Kumbaya

“Kumbaya”
Part three
(An “Alliance” universe ficlet)
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(Warning: Possible spoilers for all FF7 game/movie titles)
*Disclaimer: Final Fantasy and all related characters belong to Square-Enix. This fiction piece is strictly a non-profit exercise of creativity and entertainment for people (like me) who can’t get enough of this world and the characters.*
~***********************************************~

“Wow, he’s really KO’d,” whispered Reno to Zack. They’d gotten ready for bed after putting the fire out and Cloud fell asleep almost as soon as he crawled into his sleeping bag. Now he lay like a lump beside Reno, snoring softly in the darkness.

Zack lay on Reno’s other side and he lifted his head and gazed at the outline of the blonde’s body. “Yup. I’m pretty sure now; he can’t handle tequila very well.”

“Hey,” Reno murmured thoughtfully, “that night we went to the club, you said Cloud mixed his liquor. Did ya see him drink anything with tequila in it?”

Zack thought about it and he nodded. “Now that you mention it, yeah. He thought Genesis’s drink looked good so he had a few of those himself.”

“How many is a ‘few’?” questioned the Turk. It had only taken about four shots from the bottle to afflict Cloud with the giggles and knock him out.

“I think he drank about three of them,” Zack recalled.

“Hmm. That might not be enough to put him under but I know Blondie had at least two whiskey drinks too and I remember him having a beer, also.” Reno felt a stirring of relief inside as he thought of the implications.

Zack was slightly buzzed and sleepy, so he wasn’t connecting the dots. “What difference does it make now?”

“The difference is maybe I can stop fantasizing about putting a bullet in some fucker’s brain for trying to slip our boy a mickey and take advantage of him,” answered Reno, his voice tight with anger just thinking about it. “You were the one that said he might have been so fucked up because he mixed his alcohol. If he can’t handle tequila and he had three drinks—along with his usual poison—he might not have gotten drugged after all.”

Zack perked up a little. “That makes sense,” he agreed. His relief matched Reno’s as he replayed that night in his head. It would have taken impressive timing for someone to slip Cloud something without anyone catching it. He and Reno had just assumed that it was done while Cloud was in the restroom and they were preoccupied with the pool game. Now it seemed just as likely that those three Tequila Sunrises mixed with the other things Cloud drank were to blame.

“Shit,” Zack muttered as he also recalled how bad off Cloud was the next day.

“Whazzat?” asked Reno.

“I’d better go get the first aid kit out of the truck and bring the aspirin back here.” Zack pulled his sleeping bag down and climbed out of it, feeling around carefully as he moved toward the exit so that he wouldn’t accidentally smush either of his companions.

“You think he’s going to be feeling that bad?” Reno asked as he sat up.

“I hope not,” answered Zack in a whisper, “but the night after the club he was so bad off he swore someone poisoned him. I’m bringing the aspirin back just in case.”

Reno sighed and reached out to stroke Cloud’s hair. He wondered if Cloud even knew what tequila did to him. It didn’t seem likely that the blonde would purposely indulge in it if he had any idea it would kick his ass so hard and make him suffer in the morning. Reno knew it wasn’t something he drank often so he guessed Cloud just never made the connection.

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

Reno heard another sound and he jerked awake, sitting halfway up in the darkness. “What was that?” he hissed.

“An owl,” groaned Zack, reaching out blindly. “Lay back down, Red. You’re jumpier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”

Reno slowly lay back down and forced his eyes to shut. Despite his insistence that he could handle seeing the rest of the camping trip through, he kept imagining that bear wandering into their camp and dragging one of them out of the tent in the night. A twig snapped somewhere and Reno sat bolt upright, reaching under his pillow for his gun.

Zack sighed and reached out for the Turk, grabbing him around the waist with one arm and pulling him back down despite his grunting protest. “Relax,” the fighter murmured. “You’re just hearing small nocturnal animals wandering around.”

“Yeah, well I’ve seen those movies,” whispered the Turk. “Family’s out camping in the woods, having a swell time and all the sudden a bear comes into the tent and eats someone’s fucking face off.”

Zack snickered into his pillow and pulled the smaller man closer to him. “That’s the movies, this is real life.” His hand brushed against something cool and metallic as he dragged Reno into his embrace and he paused. “What’s this…a gun? You’re sleeping with your gun, Foxy?”

“You guys have your swords in here with us,” Reno pointed out. “What’s wrong with me having my gun close by?”

