#it works best as a long oneshot. but has identifiable breaks in certain places.

[non-un-topo]

Hit 20,000 words for one of my WIPs babeeyy

[7soulstars]

Emerging of Kalon

Request: I need some new johnny depp fics in my life where I want a reader with insecurities and johnny reassuring her that he loves her the way she is.Maybe she is a bit more chubby than his past gfs and she has to wears glasses.Abd thanx so much for accepting it.

Yooo this imagine is soo important to me. As a person who had a lot of insecurities and has suffered through depression.It is really important for me to spread a certain message to others like me. I have this belief that you aren’t born with insecurities,you are made to have them.Don’t point out things to people that would make them uncomfortable in the long term guys it becomes quite scarring for them and it also makes you a damn bully. Also it is normal to have stretch marks, tummy rolls ,acne, scars ,body hair and all that stuff, Man or Woman or any other gender you identify as.That’s what makes you human.If people can’t accept you for who you are please cut them out of your life.Ya’ll beautiful and I love ya’ll. Hope you like this !!

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Pairing : Johnny Depp x Reader

Warnings : TW,Nosy people who like putting others down for fun, Signs of depression,Suicide attempt,Angst,Swearing, Fluff, Johnny being the absolute sweetheart he is.

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Kalon ;Latin for ideal beauty in all, physical ,spiritual and moral forms

1.Instigation.

“I still can’t believe THE Johnny Depp went for you after his past ones”,said someone snapping her out of her trance.”Pardon ?”,she asked as if to confirm whether she heard him right . “I mean look at you....His exes were all supermodels weren’t they? Not a single flaw..”,the man guffawed.”Well you have have a micropenis why did your wife choose you?”,her bestfriend snapped crudely making her cringe.”Let’s go Y/N “, Y/BF/N said dragging she out of the restaurant .Well this wasn’t how I wanted college reunion to end up like,thanks Nathan she thought. “Are you alright Y/N ?”, Y/BF/N asked. “Of course”. No I’m not. “It doesn’t bother me at all.” It bothers me too much. “Nathan’s a dick .Don’t let it get to your head EVER”. But he’s right, his words are already in my head. “Yeah...”

2.The disquieting

“Hey glasses ! Looking ugly as always.”

“Look at her hogging like a pig, hey fatty you want more?”

“Darling why don’t you try going on a diet.”

“Don’t watch telly, you’re blind enough already”

“Jason what do you think of Y/N ?” “Damn man she was not even my type”

“Please Stop !”, Y/N woke up with a jerk, breathing in short gasps .”Johnny-”,she stops cutting herself off as she looked at the empty looked at the empty side on her bed. He isn’t in the country she remembered . Silence. She stared at the framed picture of them together on the wall. Plip. A tear fell. Plip Plip. Two more,before she couldn’t control it any more. The past wouldn’t change.She knew it would haunt her forever. But they had stopped for a while. But since Nathan ,it came back harder than ever. She didn’t tell Johnny, she’d never tell him , the last thing she wanted to do is to become a larger burden. So she cried herself to sleep every single day.

3.Repressing

Y/BF/N frowned as she looked at Y/N’s lunch. “Since when do you eat salads ?Hell,that isn’t even salad it’s just *ugh* lettuce....”,she says looking at the leafy stuff with absolute disgust. Y/N looked at her as if she did not understand what she was saying “I love salads,you know what? I’m not that hungry.....better get back to work! See you later!”,she said leaving as she didn’t even let the other speak. Starving, Hurting, Looking into the mirror and hating herself. The cycle continued.This was going to be dangerous in the days to come and she knew that too. 

4.Avoiding

6 missed calls from Mom

19 missed calls and 87 messages from Y/BF/N

40 missed calls and 150 messages from Johnny 

3 notifications from Twitter. 

No one had seen her in 4 days .The telly changed channels at Johnny’s apartment .Things scattered around as a trembling hand set down the remote . Fat tears dampened the pillow as her eyes read the news headline. ‘Johnny Depp at a dinner date with ex wife Vanessa ? Is he finally done with his simple girlfriend ?’

5. Falling

This was it.She ended up the way she predicted she’d end up 10 years ago. Weak,Tired,Empty and Lonely. She stared at the bathtub as it filled itself until it was overfilled,water spilling out of its sides as it splashed onto her feet. She didn’t flinch at the coldness.She stayed robotically still, looking down at her palm. A blade. Without hesitating she got into the tub,the tap still running. She didn’t think anymore,tears wouldn’t fall even if they wanted to. She closed her eyes as she let her self go ,ignoring the frantic ringing of her phone and the banging on the apartment door.

6. Alerting

To say Johnny was concerned was an underestimation.Y/N wasn’t picking up his phone since several days .He was distracted, couldn’t concentrate and worry filled his entire existence.He didn’t know what to do,even going as far as asking his ex wife for advice.He decided to go back ,back to his girlfriend’s loving arms.

