FF7: Unexpected Side-Effects Part XII
Title: Unexpected Side-Effects: Part XII
Fandom: FF7
Pairings: Zack/Aeris, Sephiroth/Cloud/Zack
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: besides the tentacles?
A/N: Looked over by artimusdin with much gratitude on my part. All mistakes are still mine.
Summary: In which Cloud gets fed up, Zack thinks he’s smooth, Vincent is not a mama chocobo, and Sephiroth’s chocobo gets more than he does.
Previous Parts
Part XII
It smelled appetizing.
It looked appetizing.
It gave under his fork but didn’t threaten to bite back…
Cloud finished studying his food and raised an eyebrow at Zack. Zack simply grinned back.
Only Zack would get take-out and eat it in the cafeteria.
“You’re supposed to eat it,” Zack pointed out, raising his voice to be heard over the new wave of chattering cadets. Cloud looked away from his plate to look at them. He wondered how many only had that energy because they knew they were heading toward coffee. It couldn’t be the cafeteria food that roused them.
He looked down again when Zack scooted Cloud’s plate closer to him. Zack’s breakfast was long gone, but between his sore back from sleeping on Sephiroth’s couch all night and his continued nausea, Cloud couldn’t find the drive to eat.
“I know it’s not what you’re used to,” Zack commented, looking around. One cadet visibly flinched away from his scrambled eggs. “But I think you’ll like it, anyway.”
Cloud looked away from his food to study the cadet’s scrambled eggs. He couldn’t tell if those were bits of eggshell or teeth. Cloud shuddered and turned back to his food. That didn’t help his appetite at all.
He glanced back at Zack; the other man’s lips moved like he was testing some words. Zack snapped his mouth shut when Cloud glared. One more word about the doctor and Zack would be the one eating those scrambled eggs.
As if sensing Cloud’s thoughts, Zack grabbed Cloud’s spoon and pulled it out of his reach. He prodded Cloud’s cooling bacon with it.
“We never had bacon back home,” Zack commented, voice a little wistful. “Lots of frog legs, though.”
Grabbing his fork to defend his bacon, Cloud glanced curiously at Zack. When was the last time he had heard Zack mention Gongaga? “Really?”
Zack quickly pulled Cloud’s bacon toward him. Cloud defiantly stabbed it. His plastic fork gave first. “Yeah. Had to watch which ones you ate, but there were plenty to eat. Part of the reason I split from Gongaga was to get away from the damned things.”
Zack nudged at Cloud’s bacon again. Cloud scooped it up with his fork and bit down hard on it. Undeterred by this minor defeat, Zack reached for Cloud’s biscuit, spoon scraping the button on top.
“When ShinRa came, we got more variety, as well as better technology,” Zack continued, putting a “Z” design on Cloud’s biscuit. “We still had frog legs, but at least we had the running water to better wash them off, not to mention us.”
Cloud snatched the biscuit away from Zack. It already had a “Za” written in the butter. He pointedly bit that part off. Then he smacked the hand that was reaching for his juice.
“I actually like the streams,” Cloud said, pulling his juice closer. It was orange juice, even. “They were nice and cool, and no one else wanted to come near them.”
Zack paused, spoon still in the air. Warm butter slid off to plop on the table. It camouflaged perfectly with the other stains. “Because of the wolves?” he inquired, voice even.
Taking a second to lick some butter off his bottom lip, Cloud nodded. It was nothing compared to the butter from home, but it was better than what he usually ate in the cafeteria. “Yeah.” He eyed Zack oddly. “And what is it with you and the wolves?”
Zack shook his head, lips quirked. “Nothing.” His left hand edged toward Cloud’s juice; Cloud smacked it again.
“Some of the older men especially smelled.” Cloud wrinkled his nose. “I think the running water was one of the few things my mama liked about ShinRa.”
Too bad she often forgot they were even there. Cloud shook his head. Even with the technology in the town booming as he grew older, the Strifes more often than not relied on the old methods. Ulfhilde kept forgetting they had the newer options.
Or maybe she did it on purpose. He never knew for sure with her.
While Cloud defended his juice, Zack reached with his other hand for the uneaten half of the biscuit. Cloud began nibbling on it.
“Soap was a great invention,” Zack said with a small laugh. “I think that was one of the main reasons everyone welcomed ShinRa into their towns.”
“No more making it by hand,” Cloud agreed, finishing off the biscuit with one bite.
“No more destroying aluminum spoons,” Zack added. Cloud idly smacked his hand from his juice again.
“What’s this about destroying spoons?” a familiar voice asked idly. Cloud tensed. He hadn’t even heard him come up.
