Tease - COMPLETE

Warning

A Zack and Cloud and others fic, you know, Sephiroth and Rufus are in here as well as Reno, but when will Reno get some…it is getting closer… Yaoi.



Pre-Author's Note

Thanks to Ziggy Pasta for being my Beta…



Zack is hunting down Cloud and Cloud is taking care of the drunk and depressed Reno.



Disclaimer

Don't own the FF7 fandom, just using for my own amusement. Do not profit from this endeavour.





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Friday 3: Picture





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Zack whistled quite contently as he walked into the barracks looking for Cloud. The mission that Sephiroth had asked him to do was an easy one. He completed it well ahead of schedule and was pleased to have impressed Lazard at the promptness. Even though Lazard had questions as to why he was doing the mission and not Sephiroth. He had shrugged his shoulders and said, "Doing him a favour."



Lazard had given him a strange look but didn't inquire any further as Zack gave the report on the mission.



His thoughts were on Sephiroth and Reno. He wondered how that was going. It was good that both of them found each other. Sephiroth was a ball of nerves since Genesis left, and Reno just needed to have a date.



~I am sure they are having a good time~



It was an odd couple, he had to admit. He never thought for a moment that they would even look at each other. It was amusing and he wondered how they even noticed each other.



~anything that will allow Sephiroth to move on~



He shook his head and smiled. He arrived at the barracks and saw that it was empty, well, nearly empty. The only person he saw was John, who looked like he was injured and resting on his bunk.



He remembered when he was in the regular force and how only the injured or the geeks remained behind, even if they had to work the next day. Friday was the day to party.



He had a text from Cloud saying that he was going out to the bar with his friends but he shouldn't be out for long. He grinned at that. Cloud had said he was going to just sit back and read when he first rearranged their plans. The message said something about the fact that Cyrus said that he owed him a couple drinks for breaking his ribs.



"Hey," Zack called as he approached John. "You stuck here all alone?"



John jumped slightly as he had been looking at his phone. "Yeah, blew out my knee on patrol."



Zack looked at the younger man's leg and frowned. It still looked quite swollen. "Ouch. Instructor Clark," he said in sympathy.



John nodded. Zack knew the pain of dealing with Instructor Clark as well. The old timer really seemed to enjoy calling the men princesses and making them suffer. He swore the guy was a sadist at heart. "Yeah," John said and nervously looked at his phone. "So, you –- uh –- looking for Cloud?"



"Yeah. I thought he would be back by now," Zack said as he looked at the empty place. It was rather creepy that such a large area that was normally full of very loud people on a regular basis was now so quiet.



"I think he still at the bar," John said and looked at his phone again as it vibrated beside him. "He did what Joseph wanted."



Zack frowned. Anything that Joseph wanted could not be good. "What did Joseph want him to do?"



"Bait," John said with a frown. "I guess Joseph wanted Cloud to get Dean jealous. They got his attention after one dance and Dean became Mr. Caveman, just like Joseph wanted."



Zack rolled his eyes. Joseph certainly was a character. "Which bar did they go to?" Cloud didn't mention which one it was. Zack was of the mind to drop in and join them. It had been awhile since he had gone to a club and it was always fun to see how the younger ones partied. It helped morale a bit to see that he could still have fun as a First Class SOLDIER with all the turmoil that was occurring inside of Shin-Ra.



"The Plant," John said and his phone vibrated again. He looked at it but didn't open it. He seemed nervous as he examined the message.



Zack smiled as he looked at it. "Did Joseph get into any other trouble?" Knowing Joseph, he was pretty sure that he did. Joseph may have been fine when he was being an infantry but he had everyone's attention outside it. The crazy blue hair and obviously flaming personality were well known among the higher ranking SOLDIER and instructors.



He even remembered Tseng muttering something to him once on a mission about Joseph being the SOLDIER equivalent of Reno and they deserved to suffer as well.



John rolled his eyes. "Joseph is always getting into trouble." John's eyes were drawn back to his phone as it vibrated again with an unanswered phone call.



"True," Zack said and chuckled.



~at least he is harmless most of the time~



"Maybe I'll head to the Plant and meet up with him there." Zack pulled out his phone and began to text Cloud a message, knowing that Cloud wouldn't be able to hear him if he was talking into the phone.



"He said he wasn't going to be long," John said. Zack couldn't help but see how nervous he looked. He was of the mind to ask him what was bothering him. "And isn't it hard to get into the Plant after ten?"



Zack chuckled again as he continued typing in a message. "Not for a First Class SOLDIER. It's one of the side benefits of the job." He finished sending Cloud the message, telling him that he was back early and asking if he was still at The Plant.