The moment he stepped back into the city he took his time.Picking out her favourie flowers ,the chocolate she always loved and a little something of importance. He ignored the notifications is phone was chiming with, his mind only full of thoughts of her....The thoughts were short lived , disturbed much to Johnny’s dismay by Y/BF/N’s call. He ignored once,ignored twice but after that he knew something was wrong.”Johnny !”, panicked voice spoke through the phone. A frown replacing the man’s smile “Did Y/N text you that absurd note too?” “No,wait Y/BF/N let me check”,he put the call on hold as his eyes skimmed over the words displayed on his screen. His phone now dropped on the car floor he wished all of it was a dream.They stopped as he stormed out, back to his apartment. He knocked wildly on the door but not a voice came nor a cackle. He threw his body on the door several times ,”Goddamitt Y/N OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR DON’T PLAY WITH ME RIGHT NOW !”.In his panicked feat he had forgotten he had the keys until they dropped out of his jacket pocket.He didn’t wait a moment as he fumbled it into the key hole ,kicking the door open as soon as it opened.

Silence. 

Splosh . The sound of water hitting the ground from the bathroom echoed in the whole house.

“Y/N ?”, Johnny softly whispered as he pushed open the bathroom door. A horrific scene unfolded before him.

7.Mourning

It had been two days and Johnny wouldn’t budge.He saw red that day and the site still wouldn’t leave his thoughts alone.He would neither eat,nor sleep as he sat beside his beloved girlfriend who lay on a hospital bed. Dark Enough by Amanda played on the radio. The text message, and the talk with Y/BF/N replayed in his head as if war replayed in a retired soldiers dreams. “I didn’t know you were hurting that bad”,he whispered, tears threatening to fall again. He place his head on her stomach as he let the silent tears fall,until her hand fell on top of his head.

8.Resuscitation  

Johnny jerked up ,his eyes as wide as saucers, as he froze with eyes full of pain and hurt.Y/N did not dare meet his gaze.She felt ashamed and disgusted. But those feelings were immediately replaced with shock as Johnny almost lunged at her,hugging her tight. “I was so scared I was so fucking scared when I saw that text and then you drowning in the red water filled in the bathtub ! I thought you’d left me ! I thought you died you weren’t breathing...How dare you think of yourself that way how dare you think you were not good enough !? You were the best fucking thing that happened to me since my kids goddammit !”. Y/N had never seen Johnny this mad.Hell, she had never even seen him cry. She didn’t know how to answer him, she was too ashamed.He wouldn’t break the hug, as if he would loose her if he did. He loved her too much. “Why ?”,he asked again,as if he was begging for an answer. Even a word. He just wanted to hear her voice. “I was scared...”,her voice cracked coming out much broken than she predicted. “ I didn’t think I deserved you, I thought I’d never reach the levels of those beautiful actresses and models.I was scared to tell you about my past..I was scared to bother you...”. Johnny’s heart broke. He never thought his Y/N would think that way. She was always smiling .Not even a little frown on her face. Always there for everyone. Yet no one comforted her. How could he never see it? Of course he couldn’t see it she was perfect to him.His Y/N was the most perfect person in the world. “I love you”, he blurted. He never said that.He was too shy. But he hugged her tighter ,” I love you so much. Even with scars,insecurities or that ugly face you make when you see things you do not like. You were, have and always will be the most perfect to me. Please....don’t do that again...”

9.Emergence

Y/N was discharged from the hospital in a few days. Johnny wouln’t leave her side. All his attention would be on her to see if ate well, and loved herself. Y/N felt safe. And she wasn’t wrong . Johnny was everything she deserved.

They sat on the rooftop of a cafe in Paris. A calm silence passing over them. “Y/N ?” ,Johnny asked. “Hmm?”,she hummed along, silence entailing after. ”Marry me ?”,he asked. That was the day Y/N was the most happiest, and did the beautifully emerged Kalon say yes? you’d ask. She said it without a second to spare. After all our Kalon had found her wings.

“No one is born ugly, we’re just born in a judgemental society”~ Kim Namjoon(BTS)

----The End----

Whew ! After all the procrastination and time I took brainstorming this baby is done! This was requested by the wonderful @anycsirp​ I really really hope you liked this ! Also I meant what I said before the start of this oneshot . YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. PERIODT. Please do like and comment your opinions! I really hope to read em ! I’m not that great of a writer but I did my best ! 

~Love, Hri

[creamypudding]

Preview Chapter

‘Sup guys! I wrote a Clack thing for a challenge over on the Clack dicord channel. This story was supposed to be a oneshot and much much longer than what’s below. But, I was struggling with writing this and finishing it, so I’m gonna break this into chapters. Below is chapter one for an unnamed fic. I don’t know how many chapters this thing will have or if I will ever finish it. I hope I will. Please enjoy :)

Chapter 01/?

Title: ? Fandom: FFVII - Modern AU Pairing: Cloud/Zack Chapter Rating: Teen Word Count: 6310

Summary: Cloud gets roped into having a day off. he’s sure he will hate it but is pleasantly surprised. he still hates it... but it’s not quite so bad when a certain dark-haired stranger takes his hand.

