~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Fifteen: Unnoticed

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Zack and Cloud parted for the time being. They agreed they both needed showers, for one, and they had some things to take care of before they set out for the town.

Zack wasn't expecting to run into Ratcliff before the gym. But he was glad that he had, as Ratcliff informed him of Cloud's reaction, albeit subtle, to his suggestion that they were going on a date.

"He looked...happy," is what Ratcliff said.

Happy?

Zack left his apartment. He had taken so many showers the past few days – some of which he was getting more dirty rather than clean – that he was starting to have an impressive pile of towels that needed to be laundered. He thought it weird that one of the side effects of his new relationship with the blond boy was having to do more laundry than usual.

It was a strange thought, as he passed through the halls with a stack of paperwork in his hand. Even on his days off, he still had to report for some sort of duty; he was never in the clear. Of course, this paperwork he had in his hands was from the training mission from a few weeks prior. He was surprised Tseng had let him go that long without turning it in. It had been so long that Zack had had to fill in some not-so-accurate details about the mission he hardly remembered, by this point. Everything that had been happening with Cloud lately seemed to wipe his mind clear of anything that didn't have to do with the blond.

But however cumbersome in the long run it was, Zack was still happy.

Happy? Cloud is happy...

Zack was lost in this thought, and he didn't hear Tseng's receptionist informing him that Tseng was currently with someone and was unavailable as he passed by. Of course, this probably wouldn't have deterred Zack from busting into his office anyway. He wanted to get this errand done quickly so he could get back to forming his date with Cloud. He still hadn't thought of a place to take him, yet. Cloud was a country boy; he was timid and bashful. He probably would appreciate somewhere low-key and with a casual atmosphere. Wutaian Barbeque, perhaps?

The door shut behind him, and he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes fell upon a familiar blonde woman seated in front of Tseng's desk, her legs crossed politely, the glasses on her nose slipping slightly as she turned to see who entered, uninvited.

"Oooh...things are starting to make sense now, Tseng. This explains a lot about you."

The blonde psychologist shifted in her chair, and re-crossed her legs with a soft clearing of her throat. It was almost as if she were distracting herself from Zack's rather humorous comment. However, Tseng stiffly cleared his throat as he stood.

"Sorry, I didn't know you had a session..." Zack said, stifling a laugh.

"Get out of my office right now. It's not what it looks like."

"Just let me turn in my paperwork! I don't want to wait for your hour long session to be done. You do have a lot of issues to work ou-"

"Out. Now."

Zack whined. "Please, boss? I'm sorry." He waved the old report around in his hand, as if enticing Tseng. "It's the one you've been waiting for."

"Put it on my desk, then get out." Tseng clenched his jaw, his eyes piercing through Zack. He was sure to get it later.

"Right," Zack said, slipping past the lady to toss the papers down on the desk. "On the desk! I'm leavin' now..." Zack trailed off, his eyes catching an open folder lying in front of the woman. He caught Cloud's name across the top.

"What's going on?" Zack looked to Tseng, who still looked agitated, and then he looked down to the psychologist who was still sitting politely.

"That wasn't part of the deal. You turn in your paperwork, and then you leave."

Zack just ignored Tseng, who eventually realized he wasn't going to win over the SOLDIER's stubborn nature, and he sat back down in his squeaky chair. Zack repeated his question to the woman.

She glanced over at Tseng, who just nodded, as if defeated, and then she smiled up at him...politely. "I was just turning in a report. Not as overdue as yours, of course."

"Of course," Zack said, blandly. "What's going on?" Now Zack was the one getting agitated. "Aren't your reports with your patients supposed to be confidential?"

"This is the Shin-Ra army, Zack. Nothing is confidential," Tseng said.

"How is Cloud, anyway?" she asked.

Zack frowned, not really paying attention to her as he began to sift through the file. No one stopped him. "He's...happy," he muttered, drawing a page up to read.

"Happy?" she said.

He ignored her, still, reading aloud from the file. "Patient exhibits signs of anxiety and fear towards others."