John's phone rang again and this time he picked it up and he grew pale at whatever he saw there, then quickly closed his phone.



"Are they sending you pictures on all the fun they're having? Rubbing it in?" Zack asked. He remembered that happening to him once. He had injured his shoulder though and was stuck behind while everyone else went partying. He frowned a bit as he remembered that evening. It wasn't one that he liked to think about.



~that's in the past~



"Yeah, something like that," John said.



Zack chuckled. He was well aware that John was straight and that a lot of SOLDIER or wannabe SOLDIERs were gay or at least bisexual. And Joseph was such a flamer that he was probably taking very inappropriate pictures. He had gone through Cloud's phone and had seen some of the pictures that Joseph had sent in the past. Cloud had blushed and cursed Joseph at sending him the smut.



~at least he's harmless~



That is what he had to keep telling himself about the blue-haired man. Zack's phone beeped back. He grinned and opened it, expecting a message from Cloud. Instead, it was a message from a number that he didn't recognize. It simply stated, 'lost the pool. Who'd-a-thunk?'



He clicked the picture open and it took him a moment to comprehend what he was seeing. It was a picture of Cloud walking with his arms around Reno who was looking quite plastered. Cloud's face was looking flushed in the picture, and it looked like he had too much to drink as well.



~it's just Cloud helping out a drunk Reno~



"What is Reno doing out with Cloud? I thought …" Zack stopped talking. He wondered what happened with Reno and Sephiroth's night. And what the hell was Reno doing with Cloud?



"It's probably not what it looks like," John said



Zack looked over at John who was examining his phone. "I mean, it's probably just something that Joseph set up or something." The nervous young man looked up from his phone. "They both look drunk."



Zack sat on Cloud's bunk and looked at the picture. He wondered what went wrong with Reno's night with Sephiroth; they were an odd couple. It was still pretty early in the evening for even a bad date to have gone wrong. He would have to ask Sephiroth if it really was Reno he was spending time with.



~did I jump to conclusions?~



"They certainly do," Zack said, trying not to let the picture get to him. Cloud had explained something about the Sugar-Daddy bet list. He thought it was quite amusing but now he was a little concerned. That last text was from a number he didn't recognize.



~How many people knew about this Sugar-Daddy list?~



"Well," John said, looking up from his phone nervously. "Which picture did you get?"



"It looks like they are walking out of the bar," Zack said as he examined it and reread the note. "I wonder why Reno was there."



"Oh," John said with a noticeable slump to his shoulders. "Reno probably got dragged out with the rest of the guys."



Zack sighed as he looked at the picture and felt a little uneasy about it. He just got back together with Cloud and he thought their relationship was stronger than ever, but he did cancel their Friday night date.



~postponed~



Cloud hadn't sounded upset on the phone when he said that he had to do a really short mission.



~maybe he was just putting on a show?~



That was a horrific thought of having Cloud mad at him again. He looked back at the picture of his drunken boyfriend and the drunken Turk. It did look like Cloud was supporting him to make sure that he didn't fall. It didn't look anything romantic or anything of that sort.



Then he clued into what John had said. "What do you mean, which picture did I get?"



John tensed as his phone rang again. "Well, I …" John stammered and Zack tensed as the man grew pale. Zack stood up from the cot and liberated the phone from the shaking John's hands and began to scroll through his most recent messages.





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"Can't you call Rude?" Cloud asked as they stood in front of the building. Reno was having a smoke as he was going through his pockets again and there wasn't a key card in sight.



"He's with Sissy," Reno said as he leaned heavily against the wall as if it was the only thing that was holding him up. Cloud didn't feel much better but just swayed beside him as he ran through the numbers on his phone. It kept ringing, but he was ignoring those messages. Everyone was sending him the picture or asking him if it was true. It was just easier to ignore all the calls.



~I'll deal with it in the morning~



At least he didn't feel like he was going to fall to the ground quite yet.



"Dun wanna disturb him, yo." Reno ran his hands through his hair. Reno hadn't looked at him since they left the bar. Every second sentence out of his mouth was "I'm sorry" and Cloud was starting to ignore it.



"Where did you think you lost it?"



Reno took another deep drag on his smoke. "I returned his," Reno said with glazed eyes. He leaned a bit heavier against the wall and started to slide down. Cloud let him as he looked at him. "Sorry," Reno muttered again.