It was a quiet and calm Thursday evening. A storm had blown through the city of Charlton five hours earlier, leaving the world crisp and clean. Cloud’s window was open to take full advantage of the cold change the storm had left in its wake. He could feel the heat leaching out and turning his sweatbox apartment into a respectable dwelling after six days and nights of hellfire. It was delightful. Cloud felt energized and motivated to get through his paperwork.

He sat at his desk, the occasional almost-freezing wind tousled his hair and some of the paperwork on his otherwise-neat-and-tidy desk. The sound of cars driving through the wet drifted in from his second-story window, but it was peaceful ambience.

A sound suddenly erupted, starling Cloud so much so that the paper he was studying went flying up into the air.

Hand clutched at his chest. He took two calming breaths and then located his phone.

“Good evening, Strife here.”

“Hello, Cloud!”

He was instantly suspicious of the sweetness in her voice. “Hello,” he said carefully.

“How are you?” “Fine. What do you need?”

An audible gasp sounded through the line. “Why are you being so cold?”

“You don’t call me unless you want something.” He made to look for the paper he had been holding, scanning his desk and floor. “Cloud! I see you on an almost daily basis!”

“Yes, but you never call me unless you know the answer to your demand would probably be no. I’ve known you long enough, Tif.” For some reason, he had trouble saying no to things over the phone. Maybe because he couldn’t see her face to judge if she was actually upset with him or not. Or maybe it was his difficulty in hanging up the phone. Walking away was far easier for him.

“I am deeply hurt.” She certainly sounded it, and Cloud hated that.

“What can I do for you?” he sighed, bracing for the request.

“I don’t know if you remember, but I’ve wanted to find a hobby for myself to compliment my martial arts training for a while now.” “Rings a vague bell.” Cloud located the paper and placed it back on his desk. “Oh good! Well, I have found something.”

“Congratulations! Can I get off the phone now?”

She laughed. “I haven’t gotten to the reason why I’m calling you yet.”

Cloud’s heart sunk. “Get to the chase then.”

“I’ve signed up for dance lessons. It’s ballroom and latin dance.” “Congratulations,” he said once more, not understanding why she was calling him about it.

“It’s on this Saturday. Starts at eleven, sharp, down by the Five Docks studios.” Cloud hummed, not paying attention to her, instead focusing on the invoices that needed to be filled out.

“Are you listening?”

Cloud hummed again. “Well anyway, I’ll text you the details.”

He hummed again but then the words cut through. He sat up a little straighter.  “Wait, what? Why?”

“You’re coming with me.”

And there it was; the sinking feeling and dread. “I��m not.”

“You are.”

“I’m not,” he said forcefully. “I don’t dance. I’m busy.”

“I don’t dance either, that’s why we are going to the classes. I’ve already signed us up.” “Find someone else.” “There is no one else I’d rather go with.” The automatic response of denials died on his lips as her words struck his heart. He grumbled. “You know I’m busy.”

“You work too hard.”

“I have to. It’s my livelihood. Do you want me derelict and living under a bridge with Toothless-Hank and Scabies-Sharon?”

“Other than those adjectives, they sound nice. Maybe they’ll let you share their cardboard box if you showed them how to dance.” “Bridge trolls don’t dance.” “You’re not a bridge troll just yet, so come dance with me. Let Denzel and Marlene look after the shop. You’ve been overseeing them for two years now. You must have some faith in them or you would have fired them by now.”

Tifa had a point, but Cloud did not want to go. “Denzel can go. He doesn't work Saturday’s.” “No. Make Denzel work Saturday’s for the next ten weeks. C’mon Cloud. You work there seven days a week. You never call it quits. Take a break. Take a break with me! Do something fun! Please,” she whined. “Please, please, pleeeeeease!”

It made Cloud uncomfortable. He wanted to walk away, lock her out. He couldn't hang up. “Fine,” he said gruffly.

A high pitched squeak came through the line. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Ten weeks you said?” “Yes.” “You owe me, big time.”

Cloud hated this. He was standing out the front of some abandoned looking red-brick murder shack in a desolate part of town, dressed in clothes that clung to his body way too much for comfort. His skin liked to breathe, but right now it was getting claustrophobically intimate with dark slacks and an old pale-blue short-sleeved t-shirt he had discarded in the back of his wardrobe because it has always been too tight.

It was nearly eleven and Tifa was nowhere to be seen. He checked his phone. He hung to the side of the building, avoiding all the couples that had been steadily streaming in and out of the complex. Finally, his phone rang. “Where are you?” he snapped. “I’m sorry, I can’t make it today.” “You what? Since when? Why didn’t you tell me this before now?”

“Sorry, Cloud. Something’s just come up. I didn’t want to tell you before I knew you would be there. Please just go in and enjoy yourself. I’ll be there next week. I promise.”

Hands gripped his phone tight, turning knuckles white. “I can’t do this without you.”

“You can. You’ll be fine. I already called the instructor to let her know. She sounds super nice. She said you can dance with her. And then you can show me all you learned.”

Cloud stewed silently for a moment. “Why are we friends again?”

“Because I kicked your bullies ass when we were ten, and your mom makes the best apple pies. Plus you just can’t get rid of me.”

“Ah. That’s right.” The smile tugged at corners of mouth.