"Zack-" Tseng began, but was cut off by Zack continuing to read aloud.

"Patient has little self-worth?" He slapped the report down onto the desktop, a rather perturbed look on his face. "What the hell? This is seriously how you word these reports?"

"For the ones that get sent into the Investigative Department, yes."

"This is dated for yesterday." I was with him for most of the day. And when I left, I took his shirt. He wouldn't have left without his shirt...

"He saw you yesterday?"

She paused for a moment, uncrossing her legs, only to re-cross them again. Not that it was actually true, but Zack wanted to at least think in his mind that he was some sort of mental threat to this psychologist and that he could possibly unnerve her with his questioning.

A valiant effort, but quite far from the truth.

"Informally, yes. I may have run into him in the cafeteria."

"'May have'? Are you following him?"

Tseng was pinching the bridge of his nose at this point, and he released a rather long sigh. "Zack, if you're that bored for some entertainment today, I can phone Director Lazard to see if he has some work for you."

"Answer my damn question." Zack glanced between the blonde and Tseng. "One of you just answer it."

"If we answer, will you leave my office?"

Zack gave Tseng a very pointed look. Silence was his reply.

The woman opened her mouth to speak, but it was Tseng who ultimately answered, after several moments. "I'm having Dr. Arolin submit weekly status reports on Strife's mental health."

"Why?" This was more of a demand for explanation than a question.

"To ensure that you are performing at your best."

"...What?" was Zack's cautious reply. Had he heard that correctly?

"That wasn't part of the deal, Zack. We answered, now it's time you leave."

Zack scoffed, folding his arms across his chest as he shifted his weight on his feet. "No. I think it's obvious I don't intend on leaving after something like that has been said."

"Strife cannot serve as a distraction to you. The company needs your focus."

"If this has something to do with Essai and Sebastian-"

"Go."

Zack clenched his fists, but remained silent as he, for once, obeyed. He wasn't about to be mentally analyzed by the psychologist as he stood there bickering with Tseng for any longer. She made him nervous; he knew her mind was constantly at work on picking apart a person's behavior. That was her job, after all.

Zack left the office, defeated. But not after a somewhat satisfactory slamming of the door, however.


~*~*~
"Mr. Fair?"

Zack stopped his storming down the halls and he turned to see the woman leaving Tseng's office. She hurried over to him, her curly hair bobbing about her shoulders. Zack lifted an eyebrow and waited for her to catch up to him.

"It really is in both of your best interests."

"What, spying on him?" Zack shook his head, folding his arms across his chest again. "I can't see how watching and reporting Cloud's every move would possibly benefit me."

"We're not watching his every move. Look, Mr. Fair, we are concerned for his mental health after the incident and loss of his friend. And we're concerned that, with you being close to him, you will become distracted in your duties if you were to worry about him."

"Well, I won't. So stop spying."

"Please have confidence in us. It really is for his well being. Given his personality traits, he's not likely to seek help from a professional if he were to need it. So we're keeping an eye on him just in case we need to intervene."

"Tell you what. How about you stop spying, and I'll keep an eye on him? I'll report whatever you need to know. That way everyone wins."

She paused for a moment, and then slowly smiled. "I'll see if that can be arranged." She turned to walk back into Tseng's office.

"Hey...um..."

She stopped, slowly turning back to him as he fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Is it...normal for someone who went through what Cloud did...to force themselves to do things they don't want...just to make someone else happy?"

The lady took a few steps forward, lowering her voice as several people passed by, carrying large amounts of paperwork into Tseng's office. No wonder he was always so cranky.

"Some people fear that saying 'no' will result in more abuse. They're afraid that if they don't do as told, or if they do something wrong, that they'll be retaliated against, no matter who it is."

"Well, what can I do? I don't want him doing things if he doesn't really want to."

She adjusted the glasses that began to slip on her nose. "Building trust is the most important step. Since he refuses to speak with me about whatever may be troubling him, you can be his source of outlet. His go-to guy, if you will."