Cloud didn't know who the guy was who had called Reno the wrong name but it obviously upset him immensely. He had no idea who would have slept with the MIA General to even hazard a guess. Reno seemed to be unable to say the names of his Sugar-Daddies. It was so bad that Reno had tried to rip off the earring that he wore. Cloud had to pocket it so that he wouldn't hurt himself tearing off the gold loop.



"Is there anyone else that can get us into your apartment?" Cloud asked as he looked down at Reno.



Reno looked so sad and pathetic. A cigarette dangled out of his mouth and his eyes were fixed on his lap. His bright hair even seemed to be drooping as he fiddled with the hem of his snug colourful shirt.



~he looks heartbroken~



Reno's head swayed slightly back and forth. "You can drop me off at Tseng's. He'll throw me in a shower and put me back on boot camp," Reno whispered anxiously. He didn't sound too drunk anymore but when his blue eyes looked up at him, they were glazed and way too wide for someone to be sober.



Cloud swayed on his feet and rolled his eyes. "Come on," Cloud said and held his hand down for Reno to take it. "Let's go."



"Where?"



"I'm not leaving you alone," Cloud said. He hauled the deceptively heavy Turk. Reno crashed into him but quickly pulled back, banging himself into the wall getting away from him. Reno groaned and muttered another sorry.



"Get over it already," Cloud said and grabbed Reno with a chuckle. "We'll be laughing about this tomorrow, once you get over your hangover." Cloud started to lead them into the building.





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Reno highly doubted that he would be laughing about it in the morning. He was very conscious of Cloud's arm around him as they walked into the building. His vision was as blurry as his thoughts.



Cloud should have left him in the bar where he could drink himself into oblivion. His brain was a mess of Sephiroth, Rufus, Cloud and Zack.



Sephiroth was at the forefront for calling him the wrong name and ruining his thoughts of ever having something meaningful in his life. Rufus … he was pretty sure that the brat was just using him as well to fill the Genesis gap in his life. He wanted nothing to do with either of them anymore, if he was only a replacement bed-plaything for them.



Then there was the thought of the warm man that was guiding him towards an elevator. Cloud. He had kissed him.



Zack was going to kill him. He was pretty sure of it. Zack always had that look of jealousy on his face when he was near Cloud. He thought that once he got back to his place that he would have to equip himself with a Phoenix Down or a Life materia before he encountered him.



~maybe, after I recover from my injuries, I can retire with Ledge in Costa~



He muttered out another apology and Cloud told him to shut up. "I'll make you some coffee and you can sleep it off." Reno swayed with Cloud, having to grab him tighter and he tugged on Cloud's shirt.



He closed his eyes as he felt Cloud pressing against him. He couldn't help but rest his hand on the top of those brown suede pants. He looked so good in them and was glad that he had bought them for Cloud.



~Zack has enough reasons to kill me~



"Why did he use me like that?" Reno found himself muttering, his mind going back to thoughts of Sephiroth. The Silver God that brought in a dinner and had looked so damn great and felt …



Reno groaned and felt his legs go weak. He swayed and he took Cloud with him. That was when he realized that he was in the elevator.



"You okay?" Cloud said with a worried look on his face. Cloud's hands went to cup his face and force him to look into the concerned blue eyes. "You're not going to be sick, are you?"



Reno did feel an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach but he didn't think he was going to puke.



~it's just anxiety~



He shook his head and regretted it. He ended up groaning and leaning forward, resting his head on Cloud's shoulder. Cloud's arms wrapped around him, hugging and comforting him. Reno uttered that he was sorry again.



"You've got nothin' to be sorry about," Cloud whispered into his hair. "I'll get you tucked into bed and you can forget about your night."



~I want to forget about everything~



He could only groan as Cloud reassured him. A Turk was supposed to be stronger than this. Why was he crumbling so badly? Why was he even caring if anyone wanted him?



~look how happy it makes Rude~



He didn't want to think that he was doing all of this because he was jealous of how happy Rude was with Cissnei. It was ridiculous. Just because Rude was talking a little more than usual and that Rude did things in the evenings without him didn't mean that he should be all emotional about the whole thing. It wasn't like he lost his friend, but he was just wishing that he had what Rude had.



Cloud pushed him away and leaned him against the wall. He couldn't help but groan. The simple hug was nice and he didn't want it to end. It was nice to be held, just to be held.



"I'm turnin' into a fuckin' wuss," Reno whispered as he tried to focus on Cloud's face but he looked blurry. He blinked his eyes and hated the fact that they were watery again. He wanted to kiss the blond again but he knew that it was wrong.



~might as well. Zack is goin' to kill ya anyway~



But he didn't take action on his thoughts. He may have been a lowlife, but he wasn't that much of a lowlife. He was aware of the elevator door opening and looked down a familiar-looking hallway that he didn't want to ever see again.



