Work Text:
Zack thought Cloud had shitty music taste, but he wasn't about to tell him so. Especially not after the last time he said it.
It wasn't that he thought Cloud was a music snob. He knew that Cloud legitimately liked the music that he listened to and didn't care what other people listened to. But, god, Zack couldn't fathom what about the music they were listening to that Cloud liked.
Mikey had a facial scar
And Bobby was a racist
They were all in love with dyin'
They were doing it in Texas
Zack grimaced and looked out the dusty spotted window of the box truck they were riding in. There really wasn't much to see. They were in the middle of the desert, charging down a straight open road of cracked asphalt toward the coast. Cacti and scraggly woody bushes dotted the landscape as they blew past, the only thing to see for miles besides the far off mountains edging the dead dry valley they were driving through.
Some will die in hot pursuit
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
The last time Zack had criticized Cloud's music taste, Cloud had been merciless in returning that criticism to Zack. Zack didn't consider himself to be anything like a music critic. He knew that he could listen to the top forty hits on pretty much any station and be perfectly happy. He didn't own any albums anymore and just listened to whatever was on the radio. He never saw this as a problem until he mentioned how much he thought that Cloud's music sounded like tryhard edgelord material. As a result, he was told how incredibly milquetoast his own taste in music was and how he could keep his mouth shut until he developed taste. Fucking ouch.
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
"I gotta piss," Zack said over the alt rock nightmare playing out the tinny radio. "Can you pull over?"
Cloud frowned out the front window,which was just as dusty and streaked as Zack's passenger window.
"I think there's a rest stop coming up. Check the map," he suggested, keeping his eyes dutifully trained on the road in front of him.
Zack shuffled the pile of empty junk food wrappers at his feet around until he found the folded map. He unfolded it and spread it out as flat as he could on his knees and the dashboard. He followed the red line of the route they were on with his index finger and then looked out the window. Sure enough, a mile marker popped up as he watched.
They were in the middle of a deep hot valley populated only with the dusty remains of the road they were currently on and a few desperate looking little outposts dotted here and there along the road. If they could just make it out of the valley, they would be at the coast and then it was less than a day's ride to Gongaga. Zack should have been excited to see his parents and the people he had grown up with, but his stomach churned with nerves at the thought.
Pauly caught a bullet
But it only hit his leg
Well it should have been a better shot
And got him in the head
Zack walked his finger down the map and saw that there was indeed a little black dot indicating there was a gas station just a few miles from where they were.
"Yeah, it looks like there's one right up here. I'll hold it," he sighed.
Cloud cast him a glance, but otherwise didn't comment and kept his eyes on the road.
"Maybe we should stop to eat, too," Cloud suggested after they had sat in the cab for a while without saying anything. "Stretch our legs a little."
"Yeah, that sounds good," Zack agreed flatly, resting his forehead against the smudged glass and watching the repetitive horizon float by.
I don't mind the sun sometimes
The images it shows
I can taste you on my lips
And smell you in my clothes
Sure enough, less than a minute later the gas station was coming into view. It was a low flat building wrapped in wide dirty windows. Zack was glad to see that half of it was a diner, the other half a convenience store. Squatting behind the diner as they pulled into the parking lot, Zack saw a small mechanics shop piled with old rusted car parts and a few stripped chassis on cement blocks.
Cinnamon and sugary
And softly spoken lies
You never know just how you look
Through other people's eyes
Cloud turned the key, cutting the engine and radio off with a small click. As soon as the air conditioning was no longer struggling to cool the cab the oppressive desert heat started to encroach.
Turning to Zack on the bench seat, Cloud looked him over with a searching expression.
"What?" Zack snapped, surprised at himself but not enough to apologize. He crossed his arms over his chest.
"I need to buy some gas. Why don't you get us a seat at the diner?" Cloud suggested, not blinking at Zack's tone.
Zack made himself take a deep breath and blow it out. "Yeah, sure," he agreed, before turning and getting out of the cab without looking back to see Cloud's expression. The dry desert heat hit him in the face like a wall. Zack grimaced and tied his long hair up into a bun at the back of his head to keep it off the back of his neck. He made his way over to the glass doors of the diner.