Trust...? Oh man. I think I may have rattled that...

"Building up enough trust will make him more at ease, and more willing to talk about the things that are bothering him. This will promote the healing process."

"So I have to report all the things he talks about with me...?" Zack swallowed a bit hard, growing nervous. If only she knew some of the things that were just recently said...

"No. I want you to keep the conversations confidential. Otherwise how could he trust you?"

"So how do I get you guys to stop playing Big Brother if I'm not reporting the conversations?"

She chuckled at Zack's comment. It was the Shin-Ra army, he should know that Big Brother was always around no matter what the situation. "You realize that we'll still be keeping an eye on him, even with your help? You are a part of the equation, don't forget."

"Should a psychologist really be talking like this?" His arms were folded again.

"I am a person before a psychologist."

Maybe he had been coming across as a bit defensive; a bit hostile. His arms unfolded. "You guys don't need to be concerned with me. He's not a distraction. He's..."

Her eyebrows raised slightly, waiting.

"He's...a friend. One...of the few that I have...now."

She smiled warmly. It almost reminded him of his mother's smile. And that unnerved him again. "We know. That's why we have to make sure you both are taken care of."

"Is this all Tseng's idea?"

"Have a good day, Mr. Fair," she said as she began to walk back towards Tseng's office. "Oh and-" she said as she stopped. She turned to face him. "I'll be expecting your report on my desk by Monday. I just need his behavior, nothing else. And try not to be late with it." She disappeared inside Tseng's office.

Zack scoffed, folding his arms across his chest one last time. "Goddamn Big Brother."


~*~*~
Cloud had been going to the bathroom a lot. And not because he actually had to go, he was just looking for Graves. Ratcliff had said the two were sentenced to scrubbing the Heads all day as punishment for their scrap with each other. But throughout each bathroom he entered – he'd be damned if he entered the Women's again – Graves was nowhere to be seen. He really wanted to talk to him still.

He decided to call his search off and he began to head back to the barracks to change. A tightness in his stomach began to form as the thought of going on a 'date' with Zack crossed his mind. He cursed Ratcliff for implanting that thought into his head. It wasn't a date. It was just a prearranged social engagement between two people who agreed to partake in a particular event simultaneously.

...A social engagement between two people...who were romantically involved.

Dammit. It was a date.

Cloud hurried his pace, but he couldn't outrun the blush that surfaced on his face from his thoughts.

"After dinner tonight...I might be in the mood...for some dessert."

How incredibly lame. Cloud surmised those words were by far the most tacky that had ever had the misfortune of tumbling from his mouth.

But Zack seemed to enjoy those words, no matter how lame - once they'd sunk in, that is. But Cloud's own words hadn't really sunk in when he had said them. He was disappointed in himself; he thought he had better control of what left his mouth.

And it wasn't like he hadn't thought about doing...that to Zack. It had been in the forefront of his mind for quite some time, now. The teasing, the kissing, the roaming hands – it all fueled an unfamiliar instinct that had emerged from months of harboring an admiration for the SOLDIER. As much as he tried to push these thoughts away in denial, they always seemed to resurface whenever Zack smiled at him, or pulled him into a friendly embrace. At first he thought he was going crazy, but after he caught a glimpse of that instinct in Zack's eye, it suddenly didn't seem that fatuous any longer.

So suddenly dessert didn't seem all that fatuous, either.

Cloud was smiling. It was a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. It was formed by a mixture of competing emotions, all combining from a slew of anxiety, delirium and unexpected enchantment.

A group of his barrack mates watched him as he entered with this unusual expression, and a few eyebrows were raised, but nothing more. Strife was a strange one, they thought. He seemed like a walking contradiction. Everything from his quiet demeanor to his loud, blond spiky hair. He could be surprisingly tough at times, and yet he could be the first one to shrink his shoulders when disciplined. He could be the last one standing in a physical fitness test, and yet the first one to go down in their hand-to-hand combat training. He was a loner, and yet was surrounded by friendship.