Zack’s smile didn’t falter. The shine of his eyes grew brighter, though. “Soap,” he told Reno cheerfully, not even flinching when the Turk sat at the small table across from him. Cloud had to release his juice so he didn’t suddenly smash it. Zack took that as an invitation to try to steal it again. Cloud had to look away from Reno’s smiling face to defend it. “I thought Mom was going to kill Dad after that.”
Cloud thought of his mother making soap, explaining the process to him like he hadn’t done it before himself…explaining it to a lover who had been dead for years. He didn’t say that, though.
Zack sighed dramatically. Reno looked back and forth between them, bemused. “And he tried using her cooking herbs for scent.”
Cloud sighed, shoulders drooping. Not looking up, he smacked Zack’s hand away from his juice again. “Let me guess: tastes great but doesn’t actually do anything?”
“Except waste her herbs and attract bugs,” Zack agreed. “And he was using her good wooden spoon to stir it.”
Even as Zack smiled, Cloud saw him still eying his juice. Cloud opened it and put it to his lips. “What happened after that?”
Zack laughed, violet eyes unwavering on Cloud’s juice. Cloud pointedly drank it. “It took him two weeks to go to the next town and buy new spoons and stuff. Then another two weeks because he bought the wrong stuff.”
Cloud tried not to laugh. At least if he laughed up the juice, Zack still wouldn’t get it.
Reno raised an eyebrow. “Are you talking about making soap?”
Cloud finished his juice. Very nice, no pulp. One thing he and his mother never agreed on. He busied himself with that, looking at his mostly empty tray. When had that happened? Apparently Zack’s hands were busier than he thought.
Even now, Zack’s spoon edged toward Cloud’s eggs. “And the joy of showers.”
Cloud’s fork interrupted the spoon. “I like the streams, but they made things easier in the winter,” he admitted. His fork cut off Zack’s spoon again. Zack’s spoon slinked back. Cloud prodded his eggs, as if making sure they weren’t going to run off after the spoon.
When he looked up, Reno was staring at the pair in a way that was eerily reminiscent of Hojo’s when he found a new specimen. The last time Cloud had met him, Hojo had looked at Cloud like that.
In fact, that might have been his dying expression.
“Okay,” Reno said slowly, standing back up. His bright eyes drifted to Cloud’s face. “I’ll leave you two to that.”
Reno smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. Cloud glanced at Zack, who smiled an identical smile at Reno.
“Sure you don’t want to stay?” Zack asked. “We haven’t even mentioned toilets yet. Man, I remember --”
“Later,” Reno interrupted. He flapped his hand over his shoulder like he was waving, and then the redhead vanished into the mass of soldiers.
Cloud watched him leave out of the corner of his eye. “Friend of yours?” The egg was already on his fork, so he absently bit it off.
“Working relationship,” Zack corrected. His spoon tapped beside Cloud’s eggs. He looked like he was smiling at Cloud, but his violet eyes focused beyond him. “Hard for outsiders to be friends with Turks.”
Cloud looked up sharply at Zack’s tone, but the other man was still smiling.
Resting his spoon on Cloud’s plate, Zack stood up. He stretched his arms over his head and cracked his knuckles. Cloud winced at the loud pops. “Well, I’m going to go check on Seph. Why don’t you go back to your quarters. You’re still a little feverish.”
No hint of a question colored Zack’s words. Cloud scowled, but Zack didn’t give him time to answer.
“Oh, and Cloud? Lock your door.”
When Reno walked away, he vanished into the crowd. When Zack left, the crowd quickly parted around him. Cloud clutched his fork and watched him go. He only waited a second before pushing away from the table, too. He left a bite of his eggs behind.
It was happening just like Cloud thought it would. He shook his head a little as he walked, trying to knock the thoughts away, but they wouldn’t leave him alone.
Cloud knew he was being ridiculous, especially since Zack had just spent the morning talking to him about soap of all things…except that little voice in the back of his mind had been whispering how this was all temporary since Nibelheim.
Lost in thought, Cloud touched his lips. They felt dry and chapped under his fingers.
The shadows flickered in his doorway. Cloud moved before he even knew what he was doing. A moment later, the world was spinning, his nausea back with a vengeance, and Reno was backing away from Cloud’s door, Cloud’s knife to his throat.
“Easy, killer,” Reno started, but Cloud cut him off.
“What are you doing here? And why are you at my door?”
The small enclave had almost hidden the slender Turk. Was he trying to jump Cloud? No, then Cloud would be down already. Cloud glared at him. Trying to mess him with him then? Like he had at the stables?
