zack, as much as I hated your hugs before, I hate to admit this because you will never let me forget, but I do miss your hugs."

A painful and fearful smile drifted across his face through his tears, "I knew it! I grew on you didn't I?"

"Pfft, yeah, okay whatever," Hearing the smile that he knew was on her lips made him a little happier, "Zack, of course you've grown on me, just like a bad case of athlete's foot, you never go away."

"Oh, hey! That's it! When we finally get out of here and I am able too, I'm going to hug you and never let you go…" Even though that is how he felt about her from the beginning and it just slipped out, but considering their current circumstances, he didn't think she would get upset.

Her voice was soft, quiet as though she was afraid someone would hear it, "I'd like that."

Pulling his arm back through the bars, he sat there with his hands in his hair and tried to picture a day when they were happy. Sitting together, eating lunch and talking weapons and tactics. For him, she was perfect, she was smart, funny, interested in similar things, but at the same time, she also had her feminine moments. She would get a certain look in her eyes and he knew to steer clear, lest he incur her wrath. Seeing it first hand on a few occasions, it was unnerving. Most women yelled, argued, or just plain hated the sight of you. She was different, she wouldn't talk and the looks she gave had him wishing she would just hit him and get it over with.

"Zack?"

"Yeah, chocobo?"

"Stop calling me that!"

"But you… never mind. What is it?"

"We need to get out of here soon… I think he has something planned for me. I don't know what it is, but it scares me," A near panic rose in her voice as she described it, "It's just a weird feeling I have."

"Cloud, what is it?"

"I don't know… Just promise me something."

"Anything."

"With all the mako and other shit he's pumping into me, if he turns me into a monster… would you kill me?"

Quickly reaching back through the bars, feeling for her fingers, he fought tears at the despondence in her voice. As he always did, he tried to cheer her up, but it was difficult for him to hide his tears in his voice, "...No, I'll keep you around just to scare the kids off of my front lawn."

Despite his failed attempt to sound strong, she still chuckled, albeit nervously, "Just feed me only the good monster food, not the cheap stuff. I have my standards after all."

Wrapping his fingers around hers, he affirmed, "You got it babe."

A/N: Thanks to all of you who read, favorite, subscribed and/or reviewed, I appreciate your time and I dedicate all of this to you. To quote another author, "Getting reviews makes me feel all warm and squishy."

Please send me your reviews. It is really easy. Just click your arrow in the little box, write what you thought or felt about the chapter and then click right down there, just below the box. A little lower… a little to the right… yeah, right there! Click it! *grinning*