“Sure, we’ve got them close by,” Zack said patiently, “but we’re not sleeping on them. A sharp blade doesn’t make for a very safe pillow and neither does a loaded firearm.”

“The safety’s on, man,” Reno told him. “I just feel better with it in my hand…hey, leggo of it, Fair!”

Zack pried the weapon out of the Turk’s fingers and put it against the tent wall at his back, close enough to be reached in an emergency but far enough away to avoid the risk of anyone rolling over onto it in their sleep and shooting themselves.

“There’s a better chance of you getting yourself or one of us killed sleeping with that thing than a bear coming in here and eating someone’s face off,” Zack insisted firmly. “Come here, Red.”

Reno allowed himself to be pulled snugly against Zack’s body and he did feel a little better with the other man spooning him. He sighed and tried to relax, focusing on the feel of Zack’s hard, strong form pressing flush against his back. A wolf howled in the distance and Reno’s head lifted.

Zack shook his head with amused exasperation and stroked the Turk’s naked chest and stomach. “Easy Reno,” he murmured. “You’ve got your own pair of ‘wolves’ in here sleeping with you, right? Don’t worry about the ones out there.”

Reno dropped his head back down on Zack’s bent arm and pressed his lips together with determination. He was acting like a scared kid trying to sleep after hearing a ghost story. It was embarrassing.

~I’m a Turk. I shouldn’t be getting so damned spooked over a few noisy animals. I went to bed hearing gunshots every night as a kid so this should be a piece of cake.~

He was as tense as a bowstring though and Zack could feel it. The fighter smirked in the darkness as he got an idea. He knew one way to get Reno relaxed and he didn’t mind administering the treatment one bit. Zack caressed his companion’s skin with slow, easy motions, moving his hand lower and lower over the taut abdomen until he felt the waistline of Reno’s track pants against his palm. He slipped his hand under it, brushing his fingers over the crisp, fine hair framing his goal. He felt the redhead shiver with the knowledge of what he was doing but Reno didn’t protest or try to stop him.

Zack’s hand curled around the Turk’s soft prick and he began to fondle it gently, appreciating the satiny feel of it. Reno sighed and began to relax against him as his patient massage awakened his cock. Zack eased his other arm out from under Reno’s head and propped himself up on his elbow, lowering his mouth to the other man’s shoulder to brush his lips over the soft, pale skin. He pressed light, lingering kisses over the top of Reno’s shoulder, his mouth moving along leisurely to his neck.

Reno closed his eyes and parted his lips, reaching up with one hand to comb his fingers through Zack’s dark hair. Soldier-boy was too damned good at this sort of thing and the sounds of the night were already becoming less intimidating as Zack’s talented hands and lips stroked and caressed him. The strong teeth grazed Reno’s earlobe, tapping against the hoop piercing it before the lips closed over it and tugged softly. Reno tilted his head, arching into the seductive nibbling greedily. He had a full erection now and he shivered with pleasure as Zack’s thumb brushed back and forth over the tip, coaxing a little bead of precum to emerge. Reno bit his lip to control a moan as the pad of Zack’s thumb rubbed the bit of fluid over his glans.

“I don’t think you’ll wake our Sunshine up if you make a little noise,” Zack assured him when he heard the restrained sound. He traced the shell of Reno’s ear with his tongue and nibbled the lobe again, pressing his hips more firmly against the Turk’s tight little ass. “Mmm, you feel good, Reno.” He was hard already and he rubbed himself against the alluring backside.

Reno shifted restlessly against Zack, rocking his hips in time with the other man’s skilled strokes. His breathing became more obviously labored as the pleasure grew. “Zack,” he sighed in such a tone of longing and appreciation that he gave himself pause.

~Oh…shit.~

Zack also paused and he released Reno’s earlobe from between his lips to smile in the darkness. “You’ve never said my name like that before, Foxy.” His murmur was a husky caress against the Turk’s ear. “I’ve heard you say Cloud’s name that way but this is a first for me. Maybe I’m not the only one of us feeling this after all, eh?”

Reno was about to whisper an excuse but Zack’s final sentence scrambled his thoughts. Did Fair just admit he loved him? He struggled for words, caught between the pleasure of Zack’s steady fondling and the confusion of whispered endearments. Had they really gone from crushing over one another to outright love?

“Take your time, Reno,” Zack whispered. He kissed him on the jaw and then on the neck. “I can wait.”