Tifa apologized again, promised to make it up to Cloud and then hung up, leaving Cloud to trudge up the many flights of stairs to the dance studio named in the text message Tifa had sent him two days ago.

Cloud’s insides clenched and his heart began working overtime. Tifa was supposed to have been his security blanket. He didn’t do stuff like this — embarrassing things like dancing. Not in private and certainly never in public. He knew he couldn't dance. He knew he would fall flat on his face and everyone would laugh at him. Not to his face, because that would be rude, but after, when they went home to their private dwellings, they would have parties and tell stories of Cloud’s ineptitude to the sound of raucous laughter.

He had just decided that he would turn around and leave but had sadly just reached the top and been spotted by one very enthusiastic lady with brunette hair and a jubilant smile.

“Ah! You must be Cloud?” She walked towards him, arms outstretched.

Cloud looked behind himself and all around, hoping she was addressing someone else. The sudden thought leaped at him that he should have tried to find someone else to pretend to be himself and cursed in his head for having thought of that too late. He was here now, identified by this woman, and no way out. He gave the smallest nod.

“Everyone else is here already. Tifa said you would be joining us solo today. I’m Aerith, your instructor.” She was like a summer breeze. Warm, soft and persistent. Cloud was swept up with her and lead to the other side of the room by the elbow.

Cloud absorbed as much as he could as he was being led. The dance studio at the top of the stairs was all timbered floors. Floor-to-ceiling windows were situated on one wall, and floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the wall running parallel to it. Flowers hung from the ceiling and stood in pots at the far end of the room… where a small crowd of maybe twelve people stood, all looking at him.

It was mortifying. Cloud swallowed the massive lump in his throat. Eyes only ventured to take the most cautious of glances at the people before himself. He mostly focused on feet but could make out that they all seemed to be paired off.

Aerith swung Cloud around, depositing him into the group and then took her place before them all.

“Thank you for joining me here today. I'm your dance instructor, Aerith Gainsborough. I have been doing Ballroom and Latin dancing since I was a little girl. I've danced in various competitions but have found that teaching is my real passion — well, that and flowers as you can see,” she giggled and swept her hand in front of herself to draw attention to the various plants that seemed to be everywhere. “They bring brightness and an energy to the room. But I digress.” She patted down her fluttery skirt that she wore over tights and clasped hands before herself.

Cloud took a small peek around himself at the people on either side of himself. He took heart in seeing that he wasn't the only guy dressed in ridiculous clothes.

“As your instructor, I'm here to create a relaxing, non-judgemental environment for you to learn and flourish in. If you have any questions at any time please ask me. If you need me to slow down at any time, let me know. I will be coming around after the initial demonstration to see how each of you are going, but do speak up if you don't understand what I'm doing as I’m demonstrating it. As we are a large group it will take me some time to make my way through all of you, and I don’t want any of you to feel like you're doing it right or missing out on practicing the dance moves. We only have an hour so time is precious.”

She smiled and looked at everyone in turn before continuing, “I will not force anything on any of you, but I do encourage you to keep an open mind, give this your best go, and enjoy. You are all beginners so no need to be self-conscious. I have structured the course so that each week we will be trying a different dance. We will be progressing from the simple dances, like the waltz today, up to more technically challenging dances as the weeks progress. So I hope, as you grow more confident in your abilities, you will be able to get the hang of all the dances and enjoy yourselves.”

People nodded and hummed in understanding.

“So, let’s not waste any more time. As I have mentioned, first up we have the waltz. A simple three-step dance. We are missing two dancers today so Cloud, if I could get you to pair up with Zack for today’s lesson that would be fantastic.” Aerith waved her hand about.

Zack? He would have to dance with a man? Cloud looked around, feeling even more nervous than before as he was trying to find his dance partner in the crowd. It wasn’t too hard though — a tall, muscular, dark-haired, blue-eyed man  — wearing a big smile — approached him with gusto.

Cloud gulped. He would have to dance with an attractive man? He could feel warmth spreading up his neck and onto his cheeks.

“Hi, I'm Zack.” Hand was extended and smile somehow grew bigger.

Cloud took the offered hand and was the recipient of a handshake as firm as that body looked under that snug fitting dark-grey tank top, and slim-fit tracksuit pants, and it certainly was as warm as the smile.

“Cloud.” He gave a nod, hand was released and they stood side by side, looking back towards Aerith. Cloud was painfully aware of his height next to Zack. His head only reached the other man's shoulders. Zack's arms were like twice the size of Cloud's, and damn if those abs couldn't cut through the fabric they were encased in. Cloud folded arms across his body and curled in on himself a little bit.

Aerith talked a bit more about basic dance terms, moves, and then began instructing, getting everyone to follow along as she demonstrated the basic waltz box step.

Cloud was struggling with his left and right foot and bumped into Zack a couple of times as they practiced side by side. There were, however, a lot of 'sorrys’ and 'excuse mes’ flying around all over the room, so Cloud felt a little bit better.

Once they had done the steps a few times Aerith asked Zack to be her partner to demonstrate the lead and follow dance positions. Cloud concentrated very hard o follow along. He didn't want to get this wrong.