Cloud showered quickly, thankful that the sweat from his workout was being washed away down the drain. His muscles relaxed, save for the ones in his stomach which were churning from his thoughts of Zack. He finished, and wrapped a towel around his waist as he headed for the lockers.

He didn't have a large selection of civilian clothes, as even on his liberty he hardly went anywhere. Occasionally he would accompany his friends when they decided to go somewhere – somewhere that he was able to go, as they were all older. They would go to the bar sometimes, and Cloud was left behind. But they would always come back – drunk and happy – and bring something back for him. Usually some sort of fattening bar food that Cloud made faces at, and never understood why they claimed that it would taste better if he were incredibly plastered.

"Getting ready for the big date?"

Cloud flinched, and the towel around his waist nearly slipped off. He fumbled for it, stammering clumsily as Ratcliff leaned against the lockers, grinning.

"Y-yeah, just about to dress. Aren't you supposed to be cleaning the bathrooms?" Cloud looked a bit flustered, and a bit angry at Ratcliff's accusation that it was a date, which it was, despite Cloud's denial. And he looked angry over the fact that Ratcliff was just standing there casually staring at him while he was practically naked. No matter how many times they all had showered together, Cloud would never get used to being nude in front of anyone. He was embarrassed over his smaller frame, compared to everyone else.

Cloud's eyebrows lifted. "Really?"

"Kunsel let me off easy, yeah, seeing as my head's been jarred because of that caveman."

Cloud smirked. He always enjoyed Ratcliff's selection of colorful insults he used to call Graves. Graves was less creative in the name-calling, and usually just took vulgar stabs at Ratcliff's sexuality. Ratcliff always stayed composed during the onslaught of insults, but there was always a twinge of hurt in his eyes that Cloud managed to catch.

"Then come with us tonight." Cloud began to rummage through his locker. "It'll be fun."

Ratcliff laughed, shaking his head. His eyes were cast down as Cloud began to change. "No way, this is your night, yeah."

"C'mon. When's the last time we all got to hang out?"

Ratcliff frowned. "When...Elici's family opened the bar."

Cloud stopped changing, lowering his hands which held his shirt. He looked a bit struck by those words. It was true – they hadn't spent time together as a group since Elici's family opened the 7th Heaven. It was a fun night, even when Graves and Elici got into their usual quarreling habits. That time, it was caused by a game of darts. It was a lighthearted bicker, that soon moved to Elici and Graves battling their competitiveness out in how many shots of liquor they could both consume in under two minutes. Elici won by three shots. Graves blamed his shameful loss on heartburn. Cloud just watched quietly, drinking his lemonade.

"Besides!" Ratcliff's voice was suddenly upbeat, his usual optimistic tone. "I might have some plans tonight, anyway, yeah."

"Oh?" Cloud pulled his polo shirt over his head and paused, debating on whether he should leave it untucked or not. He began to tuck it in.

"Yeah! I might have a date of my own. Maybe I'll get to warm someone's bed tonight."

Cloud shook his head, repressing a chuckle. He always envied Ratcliff's confidence and his openness.

"Seriously? You're gonna wear that, yeah?"

Cloud shot his head up, frowning. "What's wrong with this?"

"Do you really want me to list off the seven reasons why you shouldn't wear that shirt?"

"Really? Seven?"

"Well, maybe just one reason. This would look better." He opened up his locker and pulled out a black woven button front shirt, with a faint pinstripe. There was a unique scrolled design down the left breast that would look better suited as a tattoo, than a design on a shirt. It was interesting nonetheless, and it was nicer than anything Cloud had in his locker. "Give it back to me whenever." He tossed it at Cloud, who caught it with a frown of speculation.

Cloud slipped his arms through, and rolled his head back with a groan when Ratcliff began to fold the sleeves up for him.

"This type of casual dress shirt you can pull off wearing the sleeves rolled up, yeah. And do not tuck this in with jeans. It's a relaxed cut, so you'll have a lot of movement."

Another groan.

