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“hey, slow down!” cloud laughs as he runs after zack, now far in front of him. it’s late, too late for cloud to be out, but he doesn’t care because zack asked him to.
he never cares, as long as zack’s there.
“come on!” the older boy calls, urging cloud to keep up. they come to this park a lot. cloud really likes it. he’s decided this is where they’ll have their first date.
once cloud catches up, zack’s already laying on the grass, gazing up at the glittering stars in the dark sky.
“what are you doing?” the blonde asks with a giggle, plopping down next to him.
“nothing.” comes his reply.
“let’s do nothing together, then.” cloud says, grinning lopsidedly. he lays down next to him, close enough that zack’s spikes of hair tickle his cheek.
“hey, spikey.” zack says, rolling his head to the side to look at him. “guess what?”
cloud makes a sound of curiosity, turning to look back at him. he hears zack’s labored breathing from just having run. they sync up their breaths for a moment, just staring.
“i met a girl.” zack says, looking back up. a feeling of unease stirs in clouds body.
“a girl? really?” he asks, swallowing the lump in his throat.
“i kinda like her.” zack admits, quietly. a smile tugs at his lips, and gaia, cloud feels like he’s being torn apart.
“yeah?” he replies, hiding the shakiness in his tone. “what’s her name?”
“aeris. isn’t that pretty? we’re gonna go on a date, i think…” he says, running his hands across the cool grass.
cloud doesn’t reply for a little too long. his heart feels like it’s being shattered with every new word. “yeah… it’s pretty.” he whispers. “i’m happy for you.” he says.
zack’s skin glistens in the moonlight, and cloud wishes he was brave enough to touch it. brave enough to tell him he loves him, that he’s so in love with him his heart aches.
he’s such a coward, it’s pathetic.
“you gotta find a girl, too, cloud.” zack says with a smile, his eyes gazing up at the stars.
“i oughta.” cloud says quietly, gazing over at him. then he looks up, too.
they’re together, looking at the same stars, sharing the same smiles. and for once, cloud thinks, that’s enough.