His grip intensified on Cloud's arms so much that Cloud told him to loosen up. He wasn't able to comprehend much else of what he was saying because his eye was drawn to the end of the hall.



~I wonder what he's thinking about after he called me Genesis~



"Yo, what are we doin' 'ere?" he said, quite alarmed to be on the SOLDIER floor again. He never wanted to be near or on this floor again.



"What? Did you think I was going to take you to the barracks?" Cloud said and tugged on his arms. Reno found himself stumbling out of the elevator and following Cloud. He watched for a moment as he tried to comprehend what was going on as Cloud pulled out a key card. It took him a moment more to realize that the door was to Zack's place.



"Yo, what the hell?" Reno was startled as Cloud was fumbling with his pockets. "I can't go in there with you."



"I'm not leaving you in the hallway." Cloud leaned against the wall, still going through his pockets. Cloud's phone rang shrilly again. He watched as Cloud fumbled with it to shut it off before dropping it to the ground. He looked at it like it was such a long way down.



"Hey, I'll get that," Reno said without much thought and reached for it. It caused him to fall to his knees. He looked up at Cloud who was smiling drunkenly at him.



Reno moved so that he was sitting crossed-legged on the floor and handed Cloud his phone. Cloud started to giggle as he tried to take it back from him, but their fingers fumbled against …



~his fingers feel so warm~



… each other and the phone fell to the floor again.



Reno stared at the vibrating phone that lay on the floor in front of him and sighed. Cloud started to giggle again and put his hand over his mouth. Reno looked up at him and couldn't help but smile as well. Cloud was such a happy drunk. It was really quite pathetically cute.



Cloud's whole body was shaking as he finally pulled the key card out of his pocket. "Are you going to crawl now?" Cloud asked between giggles.



Reno rolled his eyes and tried to stand, only to end up sitting on the floor again. It only caused Cloud to start giggling again and he offered his hand. "You need a coffee."



"I thought ya said that yer weren't goin' to leave me in the hall, yo," Reno muttered.



Cloud stopped giggling but was still smiling brightly. "Come on, already," he said and Reno realized the apartment door was open.



~Zack's apartment~



He didn't have time to process the fact that Cloud pulled him through the door and closed it behind him and soon he was somehow sitting on the couch in the living room. He just sat there trying to figure out what to do until he heard the horrible-sounding coffee pot gurgling away in the kitchen. Cloud emerged, still smiling before the smile turned into a soft look of concern that could melt the ice off a glacier.



"Are you okay? Really?" Cloud's hand landed on his shoulder and rubbed it gently.



Reno nodded but wasn't really sure of his answer. His mind was a mess with Cloud …



~Zack's boyfriend~



… treating him like this inside of Zack's apartment with very inappropriate thoughts running through his head. Those thoughts mixed with the angry thoughts of being used and the fact that he didn't want to treat Cloud as just a …



"Reno?"



He looked up at Cloud and saw that he wasn't standing above him but sitting on the couch across from him with a coffee in his hand. "Did I pass out?" Reno asked.



"You were resting your eyes," Cloud said, and gave him a soft, understanding smile. "You need to lie down. Take these." Cloud handed him two pills and a large bottle of water that he had on the table.



Reno took the pills from his hand and shakily brought them to his lips. His whole body was shivering and he felt cold. He tried to grab the water but his grip wasn't good. Cloud chuckled as he saw this and held the bottle to his lips so he could drink.



"You're going to be hurting something fierce tomorrow." Cloud chuckled as he nearly slipped off the couch himself.



Reno laughed. "Yer drunk too!"



"I'm perf … perfesecly fine!" Cloud said as he righted himself. "You're worse than me! I didn't fall asleep on this couch."



Reno couldn't argue that point. He felt his eyes drooping again and allowed himself to lie back on the couch. He figured he was going to be sleeping on the uncomfortable thing when he felt something tugging on his hand. He didn't even care that he didn't have a pillow or a blanket.



Reno just wanted to sleep and forget about this night and hope that his misery would be over by morning.



The tugging was persistent. He opened his eyes all the way to see Cloud pulling at his arm. "You can't sleep here."



Reno followed the tug. "Yo, are ya gonna put me on the floor after all?" He was a little confused and felt dizzy as he was moved. He wanted to lie back down, but as he found himself yet again being hugged by the warmth of Cloud, he didn't complain and just allowed it to happen.