Zack returned to Cloud's side after a few minutes and Aerith clapped her hands together once and gave a cheery, “Now to you!”

This was the moment Cloud had dreaded. He dreaded it even more, now that his dance partner had been replaced with a hunk of meat.

Cloud and Zack looked at each other. Arms went out. “Shall we?” Zack asked, head cocking slightly, inviting Cloud to take his hand.

It was beyond embarrassing. It was mortifying to the highest degree. Cloud took the strangers hand, and their other arms and hands got tangled up together as each tried to wind around the others back. They both ended up with hands on each other's shoulders.

This didn’t seem right. Cloud’s concern must have shown, though it was completely misunderstood, “Don’t look so scared. I’m sure we can figure this out.” Zack flashed an enthusiastic grin.

Aerith’s voice drifted through the air, “One, two, three. One, two, three. One two, three.”

They both moved and instantly clashed. Toes were stepped on, torsos bumped into, and Cloud’s nose got very intimate with Zack’s collarbone. Sorry’s were muttered, positions resumed, and repeated attempts were made, all resulting in the same uncoordinated effect.

“Why’s this not working?” Cloud wondered aloud as they moved and collided once again.

“Beats me. She made it look so easy.”

Both of them looked towards Aerith. She was currently half the halls distance from them, looking at, and critiquing a couple who seemed to be having a way easier time than Cloud and Zack. In fact, the more Cloud looked the more everyone else seemed in sync.

“I’m not cut out for dancing, I told Tifa as much,” he grumbled and frowned at the floor, wanting to ignore the way he was being held by a completely lovely stranger.

“C’mon, Cloud. Everyone else is doing it. We’ll figure it out too,” Zack enthused with a thin smile. Something about Zack’s energy was infecting Cloud — or perhaps he was too embarrassed to give up and walk away.

They attempted again, moving, bumping, and stepping on each other. Zack’s smile vanished, brow scrunched up, and bottom lip was worried at. The man seemed to be really concentrating hard.

“Forward, side, close — Back, side, close — Forward, side, close — Back, side, close.” Aerith’s voice was getting louder but it wasn’t helping the complete disaster of a situation the two men found themselves in.

Their waltz was less a graceful fluid motion than a stop-and-go traffic congestion. Thankfully, the struggle finally ended when Aerith came up to them.

They pulled apart and Zack huffed out, bending slightly at the waist. “Dancing is tough work.”

Cloud nodded rapidly, hoping to garner some sympathy from their instructor and maybe even be let off the hook and be allowed to go home for the rest of the session.

No such luck was had. Aerith gave them a gentle smile and calmly said, “It is when you’re in a wrestling match with your partner.”

“Oh, we’re not wrestling, are we?” Zack looked bewildered. Wide blue eyes set on Cloud for clarity.

Cloud looked at Zack. “Sure felt like it.”

“It definitely wasn't dancing. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.” Aerith started clapping to help everyone else keep their rhythm while she continued talking to them, “I’m sorry, I should have come to you two first. Sometimes when I do have two men dancing together this can happen — each wanting to take the lead. I always tell men that there is nothing wrong with following and taking the more traditional feminine role in dancing. The steps are all the same but in a slightly different order. Some of the most amazing dances I have seen have been by same-sex dance partners. There is something so beautiful about the ability to be both strong and feminine. To watch the flow and grace suddenly shift in energy as the follower becomes the leader in a choreographed instance. It is some of the most dynamic and exciting dancing to witness. So I just want you both to know that both of you can lead, but both of you need to also learn to follow, and it’s a wonderful experience to share with someone. It makes the dancing partnership truly equal, and ballroom dancing, and dancing in general is nothing if not the unity of movement between two bodies. So talk it through, take turns, and enjoy.”

Aerith stepped back, still clapping her hands.

Was that what had happened?

“Woah, okay, that makes total sense now. We were both trying to do the same thing.” Zack laughed with clear relief. “Boy, I’m glad to hear that.” “Why?” Cloud frowned in wonder at Zack.

Sunny smile was thrown his way again. Zack said, “It means there’s hope for us!” He gently bumped his fist against Cloud’s shoulder.

Cloud huff out in slight laughter.

“Hey! That’s more like it. Good to hear you laugh!” Eyes almost sparkled as they looked at Cloud. Zack’s only grew larger, which made Cloud self-conscious.

He focused them back on the task at hand, “So, who will lead first?”

“Do you want to?”

Cloud shrugged.

“I’ll take the lead then.”

Suddenly Cloud wished he had spoken up.

Hand was held out once more. Cloud looked at it for a moment. It was less foreign now. Maybe even slightly welcoming. Cloud took it. Zack’s other arm wound around and hand landed on Cloud’s upper back. It was weird for Cloud to have another person, let alone a man touch him like that. He wasn’t used to physical contact at the best of times so felt a bit nervous. At least he could just rest his left hand on Zack’s right shoulder. That was probably the best thing about being in the follow position.