"Although with all the movement, you might not be wearing it for long. Just don't let Zack hide it from you, yeah?" He began to button it for Cloud, but stopped with a laugh when his hands were shoved away.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're annoying?"

"All the time, yeah."

They chuckled together as Cloud resumed dressing. Ratcliff gave a nod of semi-approval when Cloud paired everything with his white skate-style sneakers with the flat sole and wide tongue. It tied everything together in a casual look, and also didn't make Cloud look like he was ten years older than he really was.

"Well, not the shoes I would wear, yeah, but it looks okay, I guess."

"They're all I have, Ratcliff."

"I know. I'm just giving you a hard time, yeah."

Cloud shut his locker and exited the shower area to the main barracks. A few of the barrack mates instantly began heckling him about why such a square as he looked so good for the evening. There were even a few teasing wolf-whistles. Cloud just nervously tittered them off.

Ratcliff tilted his head as he watched Cloud walk off in a rather nicely fitting pair of jeans. His eyebrow lifted with a bit of a wolfish grin on his face. "Cleans up good, that boy." Ratcliff slammed his locker shut, and a door to a nearby locker swung open by the force. He stopped moving as he just stared at the ajar door for quite some time with an aura of unease. He reluctantly walked over to it.

"What...the fuck?" Ratcliff muttered, staring into the locker that should have been filled to the brim with personal belongings, cartons of cigarettes and dirty magazines.

Graves' locker was empty.


~*~*~
They had agreed to meet in the main lobby of the building, and Zack had gotten there five minutes beforehand, assuming Cloud was the type to be early. He was right, as not a minute into his waiting, Cloud emerged from the elevator looking a bit nauseated from the long ride down the tall building.

Zack grinned as the blond practically stumbled towards him. He could tell Cloud was fighting the urge to cover his mouth and gag, but he looked rather endearing, regardless. "You okay?" Zack laughed as all he got as a response was a shaking of a head, and an 'urk' when he tried to speak.

Cloud stopped for several moments, getting his breathing under control. This gave Zack the time to look him over without having Cloud notice and become bashful. He looked good. Quite good. Very good. And he instantly took note of the dress shirt he wore, with the incredibly convenient button snaps that could be opened with an effortless tug of a skilled hand.

But Zack groaned inaudibly as the psychologist's words plowed through his increasingly perverted thoughts, and leveled them down to an echoing memory of "You need to build trust." How...incredibly inconvenient.

"Okay...I'm okay," Cloud said as he finally straightened. He forced a shaky smile, but Zack could tell he was quite embarrassed over himself. "It's a gross feeling..."

"I wouldn't know. I don't get motion sickness..." Zack said, sympathetically.

Cloud just frowned boyishly, and very ashamed.

"Well, you'll be happy to know I picked a place we could walk to, for this fact alone." Zack was expecting Cloud to be relieved over this, but he just looked all the more upset.

"I'm sorry, it must be an inconvenience," he mumbled, lowering his head.

Not the most inconvenient thing tonight, don't you worry.

Zack growled at his thoughts, but then growled at Cloud, instead. "You know, we're going to have to make a game out of this."

"What?" Cloud lifted his head, realizing Zack began to walk off without him. He trotted alongside Zack's swift pace out the main doors.

Zack waited until they began their trek towards LOVELESS Avenue to continue his thought with Cloud. He had decided on the Wutaian Barbeque. In the end, it was the most casual concept he could think of, and yet he knew the place to be designed a bit lavishly. It was going to be an interesting combination of humble cooking, and extravagant decor, and he was anxiously awaiting Cloud's reaction to the whole thing.

"For each time you slip up and say the 'S' word, you owe me a kiss."

Cloud's eyebrows met, and a rather confused look fell over his face. Had he heard that right? "I'm sorry?"

"Exactly."

"N-no. 'I'm sorry' as in I didn't catch what you had said."

"That's twice now, that you've said the word," Zack said, his voice a playful warning tone. He stopped walking, his eyes trailing the amount of people that were around, and he began calculating how many witnesses it would take to embarrass Cloud completely if they were to kiss in public. One would be the correct answer, of course. But he was never really good at math.