Reno was distantly annoyed that his hesitation had made his confusion so obvious to the other man, but what Zack was doing to him felt too good for him to concentrate on a coherent response.

“Roll onto your back,” suggested Zack in that caressing voice. His teeth flashed white in a thin beam of moonlight that made it in from the netted window as Reno looked up at him questioningly. “You’re being pretty quiet and docile,” the dark-haired man commented as he scooted away a little to give him room. “Did I get you flustered?”

“Just enjoying the attention, Wolfy.” Reno was proud of how steady his voice sounded. He rolled onto his back and looked up at Zack’s shadowed face, wondering what he planned to do next. When Zack pulled his track pants down to fully expose him and began to lower his head over his stiffened cock, Reno sucked in a sharp breath of anticipation.

“Don’t worry,” Zack whispered as he held Reno’s erection and brought his lips close to the tip. “I’m not going to return the favor of what you did to me the other night…at least, not this time.” His goal was to get Reno relaxed and that particular technique wasn’t appropriate for the intention.

Reno didn’t understand what he meant at first, because he wasn’t yet aware that Cloud learned his oral skills from Zack in the first place. His first thought was that Zack meant he wasn’t going to suck him off after all, but when the fighter’s lips slid over the head of his cock he was forced to re-evaluate his impression. His eyes fluttered shut and he took a shaken breath, his fingers combing through Zack’s thick hair as the other man’s mouth took him deeper and deeper.

~I don’t get it…he said he wasn’t gonna do what I did to him the other night but it sure as hell feels like he’s sucking my cock into his mouth!~

Zack forgot himself for a moment and fell into habit, pulling back and nibbling gently against the salty hole in the tip of Reno’s cock. The redhead jerked and gasped, reminding Zack that his plans were to give him a nice, standard blowjob without resorting to the tantric stuff. He mumbled an apology around the stiffened flesh in his mouth and he changed his tactics, dropping his mouth down and relaxing his throat.

Now Reno understood what Zack had meant by his statement and he panted softly, his eyes a bit wide with confusion. “Didn’t know you knew how to do that shit too, Wolfy,” he announced breathlessly. His sentence ended in a moan of gratification as the warm, moist suction slid down his cock and back up again. “Did Cloud teach you?”

Zack chuckled in his throat and allowed Reno’s erection to slide out of his mouth. “Nope. Other way around.” He started to resume again but Reno interrupted.

“How? He did it to me for the first time before you came back and he swore up and down you two were never anything but friends back in the day.”

“He was telling the truth,” explained Zack softly. “Did he tell you how he inherited some of my memories, though?”

“So you’re telling me Blondie knew how to give head like that ‘cause he got it from you?” Reno distinctly remembered the conversation they’d had in the helicopter afterwards and how Cloud couldn’t remember where he’d learned it. The mystery now made sense.

“Unless he got his hands on the same book I did and didn’t remember reading it, yeah,” Zack confirmed. He smiled. “Can you imagine Cloud thumbing through a tantric sex book and practicing on a dildo?”

Reno snickered softly. “Hell no.”

“Now, where was I?” Zack mused with a grin. He lowered his mouth to the Turk’s waiting cock and sucked it slowly into his mouth again, working his tongue over the ridges and the big vein underneath. He heard Reno draw another shaken breath and felt the fingers in his hair tightening and he paused, reaching up to gently grasp the other man’s wrist in warning. The grip on his hair eased and Zack started moving again, sucking firmly as he worked the hard flesh in and out of his mouth.

Reno tilted his head back and gasped encouragingly. Even without using the special technique, Zack was so good with his mouth it was shocking. Like Rude, Zack gave Reno the impression that he would be better at fucking than sucking and just like Rude had done years ago, Zack was now demonstrating that he excelled at both. Reno began to slowly fuck the other man’s mouth, whimpering softly with growing pleasure as the experienced lips and tongue slid up and down his length. He consciously tried to keep his fingers from curling into the soft, mussed hair they were buried in and he started to pant heavily with the effort to keep his moans quiet.

Zack released the organ from his mouth and licked it all over with his tongue, giving Reno a breather before sealing his lips around it again. He relaxed his throat and started sucking him harder, taking the length all the way in with each bob of his head. He felt Reno’s slim body tensing and he stroked his thighs, increasing the speed of his motions. The cries of pleasure that the Turk was so obviously trying to hold back broke free and grew rougher and louder as Zack worked. He felt the long fingers pull out of his hair to grasp his shoulders hard and he knew his lover was getting very close.