Zack’s eyebrows raised, encouraging smile was given and a quiet, “Here we go,” shared between the both of them as Zack took the lead, sweeping them off — to nowhere in particular. Cloud struggled. Zack struggled. But at least they moved in a somewhat unified direction, even if there was nothing graceful about them. Cloud counted in his head and heard Zack just above a whisper do the same. Heads were bowed, feet looked at, to make sure minimal stepping on toes occurred.

One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.

It went a bit better, feet continued to be carefully watched, and stumbled over. Chests bumped together, apologies uttered. They just seemed to get the hang of things when Aerith announced that they would all be swapping partners in a fun round robin. It didn't sound fun to Cloud. He was just getting used to — and maybe a little attached to his partner-in-graceless crime. Aerith, however being able to read the general mood of the room, assured everyone that they would be able to learn lots from different dance partners, as well as the added bonus of getting to meet people.

That notion seemed more like an added layer of torture to the searing hellscape inferno of embarrassment and discomfort Cloud found himself in. It was made even worse somehow when Aerith asked Cloud if he wouldn't mind taking the follow position on the inside of the circle everyone was forming. It was mortifying for him but what could he do?

He gave Zack an almost forlorn look as he stepped away to his purgatory in the inside circle with all the women. Instant regret and sadness welled up inside. He didn't want the awkwardness of having to dance with anyone else. Cloud felt like they had just come to an understanding and mutual respect which he was surely not going to be afforded by any other man he would have to dance with.

He tried to escape into his head — find a niche of peace and safety somewhere in his anxiety-riddled, anti-social webbing of synapses and neurons. He willed himself to be teleported back to his beloved grocery store. Dealing with Toothless-Trudy and her inane requests for sparkling butter, and lemon flavored breakfast cereal would have been preferable over this. Having to shake every man, woman, and child’s hand and give a cheerful smile to them as they entered his store would have been better than this… but only just.

He wasn’t spared his pain though. Positions were taken, the music flowed, and the dancing started, forcing Cloud to stay focused if he didn’t want to have a complete trainwreck of an experience like he had suffered through with Zack. But at least he had felt like he had suffered that with Zack, instead of inflicting it on others, like he was sure he was doing right now.

It wasn’t as uncoordinated as his first attempt with Zack… in fact Cloud managed to move quite smoothly really. But Cloud still didn’t like it. He listened to Aerith as she clapped, and after about five complete waltz steps, announced that it was time for the outside circle to move to the left and change partners.

Cloud felt awkward every time he had a new partner. Some men were tense, and Cloud wasn’t sure if it was because they had to be dancing, or if it was because they had to dance with Cloud. He couldn’t bring himself to do much else besides say his name and nod in acknowledgment of the other men’s existence when they intruded into his personal-space bubble. He felt uncomfortable every time awkward hands found perch on his waist and in his hand. But he grit through it.

This was definitely a new kind of hell that had been devised just to illicit suffering in Cloud. Tifa owed him — what was bigger than ‘big time’? Ginormous time!

Cloud caught sight of Zack and watched him when he could. And when he couldn’t see Zack’s bumbling form he definitely could hear the calls of ‘excuse me’, ‘so sorry about that’, ‘woops’, as the outside circle moved around the room. It gave Cloud a small sense of still being connected to someone and didn’t make him quite so stranded.

The dancing and endless partner-swaps continued until Zack was next to him, and would be his partner again after this particular round was completed. The small wink Cloud caught Zack give him made Cloud stumble and apologize to his dance partner. He recuperated well enough, keeping his mind focused on getting his feet in order.

But when the swap occurred Cloud nearly leaped at Zack in desperation for familiarity. Hands sought each other out, filling Cloud with a sense of homecoming. Smiles were exchanged — and came far too effortlessly out of Cloud — and little chuckles sounded as they talked while they danced.

“Hey.” “Hey.”

“Learn anything useful?” Cloud asked.

“About ten different ways to step on women’s feet. You?”

“How to be even more awkward in an already awkward situation.”

“You’re so not awkward.” “Maybe not with you,” Cloud muttered.

Zack just smiled brightly and led Cloud around their little spot far more gracefully than ever before — which was to say it was about as graceful as a pair of hippos doing Swan Lake in leotards. But it was still better than before. Maybe there had been a method behind Aerith’s madness. Just maybe.

They danced on a bit more. A few more swaps occurred before some relief finally came and a quick five-minute break was afforded to everyone.

There was far more chatter now. The dancing had clearly been the icebreaker a lot of people had needed. But not Cloud. He’d need a Titanic-sized ice-breaker to get him chatting and laughing to these people.

And then Zack approached, red-faced and happy looking.

“How did you go?” Cloud asked, trying his hand at a friendly quirk of lips.

Zack rubbed at the back of his head and laughed nervously. “I thought I’d be a lot better at this than I actually am. It's really embarrassing. Everyone else is getting the hang of this way easier than me.”

“You're not alone. I nearly stepped on half the guys I danced with and I swear I gave someone a bruise with how tight I was holding on.”

Zack shook with a chesty huff of laughter. “At least you didn't have to worry over knocking over ladies. I feel like I’ve got two left feet.”

They both looked down at Zack’s feet, encased in sneakers.

“Must make buying shoes hard,” Cloud remarked.