It was small consolation in all the chaos that his life had ensued to have Cloud not reject him for kissing him, and for having the man still taking care of him. So, he was going to be dead in the morning once Zack found out, but at least he found out that Cloud was truly a good friend.



~I should say so~



"You should hate me," Reno muttered as he allowed himself to be led.



"Why?" Cloud asked as he weaved towards a door.



~I didn't know Zack had a guest room~



"Yo, I kissed ya. I most likely fucked up yer relationship with Zack 'cause I kissed ya," Reno said. The room started to spin and he felt himself starting to fall but was caught by Cloud.



"It's okay," Cloud said, pulling him from the wall. "You're drunk, upset and alone. It'll be better in the morning."



Reno wished he could believe Cloud as he saw a bed swaying in front of him. He felt himself being led to it and sat down on it. The room seemed to stabilize a bit but he still couldn't see much clearly.



He felt the stupid burning in his eyes again and his breath hitched painfully in his chest.



~I'm second fiddle to everyone and everything. Always have been~



"I need another drink," he whispered as he stared at his knees. They were the only thing in the room he could really focus on.



He was never important to anyone as a kid. He was only good if he made the drug runs on time or when he was older, met the drug runners and the johns. Now he was playing second fiddle to every guy he had ever tried to have a 'relationship' with and …



~Cloud~



Cloud was being so damn nice to him. He just knew he was screwing things up. He didn't want that. Cloud and Zack didn't need him messing up their relationship. They just resolved some major issues that he could have easily stepped in and ruined that by comforting Cloud then and there, and now it was Cloud comforting him.



~Zack is gonna kill me~



He stood up but felt himself being pushed back down and warm arms wrapped around him. He felt those comforting arms surrounding him and he gradually let himself fall into the embrace.



"Ya should've left me in the hallway, yo" Reno muttered, not having the strength to remove himself from the warmest hug he had ever felt.



Cloud muttered something that was followed by the word 'dumbass.'



"Yo, I ain't a dumbass," Reno muttered, but there was no venom in his voice. He was actually becoming quite comfortable.



"Complete dumbass," Cloud said and chuckled.



~way too happy of a drunk~



"We'll talk in the mornin'," Cloud said. "Sleep off your self-loathing and we can have some of your hangover remedy then."



Reno chuckled lightly at that. "Zack wouldn't approve," he said.



~Zack wouldn't approve of anything that you're doing right now~



"It'll be fine," Cloud said. "Now lie down and go to sleep." Reno felt himself being moved to lie down. He groaned as the room began to swim around him as he moved. He hated this part of getting drunk. He wished he was blacked out. It is easier dealing with things when he didn't remember.



He felt a soft pillow caress his head and fingers run through his hair. "It'll look better in the morning."



He wanted to say that he doubted that but all that came out of his mouth was a little bit of grumbling and mumbles. He doubted that it made any sense whatsoever, but it got a small chuckle from the blond that was taking care of him.



He shivered until he felt a warm blanket cover him and hands smooth it down on his side. He couldn't help but groan at how comforting the hand felt running down his side like that. It made him whimper at the thought of someone caring for him enough to do it and it wasn't anyone that he was allowed to have. He wanted to start crying again but the tears would do noone any good.



He heard more comforting words and that hand continued to stroke his side. He kept his eyes closed, and soon, he fell asleep to the soothing touch of the comforting hand.





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Cloud sighed as he finally got the drunken Reno to sleep. He wished he could do more to help him. He still couldn't understand why Reno was having so many problems with relationships.



Reno was funny, nice, and handsome to boot. Cloud sighed and continued to rub his side and waited for the man to stop shivering. He was so messed-up, but at the same time he couldn't forget how he helped him when it came to realizing that Zack wasn't being malicious when he left him that night.



"It'll work out, Reno. You'll find someone," Cloud mumbled and stayed lying beside the man huddled in the blankets. Reno's back was to him so he couldn't see his face but he could hear the soft sobs that left the man.



He kept his hands on Reno's side.



He knew he should get up and call Zack. He had to tell him what was going on and how upset Reno was. Zack would be able to help him figure out who hurt Reno to the point where he was smoking again and wanted to drink himself to forget his misery.



Then he couldn't remember where he left his phone. Did they get it off the floor in the hallway? He couldn't remember and it was such an effort to get up.



He could smell Zack on the sheets and it was quite warm and comfortable with another body causing the bed to dip slightly.



Cloud reasoned with himself. He would just close his eyes for a minute or two and then he would get up and call Zack before he got back. He didn't want to have Zack come home to this surprise.



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Again … Friday is not over yet. Can I drag a night out or what?

Oh, and I changed my poll. Check it out.