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Cloud could tell something was bothering Zack. It had been eating away at him for days. It was written all over the bags under his eyes, etched in the hard line of his lips that was normally a smile, present in the somber and serious tone he now showed instead of his playful demeanor. He kept meaning to ask, but social tactics weren't an area Cloud was well versed in. He didn't want to come across as pushy and he didn't want to seem like he was prying. Cloud wanted so badly to help, but lacked the means to actually vocalize or demonstrate it. So, when Zack asked his buddy out to a nightclub (despite Cloud's better judgment) he immediately agreed. If this was something he could do to make Zack feel better, he was going to do it.
Until Zack insisted they put glow-in-the-dark body paint over their skin. Cloud was less than thrilled at the idea of leaving Shinra Tower covered in streaks of neon paint, but he couldn't say no to his friend's devious puppy pout. Anything to get the old Zack back. He decided to adopt the 'fake it till you make it' policy and wore a shy smile as he headed for Zack's room on the upper floor. He was covered in neon teal, green and yellow paint. Cloud made long yellow and teal trails down his arms, ending in little curls here and there. He added dots and lines around his eyes and cheekbones, resembling a sort of mask. Over his hands were intricate lines and rings around his fingers. Cloud wasn't the type to rush in blindly-he watched a tutorial before doing the paint. If he was gonna fake confidence, Cloud was gonna do it right.
''Hey there, buddy!'' Zack answered his door fast. Despite the smile on his face, his eyes were still dull. It filled Cloud with a sense of dread, wondering what could have happened to bring his bubbly friend so low. The dark-haired man had finished his body paint as well, spirals of royal blue and orange decorated muscular forearms, while his face had a few simple lines and dots adorning it. His hands had the most creative work, little hearts and lightning bolts drawn on in haphazard fashion. Zack's shirt rode up a bit as he leaned on her door frame, showing off a splotch of blue paint over the curve of his hip.
''Hey. You about ready to go?''
''Yeah! Gimmie a sec to throw my shoes on.'' Zack kept the door open as he snatched a pair of boots from his disorganized pile by the door. Cloud watched the view outside Zack's room over his shoulder. He had always been jealous of this view. Being an infantryman, he was stuck sleeping much lower on the Tower, and he had to share with many other guys. Cloud was always transfixed by the ethereal beauty of the glittering green flares in the sky, casting emerald light over Midgar. Zack drew himself up to his full height, adjusting his hair.
''Ready!'' Cloud tore his eyes away from the sight to look at his friend as he followed him toward the elevator. When they reached the garage, Zack headed straight for the lot where the bikes were kept, keys jingling in his hand. There was a strange silence between them that normally wasn't there. It tore Cloud apart. What was going on? He hoped to find out by the end of the night.
''Hold on tight, Blondie.'' Zack instructed. He didn't need to warn Cloud, really. The blonde remembered what happened the night they had a bike race with one of the newer cadets and he was thrown from the bike. Zack was the one to heal him and give him a piggyback ride the entire way to the Shinra building. Cloud still carried a nasty scar on the outside of his thigh as a reminder to always hold securely to the driver.
He scooted onto the cycle, wrapping his arms around Zack's middle tightly. Zack revved the engine to life before whipping out of the garage.
It was quiet this time of night. Topside mostly went quiet after midnight. Traffic died off, people normally weren't out walking. Tonight was no exception to this rule. Cloud normally loved this feeling-it was only him and Zack. But tonight, for the first time in seemingly forever...they weren't alone. It was Zack, Cloud and the shadow following his best friend around. He let his head rest on Zack's back subconsciously. Cloud couldn't see it, but there was a true smile on Zack's face for the first time in weeks.
The bike came to a halt outside a large building called, 'Lucky's.' It was infamous in Shinra Tower. All the guys came here to drink and blow off steam in their downtime. Apparently, Zack wasn't an exception to this. If he wasn't, Cloud genuinely had no idea. They didn't hang out like this often, and when they did it was more like having dinner together and bullshitting about missions, or taking the bikes for a spin. Tonight was new and scary territory for Cloud, but he would brave it for Zack.