Eyes raised and looked at one another. Zack burst out laughing. “It does,” he got out after a moment.

“Well, I feel like I’ve got two right feet. So maybe we can swap out our shoes.”

“Oh yeah, totally,” Zack nodded eagerly. “Such a good thing that we got paired up then, huh?” Zack nudged Cloud with his shoulder and gave a cheeky wink.

Cloud huffed with laughter.

Zack’s smile did not abate. “But really, I swear dancing with you’s way easier, and I'm not so scared of breaking you. You're pretty sturdy,” Zack grinned.

Cloud didn't do compliments that well but he mumbled out a, “Thanks.”

“Wanna go get a drink?” Zack nodded to the table near the stairs with some refreshments on it.

Cloud nodded and they headed over.

“So, what brings you to dance lessons? Got a wedding to go to?” Zack asked.

“No, nothing like that. A friend asked me because she really wanted to go dancing. Her sensei suggested it for her footwork, and I got stuck being the designated partner because she thinks I work too hard and could use a hobby.”

“Oh, wow! I have so many questions — well maybe just two.” Cloud chuckled. Zack was rather bizarre. “What are they?” “Well, one — what do you do?”

They reached the table and grabbed a glass each, filling them with water.

“I own and run my own grocery store,” Cloud said and drank his drink.

“Cool. Where at?”

Cloud felt uncomfortable by the line of questioning, preferring to keep to himself as much as possible. “Um, near Central district.” That was surely vague enough.

Zack nodded, sighed in satisfaction after downing his glass and said, “Must get busy.”

“It does. I like being busy though.”

“Ah, yeah, same here. If I hafta stand still for more than five minutes I start talking up a storm and then I say all kindsa dumb stuff,” Zack laughed.

Cloud refrained from saying, ‘like right now’, but only just.

“Oh, hey, the second question was what kind of martial arts does your friend do?”

“Zangan-Ryu or something like that?”

“Do you know who her sensei is?”

Cloud shook his head.

“Damn. Me and my sister practice and run our own Kendo dojo. I signed us up for dance lessons for the same reason as your friend.”

“Oh, to improve your fighting?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” That was definitely interesting to Cloud. He half suspected Tifa had made that stuff up to rope Cloud into this. Maybe there was hope yet that she wasn’t just having a big laugh at his expense.

Aerith clapped her hands, getting everyone’s attention. “All right, back to your partners everyone. Let me show you another step to add to your basic box step which will really get us moving and spinning. Cloud, could I have you partner for me, please?”

That request startled him. He glanced at Zack for reassurance and maybe to see if the man would possibly step in and save him. Zack only did the former by giving Cloud a confident smile and a slight push as he said, “You got this.”

Cloud walked over to Aerith, feeling thousands of eyes boring into him. Never mind that there weren’t that many people here. He just tried to focus on Aerith, who stood before him exuding confidence and warmth. She instructed him, and the rest of the class, clearly, and maneuvered Cloud where he needed to go. Together they demonstrated the basic waltz and the steps after to get more flow through the dance. She then instructed everyone to give it a go and followed Cloud over as he rejoined Zack.

“Okay, you two. I thought now would be a good time for you to swap over leads. Cloud knows what to do, so just follow him as best as you can, Zack.”

“Awright,” Zack enthused with a lot of energy. “Show me how this goes.” Zack held out his hands and Cloud took the leading position with him, hand sliding around broad back with elbows out and proud. Zack's hand was on Cloud's waist but Cloud maneuvered it up to the top of his shoulder.

“Woops.” Zack gave a sheepish grin. “Glad I got you here to set me straight,” he chuckled.

Cloud huffed with laughter but pushed the smile down and put on his serious face.

Hands were clasped and they began.

Cloud concentrated, keeping them moving to the music and guiding Zack when he got his feet all mixed up. It was clunky at first — Cloud had to keep correcting Zack, but after the fourth time around their little space, Zack was following along.

Cloud kept counting under his breath and looked at their feet. A warm squeeze on his shoulder made him raise his head and eyes to meet soft features completely trained and focused on himself.

“You’re doing great,” Zack almost whispered with seemingly misplaced affectionate warmth.

Cloud’s steps faltered, Zack collided with Cloud, headbutting him with the top of his chin. Cloud winced and grunted.

“Shit! You okay?” Zack asked, slipping out of Cloud’s hold, stepping back a little, and running concerned fingers over Cloud’s forehead and into his hair, rubbing at where they had bumped into each other.

Cloud’s heart raced with panic. “Yeah, yeah. Here, let’s keep going before Aerith notices.” He composed himself, head only smarting a little bit. He grabbed hands and began their dance again. “One, two, three. One two, three,” he counted, to stop himself from acknowledging how handsome his dancing partner was. Zack’s smile had been too big, and his voice too soft, and kind.

They got back on track. The music continued, and Cloud and Zack were beginning to glide.

“Looking really good, guys. Eyes up, Cloud,” Aerith chirped as she breezed past.

Cloud raised his head and gave the most cautious of glances up at Zack, not wanting to be completely disarmed like before. Zack still smiled but it wasn’t completely unexpected this time, so Cloud relaxed a little.