"Wait, I'm really confused here."

Zack turned to face him with a grin that made Cloud grow increasingly nervous. "It's really very simple, Cloud." He took a step forward, his eyes burning into the blond. "You have to kiss me whenever you say 'sorry'."

"W-wait...I never agreed to this." Cloud whimpered softly as Zack brought his hands up and gripped his upper arms, pulling him close a bit forcefully. Zack began to lean in. Cloud's eyes darted frantically between Zack and the people around, who were really paying them no mind, but the fact that there were people around made Cloud's heart want to leap out of his chest and run away. Zack was dangerously close.

But Cloud was suddenly released, and Zack pulled away, shrugging nonchalantly. "Of course, you could always misuse and abuse the game and start saying 'sorry' just to get a kiss from me. So that wouldn't teach you a lesson."

Cloud was left wobbling on his feet, feeling a bit disheveled and weak in the knees, for several combating reasons. He fought back the sweat of terror that threatened to surface, and he begged his heart to stop its incessant frantic beating. He hardly noticed that Zack continued on without him, once more.

"A pinch, maybe?" Zack fell deep in thought, trying to conjure up a firm punishment for Cloud's apologies. "A flick on the forehead?"

"Zack..."

"A slap on the ass?"

"Zack...please," Cloud said, his voice pleading for him to stop with his teasing.

"'Please'? Really?" Zack whirled around, his hand suddenly outstretched behind his shoulder, poised and ready.

"Why must you twist my words around?" Cloud was trying not to laugh, Zack could tell.

"Well, you said 'please'. I just assumed-"

Cloud, in a rare instant of ease, finally began to laugh. And his hand was nowhere near his mouth, which was usually where it was when he laughed, as if to hide the fact that he was allowing himself to be relaxed, and unguarded.

Zack began to laugh as well, but only because Cloud was laughing so unexpectedly, and unexpectedly carefree. It was infectious. "What's so funny?"

"'Assumed'," Cloud began, composing himself briefly to explain his sudden outburst. "You know what they say about assuming things."

Zack tilted his head, a thoughtful look on his face. He waited for Cloud to continue.

"If you 'assume', you make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'."

Zack snorted a laugh. "Smart-ass."

"Better than being a dumb-ass." Cloud was grinning that same devious smile he wore when he tricked Zack into thinking he had been drinking before. Zack could get quite used to that grin. It was playful, it was real. It was a symbol that Cloud was...

...Happy.

Zack's laughing slowly ceased, his eyes flickering back and forth on Cloud's as they stood near the fountain in Sector 8. The sun was setting, and the rays of light refracted in the falling streams of water. Each droplet projected a piece of the sun onto the people who passed by, as if trying to get them to appreciate their individual beauty. They went unnoticed.

Zack leaned down, and kissed Cloud.


~*~*~
Once again, Zack had been strangely excited over something that morning, and it was driving Kunsel absolutely batty.

He needed to know. It wasn't a matter of wanting to know, or having to know, he needed to know. Information unknown was, in his opinion, wasted information. He never liked to waste anything.

Kunsel slipped into the First Class SOLDIER floor with Zack's key code. Of course he knew it. Kunsel knew it even before Zack knew it and gave it to Kunsel to use. He was licking his bottom lip, which he did often when the gears in his mind were churning. And each of those gears were well oiled, and well maintained with the constant flow of different kinds of information. General knowledge, politics, current affairs, current top-secret Shin-Ra affairs, and a plethora of sex tips – it didn't matter how frivolous or seedy the information was. If it could fall upon his ears, he had to know it.

And the current contender in his ongoing journey of snooping was the most guarded secret as of late. The most secret of all secrets.

Who in the fiery pits of Ifrit's hell was Zack seeing and possibly screwing?

Kunsel was quite the needy little scamp. And if he paid more attention to his own personal business, he might have been the one screwing someone tonight – but this was far more intellectually stimulating.