“Zack,” groaned Reno, “d-damn…so good…I’m about to come, baby. Oh yeah…oh…”

Zack gave a low growl, his throat vibrating around the tensing cock as he took it in. Reno’s hips pushed upwards and Zack swallowed just in time as the thick spurts hit the back of his throat. He kept swallowing until they ended and he stroked Reno’s hips and outer thighs. When the Turk was spent and panting, he took his mouth away and stretched out on top of him. With one leg resting between Reno’s thighs, he nuzzled his neck and murmured to him.

“Think you can sleep now, Cinnamon buns?” The nickname seemed more appropriate now than ever, because Zack detected a faint, spicy aftertaste in the back of his mouth. It must have been the cloves that Reno smoked and the gum he chewed that gave his seed that subtle hint. Whatever it was, it had taken the edge off the salty flavor and Zack found it to his liking.

“Like a baby,” Reno agreed breathlessly, running his hands over Zack’s chest. “I wanna take care of you first, though.” He started to reach for the bulge between Zack’s thighs but the other man rolled off of him and shook his head.

“Mine can wait ‘till later,” assured Zack softly. He pulled Reno’s pants back up and pressed close to him again, putting an arm around his waist. “I didn’t do that so you’d do it back, Foxy.”

Reno wasn’t sure what to do. He was used to give-and-take encounters, not just getting his orgasm and leaving the other guy unsatisfied. “You sure about that?”

“I’m sure,” Zack murmured. He chuckled when he heard another soft snore from Cloud on Reno’s other side. “Besides, we might actually wake Cloud up if we don’t call it a night and he needs to keep sleeping it off.”

Reno marveled at Zack’s considerate nature even as his heavy eyelids closed and he started to fall into a deep, easy sleep.

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

The morning came with consequences…for Cloud. Even Reno woke up before he did and the Turk quietly got dressed, put on his jacket and crawled out of the tent to join Zack in the middle of the camp. The sable-haired fighter greeted Reno with a cheerful smile and stirred a little pot he had suspended over the low fire. Reno sniffed appreciatively, detecting the scent of oats, fruits and nuts.

“What’cha got cooking there, Feathers?”

Zack smirked at the newest nickname. He guessed it wouldn’t take long for he and Reno to have a list of pet names as long as the one he had for Cloud. “I crushed up some of the breakfast bars we brought with us and mixed in some water and wild berries I found while you were still crashed. I’m not a chef but I think I’ve put together a pretty decent oatmeal for breakfast.”

“You used wild berries?” Reno frowned. “Aren’t they poisonous or something?”

“Some of them,” Zack conceded. “Not the ones I used, though. The mushrooms from last night didn’t make you sick and you like blackberries, don’t you?”

Reno hadn’t actually had blackberries for a long time, but he remembered them tasting pretty good, so he nodded. “You must have woken up pretty early again, to sneak out and go berry picking before I even woke up.” He checked his watch and shook his head, smirking. “Don’t know how you and Cloud do it, man.”

Zack shrugged and peered into the pot he was stirring to check on the food. “Some people get the knack for it and some don’t. I used to know a lot of guys in SOLDIER and the army that always ended up having to do pushups for getting out of bed too late. I was already used to it and so was Cloud, so it was easy for us.”

“Don’t you even try to sleep in once in a while, though?” asked Reno. He circled around the fire and sat down on the picnic blanket next to Zack.

“Sure I do,” answered the other man. “But most of the time it’s a bust. I’ve got my internal clock set and sometimes even if I stay up after midnight, I’m still waking up at dawn. Hangovers and illness make me sleep in like Cloudy’s doing now.”

He grabbed the rag that was hanging out one of his pockets and used it as a potholder, lifting the pot off of the fire and setting it on one corner of the blanket. “Can you do me a favor and grab us some bowls and spoons out of that smaller bag over there?” Zack said with a nod at the duffle bag containing the cooking gear.

Reno obliged and came back with the requested items, setting the bowls in a line next to the pot of oatmeal. He was about to squat down and ladle the oatmeal into the bowls for the three of them when a moan from within the tent caught his attention. Reno and Zack looked up as the tent door was unzipped and Cloud climbed out, clutching his head and stumbling. The blonde opened his eyes to peer at them and he groaned again and immediately shut them.

“Zack,” Cloud said thickly, “are you sure those mushrooms you used in the stew last night were okay?”