“All right everyone. You’re looking graceful and confident. Time to open the floor right up. Leaders, go wherever you want. Just be sure not to bump into anyone. You’re doing a wonderful job reining Zack in, Cloud,” she said with such light and cheer in her voice.

“Hey!” Zack protested with ease and jest, as chuckles and titters went up all around. “Not you too!” Zack directed at Cloud, in response to his small laugh.

Cloud did a poor job of holding in his smile. “Here, let’s show them what we can do,” he said quietly. The excitement on Zack's face and the eager nod grew Cloud’s confidence. He took a deep breath and began moving them hither and thither. They voided all kinds of human obstacles and began building up speed as they went around and around. Cloud tried to focus on their surroundings, which wasn’t too hard because the way that Zack’s face was lit up was a little too frightening to look at without a distraction to temper his nerves.

But Zack still got under Cloud’s skin. It was the way Zack hummed along to the music — it was the way Cloud could feel lean, powerful muscles react and twitch under his palm as he guided them across the room — it was the warmth of Zack’s handhold, and soft breath occasionally caressing Cloud’s cheek — but most of all it was that smile of pure bliss. Cloud wondered how dancing could make someone so happy… and how it was managing to make Cloud feel happy too.

They swayed, danced, and stepped to and fro. Worry, anxiety, stress, and agitation slipped off Cloud’s shoulders and a timid smile grew. This wasn’t so bad. Maybe it was even a little fun. Cloud thought he liked dictating where they went. He liked sweeping them past the windows, the mirrors, the dozens of plants. He liked how Zack followed, eager and willing to do Cloud’s bidding. It was a nice change from the beginning of the session.

Before he knew it the music came to an end. It took a few moments for it to register and then Cloud brought them to a stop. Zack and Cloud looked towards where Aerith stood, by the black speakers on a table by the windows.

“That was wonderful, everyone. Congratulations! You’ve just completed your first dance lesson.” Everyone clapped and cheered. Cloud had a big grin on his face and looked up at his dance partner, who also wore a massive smile.

“You did really well,” Cloud said, huffing a little with the exertion of their previous movements.

“We both did. We were dancing and spinning and not hitting anything — not even each other,” Zack tittered and then turned serious, though he was still smiling, though very gently. “You’re, like, the best dancer.”

Cloud’s eyes dropped, but his smile didn’t. He shook his head. “No.”

“Yeah. Trust me. I danced with a lot of people here today.” There was a soft chuckle that accompanied that remark, which made Cloud laugh a little as well.

He raised his eyes again and felt really warm all over.

“You two did so well together,” Aerith said, voice growing closer.

Cloud became exceptionally self-conscious over the fact that he and Zack were still in the dancing position while everyone else was moving off, gathering their things. Cloud made to slip his hand out of Zack’s, but not before he felt a small squeeze be given to him. Hands dropped away and Cloud withdrew from holding Zack, and looked at Aerith. “Thanks,” he murmured.

“Cloud here is really amazing. He knows where he’s going. Makes it real easy to follow along. I don’t know what it was before but I was struggling,” Zack enthused.

If Cloud wasn’t blushing before he definitely could feel his neck and cheeks heating up now.

“Sometimes all it takes is the right partner. But I’ll be seeing both you back here next week with your actual dancing partners, right?”

“You betcha. Yuffie should be all better by then.”

Cloud nodded. He would kick — verbally kick — Tifa’s butt if she bailed on him again.

“Fantastic. Again, wonderful work you two. Zack, you really did do a lot better.” Hands went to hips, chest puffed a little. “Thanks. I had an awesome partner.”

Aerith smiled at both of them, seemed to catch sight of something behind them and excused herself, going over to talk to another couple. “Is she okay?” Cloud asked.

“Huh? Who?”

“Your sister.”

“Oh! Yeah, she’s just got a cold. She could have come out today, to be honest with you. But I didn’t want to get her snot all over me.” Zack chuckled and the smile mellowed but wasn’t any less present. “I’m really glad I had you as my partner today.”

It became hard to swallow for a moment. Cloud felt very uncomfortable. “I’ll see you next week.” “Sure. Don’t work too hard.”

They waved at each other. Cloud briefly watched Zack turn to the back of the hall before he headed towards the stairs. He could still feel warm, calloused hand on his own, and a soft pressure on his shoulder, if he really thought about it. Making short work of crossing the studio floor and reaching the top of the stairs, Cloud cast another glance back to Zack, who was pulling on a dark jacket and laughing about something with Aerith. The sight of the other man-made Cloud smile and something bubbled out, making him chuckle quietly.

Suddenly eyes were on him from across the room. Zack’s big, toothy smile spread, mouth opened up and voice boomed, “Have a great weekend, Cloud! See you next week! Hope your head’s okay!” Zack waved wildly.

Cloud waved back and descended the stairs. His smile came back out with a little more force once he was out amongst the summer air. He looked around the empty road before himself and gave his hand a little squeeze. Maybe having some time off wasn’t such a terrible thing after all. And maybe… just maybe, Tifa had done him a favor by getting him to come out to do this dancing thing. But he would never tell her.