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Dawn breaks over the skyline and streams of people pour into the streets. Zack jogs down the stairs of one of the many casinos in the Gold Saucer towards the parking lot, his delivery bag bouncing against him with each step. His pace picks up as his bike comes into view, Cloud right beside it.
Cloud is in an easy sprawl on fenrir; his feet are planted against the cracked pavement and his back is a smooth curve across the body of the massive motorcycle as he leans on his elbows and picks at a loose seam on his gloves. Zack swallows past the sudden dryness in his throat and focuses on not tripping down the last handful of steps.
“All done! The client even left us a little tip for the rush delivery,” Zack says, voice somewhat hoarse. “Are you ready to head back?”
This Gold Saucer delivery was the only one scheduled for today but the journey back to Midgar will be long and he hopes Cloud will want to kick around the city for a little while before they hit the road.
Cloud hums and sweeps his gaze across the parking lot and the surrounding plaza. He shifts slightly on fenrir, the bike following him in a controlled sway.
“Not really. You wanna go the long way ‘round?” Cloud peeks at him through his bangs, voice carefully neutral. Zack steps close and cups the back of Cloud’s head, kisses his forehead and sighs when Cloud curls closer in return.
“Like you even gotta ask.”
~+~
The highway is a dark streak against the pale coastline and their bikes eat up the miles in no time at all. They weave around each other, laughter lost in the wind and Zack feels the thrum of the engine, the thrum of his pulse as Cloud comes close enough to touch. Everything else is background noise.
~+~
Costa del Sol looks the same as the last time he was here all those years ago; as if the postcard he’d pinned to his wall had captured the city itself for his own taking. The cliff coastline is littered with rows of stucco buildings bleached from the sun and capped with terracotta roofs. The sand is near blinding and the sea-glass colored water stretches to the far horizon where the sun melts towards the water’s edge.
Their bikes are parked outside of the small villa they’ve managed to find on such short notice and they are laying side by side on the bed, legs sore from such an arduous journey. The small balcony off the bedroom is open, the ocean breeze rolls across the floor and onto their skin. It feels heavenly.
Cloud sighs deeply next to him and Zack rolls his head against the mattress to look over. There are pearls of sweat on Cloud’s bare arms, his throat, his temples; he never has gotten used to warmer climes.
You can take the boy out of Nibelheim but you can’t take Nibelheim out of the boy.
Zack reaches out, swipes damp bangs out of Cloud’s face and behind an ear. “You gonna up and melt away on me, sunshine?”
“Hmph,” Cloud huffs and shifts onto his side, peers at Zack through heavy lidded eyes. He looks tired from their long trek but he’s enticingly lax against the bedding. “I’m gonna get cleaned up, then we can head out.”
Zack nods through a jaw-cracking yawn as Cloud rolls to his feet. He can hear the clink of a belt being undone and he pushes up onto his elbows to watch as Cloud heads towards the ensuite bathroom. He peels his dark top off of his chest, drops it carelessly to the floor and disappears from sight; Zack’s train of thought follows suit, mouth dry. He’s tired, a long day full of hard driving but—
“Are you coming or not?” Cloud’s voice quickly gets drowned out by the shower and Zack’s already toeing off his shoes and stumbling out of his pants and into the brightly lit bathroom. Cloud’s laughter rings off the tiles.
~+~
They meander through the old districts where their villa is situated and down towards the ocean proper. Brightly colored canopies are strung up above the alleyways of the market and Zack’s attention catches more often than not on the way Cloud’s pale hair is washed in a veritable rainbow.
The market is crowded, the tourist season is in full swing, but Zack’s easily able to see over the sea of heads as he browses. There’s delightful little odds and ends for sale—seashell jewelry, hand crafted miniature surfboards, garish refrigerator magnets, among other kitschy trinkets—all of which he scoops up and purchases for their friends back home without second thought. He’ll give the magnets to Marlene and she’ll help him sneak them onto Barret’s arm.
He pockets his souvenirs and looks around for Cloud. He’s not one for shopping—too many people and too many things to look at—but he’s always content to wait outside while Zack looks as long as he pleases. Zack spots him propped against an unoccupied sliver of wall, chewing thoughtfully on greasy, fried food with a barely there grin. He doesn’t indulge often, despite Zack’s encouragement, and to see Cloud treat himself to the simple pleasure that is junk food is a treat in itself for Zack.