Reno and Zack looked at each other, their sympathy for Cloud laced with amusement. “He really doesn’t have a clue, does he?” commented the redhead.

“About what?” the blonde demanded crossly, shielding his eyes with a hand.

“It wasn’t what you ate, Chocobo head,” Zack explained. “It was the tequila. You suffered just like this the night after we all went to that club and you had a few tequila drinks then, too. Nobody tried to poison you and I didn’t add bad mushrooms to the food last night.”

“Doesn’t make sense,” grumbled Cloud. “I hardly ever get hangovers when I drink the usual stuff…why would tequila be any different? Ohhh…” He rubbed his head again and shut his eyes. “Had to be the mushrooms,” he finished stubbornly.

“Then why ain’t Wolfy and I moaning and groaning with you?” asked Reno with a sly look. “I’m telling ya Blondie, most people have a demon alcohol and tequila’s yours. Zack left a bottle of aspirin and some water inside by the door. Why don’t you go back in and swallow a couple?”

Cloud wordlessly turned around and unzipped the tent to get into it again. He still wasn’t sure they were right about the tequila but his head was throbbing too bad to ignore the aspirin suggestion. He heard the two of them talking quietly and he envied their lack of suffering. He found the bottle and washed a couple of tablets down with the bottled water before steeling himself and going back outside. He winced in the morning sunlight and Reno got up and walked over to him.

“Here babe,” the Turk offered as he pulled his goggles out of his jacket pocket and handed them to Cloud. “Put these on.”

Cloud took the offering and fit the shaded goggles over his head, sighing with relief as the glare from the sun was muted. “Thanks.”

“Come over here and have some breakfast,” Zack invited.

Cloud’s mouth twisted at the mention of food. “I don’t know if I should eat right now.”

“I made us some oatmeal out of the breakfast bars we brought,” Zack said, “it’s nice and light…shouldn’t be too hard on your stomach. Come on, Sunshine—you shouldn’t take aspirin on an empty stomach anyhow. Just eat a few bites, that’s all I’m asking.”

Cloud blew a sigh as Reno put an arm around his waist and urged him toward the campfire. “If I hurl, I’m going to make sure I aim for your lap,” Cloud warned Zack as he lowered himself onto the blanket beside him and took the bowl he was holding out to him.

Zack chuckled, unperturbed. “I can dodge. Eat your food.”

“Nursemaid,” grumbled the blonde as he spooned some up and blew on it to cool it.

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

Cloud was feeling a little better after breakfast but his head still felt cottony and his stomach hadn’t quite settled.

“I’m guessing you aren’t up for some fishing,” presumed the black-haired fighter with an appraising look at Cloud’s pale face. “I want to try and catch some river trout for lunch and maybe do a little hunting for dinner.”

“I don’t think I’m ready to do much yet,” Cloud said. “Maybe some hunting later but I might just take a little nap for now. You two go without me.”

“Me?” repeated Reno with furrowed brows. “Go fishing? Hey, I’m happy to help chop it up and cook it but I’ve got a better chance of accidentally hooking Zack than any fish, yo.”

“We’re not using poles,” Zack said with a grin.

“Yeah?” Reno looked him up and down. “You think you can just catch ‘em barehanded?”

“Maybe,” Zack said thoughtfully. “I’ve never tried but it could be fun. I’m talking about spear fishing.”

The Turk stared at him for a moment, then looked at Cloud. “I can’t tell if this joker’s serious or not. Help me out here, Blondie.”

“He’s serious,” Cloud informed. “We brought spears instead of poles because we didn’t want the hassle of a tackle box or bait.”

“Where?” Reno said, looking around with a frown. “I didn’t see any damn spears!”

Zack got up and went to a rolled-up bundle he’d left leaning against a tree. “They’re right here, Foxy. They’re collapsible for easy carrying. All we’ve got to do is screw them together when we reach the river.” He picked the bundle up and slung it easily over his shoulder. It was only about two feet long and half a foot thick and Reno saw a glint of metal under the top flap as Zack turned to come back to the fire.

“I was pretty sure we’d get a big fat ‘no’ from you if we tried to get you to put a worm on a hook, too.” Zack winked at the Turk.

“You guessed right,” Reno admitted. The prospect of spear fishing sounded more interesting to him than swinging a pole and hoping something bit. “So you think I can do this, huh?”