The diner was old, but clean. The counters were red formica edged in scratched dull chrome, the bar stools at the counter red pleather patched up with clear tape where it had cracked from long years of use. An older woman with her white hair twisted up on top of her head approached Zack as he stood in the entryway.
"Sit wherever you like, sir," she said as she swept by with a coffee pot in one hand.
Zack nodded, but she was already gone. The diner was almost completely empty. It was something like two in the afternoon, so Zack wasn't really surprised. They were in the middle of nowhere.
Making his way down the row of booths, Zack picked one in the middle of the front wall with a big glass window looking out onto the gravel parking lot. There were a few small cars parked in front and farther back were a few very large long haul trucks. The heat was so oppressive that Zack's vision swam with heat when he tried to look at the asphalt of the road.
Thoughts of Gongaga swam in his head as he sat there. He tried to push the thoughts away, but it was difficult. He knew if he thought about it, he would just get stuck in the same circular thoughts that had plagued him most of the ride there. He had written to his parents and even briefly talked to them on the phone since leaving Shinra, but Cloud had never come up. At least, not their relationship. Theoretically, he could keep hiding it once they got there. But, did he want to do that? Would Cloud agree to it? Even if he agreed to it, would it hurt Cloud to even ask? It was hard to anticipate how he would react. Cloud's mother was dead and his father was not even worth mentioning. As far as Zack knew, Cloud’s mother didn't know he was gay before she died. Or, maybe she did? Even after years knowing each other, there were still big blank spots in Zack’s knowledge of Cloud.
"What can I get you?" the woman who had greeted him at the door asked as she stopped at his table.
Zack shook himself out of his thoughts. He looked up at her and struggled to pull a smile across his face. "Just water for now. Uh, two waters. I have a friend coming."
The woman put her pen away without writing anything down on her small notepad and left without any expression or response. Zack watched her as she trundled down the aisle between tables.
He was being a coward, something he didn't usually tolerate in himself. It was easier to focus on Cloud, thinking about him was safe even if it was uncomfortable.
As if summoned, Cloud came through the front door and spotted Zack quickly in the nearly deserted diner. He paused to let the waitress by and then walked purposefully down the aisle and slid into the seat across from Zack.
"Hey," Zack greeted him. "Any problems with the gas?"
"No," Cloud said, rustling in his pocket before pulling out a small bag of red vines and tossing it across the table.
It surprised a laugh out of Zack, who quickly snatched the bag up and tore it open.
"Did you order?" Cloud asked as Zack shoved the end of the red licorice vine into his mouth and started chewing.
"Just water," Zack said around the candy.
Cloud nodded, resting his elbow on the table and looking out the window much as Zack had when he first came in.
"Hey, uh," Zack hesitated, biting off the licorice and quickly chewing and swallowing. Cloud swiveled his head to watch Zack evenly. "I'm sorry. About how snappy I've been. I've just had a lot on my mind."
Cloud frowned a little, just a small furrow in his brow. He nodded, but didn't otherwise say anything.
"Uh, you met my parents, right?" Zack asked hesitantly.
Cloud's frown deepened at that, his mouth visibly turning down at the corners. He nodded.
"But, you didn't mention anything about me?" he asked.
"It didn't seem appropriate," Cloud said slowly, sounding out the words to see if they would fit.
"I guess it's just, uh," Zack hesitated again, looking down at his hands as they worked at pulling at the skin beside his thumbnail. He glanced up at Cloud to see if he would be any help, but he was just watching Zack evenly. "I only ever talked about girls when I was at home."
Zack stared at Cloud, waiting for some reaction. Cloud tilted his head, but otherwise didn't emote.
"Ugh, you're really going to make me say it," Zack groaned. Cloud's mouth ticked up in one corner. Zack put his head down on the sticky table with a quiet thump. Cloud's breathy laugh came from above him before his calloused fingers worked into Zack's hair, rubbing roughly at his scalp in a way that sent shivers down his back.
"It's not like I'm not sympathetic. I understand why you're freaking out," Cloud said, his voice low and soft, a balm over Zack's frayed nerves.
"Did your mom know? Like, you know, before?" Zack asked hesitantly, glancing up at Cloud from his spot on the table.