Zack cuts through the crowd and joins him, readily accepting the piece of food held out to him. They finish it together.
~+~
They head down to the beach as the sun sinks closer to the horizon and settle into the hot sand. Zack tugs Cloud closer and uncaps the travel sized tube of sunscreen he’d found in one of the more tourist centric shops. He doesn’t need it all that much—Gongaga is easily ten times this heat—but Cloud will burn in no time.
Zack runs his hands across Cloud’s bare arms, the back of his neck, his already sun-kissed cheeks. He swipes a thick stripe down the length of Cloud’s nose and laughs at the side eye he gets in response.
“Are you done?”
Zack’s snickers taper off and he cups Cloud’s face in one hand, gently rubbing the smear of lotion away with the other. Cloud’s biting the inside of his lip, shifting restlessly against the sand as Zack leisurely caresses his face. His cheeks are growing almost alarmingly warm against Zack’s hands and Cloud surprises him—surprises them both it seems—when he darts forward and pecks him lightly on the mouth.
He’s decidedly not meeting Zack’s eyes as he takes the tube of sunscreen from his lap. He pours a small amount into his hand and begins swiping the lotion across Zack’s skin in careful circles.
Zack watches him, chest full and bright. “You know I don’t burn like you do.”
Cloud pushes himself up off of the sand and shuffles on his knees until he’s behind Zack. His hands are cool with the lotion as they sweep down his arms. Zack shivers slightly.
“You still need to use it, y’know.” Cloud’s voice is nearly lost in the waves but Zack feels a kiss pressed firmly against his bare shoulder. “And maybe I just wanted to touch you.”
Zack feels his own cheeks burn; Cloud-kissed, maybe. He leans back completely into Cloud until they crash into the sand with barks of laughter.
~+~
They stroll around the city until the street lamps flicker to life and dusk settles over the coastline. Cloud’s always a sight to see but the warm lamplight softens his edges even more. There’s some music drifting out of an open terrace a few blocks ahead and Cloud’s wearing a small, captivatingly sweet grin as they trek back to their villa hand in hand.
~+~
“What did you find for ‘em?” Cloud sighs out, melting into the bed. He’s stretched out, barefoot and completely lax as he rubs his cheek against the pillow.
The balcony is open once more and the rolling surf permeates the quiet of the bedroom. Zack climbs onto the bed and lays across from Cloud and twines their legs together. The only light in the room is from the streetlamp outside; Cloud’s painted in shades of cool but his body feels like sunshine where they meet.
“Oh y’know, the usual baubles: jewelry, knicknacks, stuff Marlene will like and stuff Barret will have to like because he can’t tell his daughter ‘no’.”
“They’ve love it,” Cloud chuckles breathlessly and slides his foot against Zack’s calf. He’s smiling sleepily at Zack, eyes blinking slower and slower in the still darkness. Zack brushes his thumb across Cloud’s cheek, chest flaring when Cloud leans into it. Cloud makes a small noise in the back of his throat and scoots closer, tucks his head beneath Zack’s chin.
“Got you something, too,” Cloud’s lips brush against his pulse and he lazily skims his fingers across Zack’s shoulder.
“Oh yeah?” Zack says softly, wrapping his arm around Cloud. He doesn’t expect any answer—Cloud’s breaths are deep, even puffs against his skin—but he thinks he has it in his arms already.
~+~
The next morning Zack is brushing his teeth, noting the new constellations of freckles on his shoulders from yesterday’s sun. He had always had them growing up in Gongaga and they’re a welcome sight. Zack grins around his toothbrush and leans down to spit in the sink.
He rinses and tucks his supplies away and turns to grab a towel. In his periphery he catches a mark on his shoulder, small but deeply red. He puts his back towards the mirror and twists around to see.
A lip print.
Zack huffs out a breath, belly fluttering as he skims his fingers across the mark. It’s hot to the touch, stings slightly too. He catches his reflection, utterly besotted, and brushes the mark again. He murmurs lowly, “One hell of a souvenir, that’s for sure.”