“I’ll bet you’d be good at it, with your agility,” Zack said with a nod. “Why don’t you give it a try? If you don’t like it, you can sit back and let me do all the fishing.”

Reno watched him suspiciously for a moment before getting to his feet. “Guess I could use a little exercise. What the hell, I’ll give it a shot.” He thought spearing fish would be easier for him to do than shooting furry animals. “What do ya need me to carry?”

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

As Zack suspected, Reno got the hang of spear fishing with impressive speed. The Turk complained a little when Zack told him to take his shoes and socks off and roll his jeans up to the top of his calves, but seeing that it was the only way to wade through the water without getting his clothes wet the Turk reluctantly did as advised. Zack did the same and the two of them walked into the shallows by the bank.

“Don’t let the water fool you,” Zack told him. “It can trick your perception. You sort of have to aim at where you think the fish is going to be, not where it looks like it is.”

“Doesn’t sound much different from shooting moving targets,” Reno shrugged.

Zack met with success after roughly twenty minutes. It was a nice catch, big enough to provide a good meal for someone. Reno saluted him and continued trying for his own. They were at it for almost another hour before Zack caught a second fish and Reno almost slipped and fell into the river once, but the redhead was so absorbed in what he was doing it hardly bothered him. Finally, Reno shouted with surprised satisfaction as he stabbed into the water and succeeded in hitting his target.

“Holy shit, I got one,” the Turk muttered as he lifted his wriggling prize out of the water.

“Knew you could do it, Red,” Zack smiled as he waded over to him to help him get the fish off of his spear. “Wow, it’s a big one, too! Way to go!”

Reno had to admit, it gave him a rush to finally get one. “So I guess I’m not as worthless out here as I thought.”

“I guess not,” Zack agreed with a wink. “We’ve got three now, so unless you want to try to catch a few more for later we can head back to camp.”

Reno checked his watch. He wouldn’t mind doing it for a little longer but noon was approaching and they still had to scale, clean and de-bone the fish for lunch. “Nah, let’s head back.”

“We can do some more tomorrow if you want,” Zack offered, happy that he’d finally found something Reno seemed to like doing in the wilderness. “We’ll have the whole day before we need to head back.” He waded out of the water to their shoes near the rocks, shoving his spear into the ground and hanging the string of fish over it as he reached for his boots. He caught a glimpse of something dark and sinuous coiled near them and he drew back as a fanged white mouth opened and hissed threateningly at him.

Zack started to back off and warn Reno away, preferring to leave the moccasin alone and see if it would retreat. He heard the Turk swear behind him and two shots suddenly rang out. Pebbles sprayed as the bullets hit the snake and separated its head and tail from its body. Zack turned to see Reno standing there, still pointing his gun at the dead snake. The redhead was pale and his mouth was pressed into a grim line.

“Poisonous?” asked Reno tensely.

“Yeah,” Zack said. He opened his mouth and started to tell Reno that the moccasin might have backed off if he’d moved away from it but the expression on the Turk’s face made the words freeze on his tongue. It couldn’t be clearer if Reno had it written on his ashen forehead: he’d been afraid for Zack…probably moreso than he could have expected.

Reno swallowed and clicked the safety back on before replacing his firearm back in the holster at his hip. When he saw the snake bare its fangs at Zack, all he could think of was how far they were from help and how unlikely it would be for he and Cloud to get the black-haired man to a doctor before he died, if the snake was one of the more deadly venomous ones.

“All right,” breathed Reno, using his spear to balance himself as his knees threatened to give out from the rush of relief coursing through him. “I’ll admit it now, Wolfy. I feel the same as you.”

Zack didn’t have the heart after hearing those words to tell Reno that the snake probably hadn’t wanted anything to do with him and killing it was likely un-necessary. The Turk couldn’t have known that and if the snake had intended to bite Zack, his quick reaction probably saved his life. The former Soldier smiled, exuberant with the knowledge that Reno loved him, even if it took a threat to his life to make him admit it.

“You saying you love me, Foxy?” Zack murmured, slowly walking toward him.

An uncommon flush rose in the pale cheeks, making the faint smatter of freckles over them more visible. “My heart doesn’t stop like that when someone I don’t love has a close call. You can quit gloating, Fair.”

Zack flashed a white smile at him and closed the distance, putting his hands on the redhead’s tense shoulders. “Know what? I love you too. Now give me a smooch.”