''Come on and follow my lead, yeah?'' Zack slid off the bike and promptly waited for his friend. Cloud's legs felt like jelly, but he swallowed his anxieties and climbed off the bike moments later.
The bass inside the club was so loud, the blonde swore he could feel it pumping in his blood. It was dark on the inside, save for the bodies lit up purely by their glowing paint and the occasional flashes of light. Some men were shirtless, their intricate and ornate designs glowing underneath the black lights. Cloud was at a loss for what to do with so many people. He felt like an outcast once more, everyone's eyes on him. Just when he thought he might run for the door, Zack's hand was sliding into his.
''Come on, Blondie! Honor me with a dance?''
''Dance? Zack, I-I don't know. Body paint is one thing, but...'' Everyone here was either grinding on each other in a frenzy or showing off their clearly hard earned moves. Cloud had no clue how to dance. He was going to make a fool of himself in front of dozens of strangers and his best friend.
''Just try it? It's about letting loose and having fun, yeah? Besides, I bet you'd be a natural.'' Cloud saw Zack's true smile for a moment there and it made him chew his lip in thought. Finally, he gave Zack's hand a squeeze.
''Okay, fine. But you're paying for dinner next time.''
''My bank account will be ready.'' He laughed, leading his blonde dance partner to the floor. Cloud let himself be guided, let Zack pull him to a corner of the dance floor yet uninhabited by sweaty, gyrating bodies and watched his friend's movements. Zack started with a body roll, shifting his legs and chasing the rock of his hips with his arms. Cloud was transfixed by a dance so simple.
''See? Now, you try it!''
''Me??'' Cloud was dumbfounded, unsure he would ever be able to move like that.
''Yeah, you! Come on, Cloudy. Dance with me.'' Zack's lower lip quivered, starting the puppy pout.
''You're so manipulative, you know that?'' The blonde huffed, but he couldn't refuse. This was the most Zack he had seen him in a while. He wasn't going to let that go without a fight, even if it meant embarrassing himself. Cloud watched for a few moments more, and eventually tried replicating it. Zack was impressed, watching him with a curious expression.
''You dance in your free time? You can tell me, don't be shy!''
''I spend all my free time with you, so...'' His face heated at the admission and Zack laughed. The warm feeling in his chest hurt so badly. The body roll evolved into dancing close together, Zack's arms spread wide as he rocked his chest up. Cloud copied every movement as well as he could. He felt like his dance partner was leaving him behind in the dust. That was far from true, as Zack was amazed at how on beat Cloud was. Every movement, every roll of his body, every shake of his hips, every single step he took was exactly on beat. Zack wondered if Cloud had taken lessons before, or perhaps he was just that good. They migrated into the cross snap and Zack admired how good Cloud's leg work was. With some practice, he could outshine the best. Their bodies got closer and closer as the crowd grew and the dance floor filled out. Cloud glanced up at him and saw the shine in Zack's eyes had returned. It maintained for a few moments before everything came crashing down and Zack stopped moving.
''I'm sorry, Cloud.'' He turned so suddenly and worked his way off the dance floor, leaving the blonde standing there in shock. Someone pushed Cloud as they were moving and he realized he had to get off the floor. He weaved through people, avoiding elbows and hips as he desperately scanned the area for Zack.
Cloud was relieved to find him outside, leaning against the bike. He knew Zack wouldn't ditch him at a club, whether he was a strong fighter or not.
''Did I do something wrong?'' Cloud cleared his throat, looking at him with confusion.
''What? No. It wasn't you.'' Zack shook his head. He was looking at him, but his blue eyes were so far away.
''Then...what is it?''
''You remember my girlfriend, right?''