He bounded up to Zack's apartment door, cracking his knuckles in preparation for the upcoming interrogation of his best friend. A few knocks on the door and he was soon led to a dead end of despair and disappointment. Zack wasn't home.

But Kunsel didn't know the meaning of a dead end. A quick glance at his watch – dinner time. A quick sniff of the surrounding air – it smelled like Zack's cologne.

It must be a date! That rat bastard...!

Kunsel clenched his fists; he wasn't going down this easily. Next time he saw him, he was going to get it out of him by force, if he had to. Either that, or he would just sneak into the surveillance department and commandeer the terminals for as long as he could before he got kicked out. Of course, he was no stranger to the occasional bribing of the security guards, and that would buy him a bit more time at the cameras.

He returned to the barracks where he was once again assigned. Since Mejia had gone AWOL, he had been assigned to lead the unit on his own. This significantly cut into his snooping time.

It was relatively empty, as most of the men were out on the town on a Saturday night. He normally would have been using this time to either troll about himself, whether that was in a bar, or prodding around in the company's proxy server. But for now, since Zack was unavailable, Kunsel decided to check on his two trouble makers.

He spotted Ratcliff lounging on Elici's bed with a book. He looked more like he was falling asleep than reading. "Hey, you guys done?"

Ratcliff scrambled up to a sitting position, nearly tossing his book up into the air. "U-uh! Y-yeah! I mean- Yes, sir." He calmed, grinning a bit suspiciously.

Kunsel lifted his eyebrows. "Good. Next time think before you decide to fight in my barracks."

"Yes, sir."

"No plans for tonight?"

"No, sir. Just me, myself and I."

"Really? No date?"

"Not tonight, yeah."

Kunsel looked around. There was someone missing. On a Saturday, this someone was usually alone and doing what Ratcliff was doing. "Where's Cloud?"

Ratcliff put Cloud's book down, not even bothering to save the page he was on. He wasn't really reading it, as he lay there. "Oh, he's out."

"Cloud actually has plans?"

"Seems like it, sir."

Kunsel frowned thoughtfully for a moment. He couldn't get the smell of Zack's cologne out of his nose; it was bothering him. "Wait!" Something clicked.

Ratcliff straightened. He wasn't too sure if he should be divulging anyone in Cloud and Zack's affairs, even to someone who was close to Zack. He hadn't received the green light to make it known from either of them, so his lips were sealed.

"Cloud had a hickey yesterday..." He began tapping his chin in deeper thought.

Ratcliff really straightened, now. Had he figured it out? Kunsel was quite known for being perceptive. How would he react to this?

"I know where he is. He's got a girlfriend, doesn't he? He's out scoring with her!" Kunsel nodded to himself, confident. "He mentioned a girl from his hometown to me once. Maybe she's here to visit him. Or maybe..." He began to mutter to himself all the possibilities of where Cloud was and who he could be with, all the while getting it completely wrong.

Ratcliff relaxed. Perhaps he wasn't as perceptive as he thought. He realized then that there was a big difference in being perceptive and being nosy. Kunsel was entertaining, nonetheless. His spunk reminded him of Graves.

Graves.

"Uh...sir...?" Ratcliff stood slowly, his face becoming frightfully pale. "I...have something to tell you."

Kunsel stopped his mutterings and peered at his grunt with wary eyes. "Go ahead, cadet."

Ratcliff was shifting nervously on his feet. His hands began to fiddle with the drawstrings on his hooded sweatshirt. Perhaps this was where Cloud picked up that nervous habit of his – playing and tugging on his clothing.

"Graves deserted you, didn't he?"

"Sir!" His head shot up, shocked. How did he figure it out already?

"The bastard left you to do all the cleaning, I knew it."

Ratcliff shook his head. "Yeah- no- wait...yeah. But...that's not it."

Kunsel's jaw suddenly stiffened. The look Ratcliff was wearing was enough to tell him part of his previous statement was correct. "Graves deserted...didn't he?"

"Yes...sir."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
...To be continued in Chapter Sixteen: Bittersweet Angel.