Their mouths met and Reno’s tension eased as they kissed. When they broke away from each other, they walked over to their shoes and Reno grimaced at the dead moccasin. It was in three pieces and the middle part was still twitching.

“Ugh, guess I overdid it a little.” Reno stepped around the carcass and took his balled-up socks out of his shoes, shaking his left foot out before sliding one of the socks over it.

“Well, you killed it,” Zack said as he started putting his shoes and socks on as well. “You get to eat it.”

Reno froze in the process of putting his second shoe on and he glanced over his shoulder at him. “You want me to eat a poisonous snake? Thought you said ya loved me, Zack.”

“The meat’s not poisonous,” answered the fighter with a grin. “Tastes like chicken.”

Reno grimaced again and jammed his foot into his shoe. “No fucking way man,” he said. “I ain’t eating snake…I don’t care if the meat could make me live a hundred years and tastes like an orgasm. Some things I just won’t do.”

Zack chuckled. He’d expected no less but he couldn’t resist teasing him a bit. It was unfortunate that the animal had been in the wrong place at the wrong time but it couldn’t be helped. “Normally I don’t believe in letting a kill go to waste,” he said as he slipped his other boot on and laced it up. “But I’m not going to try to make you eat it and I’ll admit, I don’t really know how to cook snake. I’ve only eaten it once when I was a kid, after my Dad killed one that got into my bedroom. I’d say we could skin it and have something made out of it but we’ve got no way to preserve it until we get home.”

He straightened up and looked at the carcass thoughtfully. “The good news is things don’t usually go to waste out here. There’s always a hungry mouth somewhere nearby, so this guy’s probably going to end up as dinner to someone before nightfall. Let’s get these spears disassembled and head back, Red.”

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

When they returned to the camp, Cloud was looking much better. The blonde had kept the fire going and he was sitting quietly by the tent, sharpening his sword. He looked up as his lovers walked into the camp and his eyes scanned both of them briefly, as if doing a quick check for injuries. The pallor had faded from his face and he had Reno’s goggles dangling around his neck.

“How was it?” Cloud asked of Reno as he put his sharpening stone away and replaced his sword in the nearby scabbard. He stood up as they approached.

“Not bad,” answered Reno. “Liked it more than I thought I would.”

“He did great,” Zack praised the Turk enthusiastically.

Reno shrugged. “I only got one.”

“Yeah, but it was the biggest one,” countered Zack as he lifted the string of fish for Cloud’s inspection.

“Most people don’t even catch a little one their first time out,” Cloud said with a subtle smile at Reno. “That’s pretty impressive.”

The Turk grinned, unable to help himself. “Ya think so, Blondie? You’re gonna eat one, right?”

Cloud nodded. “I think my stomach can handle it. I might have to cover my nose while we’re cleaning them, though.” He wrinkled his nose before he could stop himself. The smell of raw fish guts wasn’t something he or his stomach was looking forward to.

Reno wasn’t particularly looking forward to it either but he didn’t want Cloud to get the pukes. “No you won’t, ‘cause you’re not cleaning them. Zack and I can do that.”

Both of his lovers gave him an openly surprised look. Reno felt a moment of embarrassment. “What? I’ve cleaned fish before. Shit, when we were living out in the boonies before Headquarters were rebuilt in Junon, I had to clean fish and animals all the time. I never killed ‘em or caught ‘em myself but I learned how to get them ready for cooking.”

“When we were stuck in the cabin up north you didn’t offer to skin that deer I caught.” Cloud reminded him.

“You didn’t ask me to either,” shrugged the redhead. “Never said I enjoy doing it but you’re still queasy and you guys have been doing all the work around here.”

The black-haired fighter gave Reno a brief, appreciative look and the Turk winked at him. Cloud observed the exchange and he cocked his head to one side. Something was different between his lovers and there was more to it than simple male bonding. The only reason he could detect it was because the two of them looked at him that way all the time, but this was the first time he’d seen that flash of devotion in their eyes for each other.

“Did something else happen?” he asked.

“Well yeah,” Reno admitted. “Zack almost got bit by a snake.”

“Reno shot it,” added the other man. “It gave us a good scare but nobody got hurt.”

“And people say I’m a trouble magnet,” Cloud snorted. He pretended to scratch his nose to hide his smile. He guessed that the incident tore down the last of the barriers between the two of them. Having some experience in the matter of emotional revelations brought on by sudden fear of loss, he chose to keep quiet about it and let them go at their own pace.

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

-To be continued