''Yeah. Of course I do.'' He remembered how his friend's face would light up whenever he mentioned her, even though he hadn't heard much aside from little details like her favorite colors or brief snippets of their conversations. Cloud didn't even know her by name and he didn't need to. She was important to Zack, so it made hearing all of these abstract details important to him.
''I was thinking of breaking it off.'' The timbre of his voice dipped so low and soft. It was a tone he had never heard Zack speak in and he never wanted to hear it again. The sound clawed at Cloud's chest.
''Why? You really like her, don't you?''
''It's complicated. Of course I like her. Maybe I even...'' He sighed, trailing off for a moment before picking back up, ''but she hates Shinra. I'm worried I might ruin things for her. Plus, she's just so patient during all of these missions...all the times when I can't be there for her. I feel like I don't have enough time to give her what she deserves.''
Cloud thought about it for a while, leaning back against the stone wall.
''Does time matter?''
''Well, yeah! There's a lot of other guys out there more stable then me...who would give her a life and a future, maybe.''
''Is this what's been bothering you?'' Cloud chewed his lip again, knowing it was going to start bleeding if he kept tearing it apart.
''Yeah.''
''That's why you invited me here tonight?''
''Kind of? I don't know what I was doing.'' Zack sighed, sinking down to the floor and crossing his legs.
Cloud's voice was surprisingly gentle as it cut through the night, ''wanna know what I think?''
''Course I do.''
''You could be spending time with her right now, but you're with me. I think you should've went to see her tonight.'' Zack ran a hand through his hair. Cloud was right, of course. He was often better at giving advice than he thought.
''I guess a selfish part of me thought...you understand what it's like. The job. And maybe it would be easier to...cut things off with her. Easier for her.''
''You really believe that?''
Zack thought about it. He thought about the way Aerith smiled at him whenever he came back to see her.
''No...maybe I don't.''
''Then stop being a dumbass and talk to her.'' Zack managed a laugh, shocked that his soft spoken friend would say something so bold. Cloud could be sassy when he wanted. It was something Zack often overlooked.
''You're right...I really should.''
''And you should tell her about us dancing. I don't think she would care, but...I feel guilty. We got super close.''
''Yeah....we did.'' Zack combed a hand through his hair, deep in thought, ''Thanks Cloudy.''
''Anytime. Let's go home. I smell like paint and sweat.''
The two of them headed for home and Cloud saw an improvement in Zack's behavior over the next few weeks. He had to inform him with excitement that his girlfriend didn't mind that they danced together. In fact, she found it cute that he was very insistent on sharing it, having been worried about her considering it cheating. She did make him promise to take her dancing someday, however. Clubbing remained one of Zack and Cloud's rare treats on nights off. In time, Cloud became more comfortable with himself and his movements. Zack continued to see Aerith whenever he could with strengthened resolve now. He tried to split his time evenly to them, as they were both important to him. That was what made it so hard for Aerith when he stopped coming. When she received no more letters or phone calls.
That was what made it so hard when she saw him dance for the first time. She was having so much fun watching Andrea Rhodea and Cloud do their dance battle with stylish flair. Cloud was the last person Aerith ever expected to dance so well.
''How did you learn to dance like that?'' She asked curiously as the couple made their way to the Don's mansion.
''Don't recall.'' Cloud answered, but his chest felt tight. His body recalled.
Aerith,
Hey, you! I'll be back again to visit soon, okay? Things have been crazy busy. I'm doing better. I hope I didn't worry you too much! You remember my friend I told you about? The one I dance with? I've been thinking a lot about what you said and...I think you're right. I think I like him, too. So, you're really serious? You'd be okay with meeting him? You'd really be comfortable stepping into poly? If you aren't, that's okay. I love you, and we'll figure this out together. Oh! You're right, I never told you his name. I guess I'm bad at that, huh? His name is-
Aerith ran over the letter word for word in her mind. She had it memorized by now, even to the name that had always been ilegible due to the state of the letter. Could it be him? Was it crazy to think so? Was it wishful thinking? She hugged her legs tightly in her glass cage as she mourned a future that would never be.