Cloud's expression became wry. "She did. In fact, about everyone in Nibelheim knew. It was part of the reason I wanted to get out of there so bad."
"Oh," Zack breathed, feeling a little bad that he had even asked. That hadn't even occurred to him before.
"Do you really think your parents will be pissed?" Cloud asked point blank.
Zack groaned and rolled his forehead on the table. Trust Cloud to get right down to brass tacks.
The waitress chose that moment to come back with their water. Zack quickly sat up, but she still gave him a look like she found him suspicious. He wondered what she thought he was going to do. Fill the salt shaker with sugar?
"Can I get you boys anything?" she asked, pulling out her pad and pen again.
"Can I have a BLT?" Cloud asked.
The waitress jotted something down on her notepad and then turned a keen eye on Zack.
"Uh, a burger with the works for me, thanks," he said, tucking his hands under his legs and trying to look innocent.
She jotted down his order and then seemed to give him a warning look before saying, "I'll have you food out in just a bit," and shuffling away.
Zack turned to Cloud at the same moment that Cloud turned to him. He raised his eyebrow to say 'what was up with that' but Cloud didn't bite.
"So?" he prompted.
Zack groaned and ran a hand through his hair, knocking out his hair tie. He shook his hair out. It was cool enough in the diner that he didn't need it.
"Man, I don't know," he sighed. "On one hand, they've been nothing but loving and supportive my whole life. It's hard to imagine anything that would make them say a mean word to me."
"But?" Cloud prompted.
"But," Zack agreed, tapping his fingers on the tabletop. "They've definitely said some negative stuff about people in the village if accusations of, you know, being that way ever came up."
"Hm," Cloud grunted sympathetically.
"I've been thinking, uh," Zack had trouble looking at Cloud as he said the next part, but forced himself to raise his eyes to meet Cloud's. "Maybe I just shouldn't say anything."
Cloud frowned again, but didn't say anything.
"What do you think?" Zack prompted him.
"I think you should do what you think is best," Cloud said flatly.
"Okay, but what would you do if you were in my place?" Zack pushed further.
"I would tell them," Cloud said without hesitation. Zack grimaced, so he continued. "I hate secrets. And, it's not like you live near them or anything, so if you fight, you can just leave."
"Ugh," Zack groaned, returning his face to the table. "You're always so fucking reasonable."
"I guess," Cloud said with a twist of his lips which said he didn't know how much he agreed with that statement. "Though, to be fair, this isn't a reasonable situation. They're your parents. Of course you're going to care what they think."
"Ugh, this situation sucks. I hate this," Zack groaned.
"We're going to Gongaga to deliver the radio station parts they need, not to visit with your parents. If you want to leave right after, we can. We don't have to stay," Cloud suggested.
"They would be fucking heartbroken," Zack sighed, rubbing a hand roughly over his face.
"I'm just saying, if you want to do that we can," Cloud said.
"Boys," the waitress said, again almost scaring Zack out of his skin. Zack leaped back out of the way and the waitress took that opportunity to sit his plate down where his head had just been. But, not before giving him another look like he was a hooligan. Ugh.
Cloud started to tuck into his sandwich as soon as the waitress walked away, so Zack took the hint and started to do the same. The burger was big and greasy, dripping oil and mayo and ketchup out the back and onto the plate. Zack wasn't complaining. After almost two days of nothing but gas station burritos and bags of chips and granola bars, the burger tasted amazing.
Both he and Cloud had polished off their sandwiches in a few minutes flat. Zack pushed his plate into the middle of the table and they worked together to put away his fries.
"Sorry again about snapping at you," Zack said once he had eaten enough that shoving food into his mouth didn't feel like such a dire imperative.
Cloud shrugged and swallowed his mouthful of fries. "No big," he said. "You've dealt with me when I was way worse. The tables had to turn eventually."
Zack snorted and smiled. "Yeah, I guess," he agreed.
Cloud smiled back and things seemed better. Zack wasn't sure how his parents would react to finding out he was dating a man. That he had been in a serious relationship with this man for over a year. But, even if they reacted badly, he was starting to feel like maybe it wouldn't be the end of the world. Together, they would figure it out somehow.