Except Turks never just messed with people.
Reno held up his hands like he had in the stables. This time, though, there was no Vali at Cloud’s back. “I was just passing on a message, that’s all. No need to ruffle your feathers.”
Cloud narrowed his eyes into slits. Reno shrugged one shoulder. “It’s the hair. And the eyes, but mostly the hair.”
Cloud’s fingers twitched on the hilt. The blade slid over Reno’s throat. Reno took a step back, hands steady in the air. “Think you could put that down now?” he inquired. “it’s hard to pass on a message with a hole in your throat.”
Point made, Cloud lowered his knife but didn’t put it away. Reno didn’t comment; he simply put his hands down.
“You’d be wasted on SOLDIER, ya know,” Reno commented casually, leaning against the wall. He shoved his hands in his pockets and crossed one foot over the other. “If SOLDIER even exists now.”
Cloud clenched his knife, wishing it was his sword. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Another one-shoulder shrug. “Just sayin’. Did you really think it through? You’re talented and shit, sure, but you really want that spotlight? That’s the point of SOLDIER, y’know. Show of force.”
Cloud took a step back before he knew what he was doing. Reno grinned lazily.
“And then there’s the problem of who’s runnin’ the SOLDIER program, since you killed the head honcho and all. Might make things a little hard. Maybe something a little quieter is more up your alley, ya know?”
“Was that the message?” Cloud snapped. His head spun. Reno kept grinning.
“Nah. Just that you might want to keep your chocobo under wraps. It‘s a little familiar, if ya know what I mean.” Reno winked and slid away from the wall. “The rest was just friendly advice.” Another lazy grin, like a sleeping dragon’s, over Reno’s shoulder. “Later.”
When Cloud finally let himself into his room, he locked the door behind him.
xoxoxox
Cloud didn’t remember falling asleep. One minute he was cleaning his blade and the next Vincent was whispering “Cloud” in his ear. He jerked awake, almost cracking his head on his headboard. Vincent’s human hand behind his head stopped him.
“Hi, Vincent,” Cloud greeted drolly, shaking his head. He still felt half-asleep, the world blurry and unformed around him.
Vincent pulled away and stood, his cape swishing around him. Cloud blinked at him. He noticed his sword propped against the wall behind Vincent, his cleaning kit neatly put away and sitting on his nightstand.
“You have attracted the Turks’ attention,” Vincent said, the most mild rebuke tingeing his words.
“I figured that one out myself.” Cloud stretched and heard/felt something in his back crack. “I should be okay if I can just keep my head down.”
He didn’t really believe that, and judging by Vincent’s arched eyebrow, neither did he.
“They’ve tried pulling your records,” Vincent continued, brushing past Cloud’s words. “Most of it is highly classified. Most of it was classified before your return to Midgar.”
Cloud sat up straight on the bed. A distant part of his mind noted how often the pair conversed in his bedroom. “What does that mean?”
Vincent stared steadily at him. “You were chosen purposefully for the Nibelheim mission. I’m still investigating.”
Cursing, Cloud swung his legs off the bed. They felt heavy and lax; apparently, his unplanned nap hadn’t helped as much as he would have liked. “Any news on the missing scientists?”
“No,” Vincent said quietly. “Tell the SOLDIER that locked doors mean nothing to a Turk.”
Cloud didn’t watch him walk away; his blue eyes focused on his sword.
He was chosen purposefully. They were never meant to leave Nibelheim intact.
Cloud stood and grabbed his sword. When he left his room this time, he was far more armed than just a knife.
Neither Zack nor Sephiroth were in Sephiroth’s office; nor were they in Zack’s quarters. Cloud restlessly prowled through the halls, paranoia whispering int eh back of his mind. His feet finally led him to the gym. He only hesitated a moment before pushing his way inside.
The mat-littered room stood empty, the bright florescent lights shining off the scattered weights. Cloud glanced at the black and white clock on the far wall. Most of the lower enlisted were probably in either classes or post-lunch drills. Were the higher-ups with Sephiroth and Zack?
Cloud shoved those thoughts from his mind. He would worry about it later. It had been too long since he practiced. If h wanted to be a SOLDIER (if his chances hadn’t died with Hojo), he needed practice.
He began sweating at the very beginning of his katas. Cloud gritted his teeth and swung his sword through the air, thinking of Zack’s effortless motions with his Buster Sword.
There was too much happening. He felt like he was drowning in plots and conspiracies and knowing looks. Everyone was scheming and whispering around him and he was tired of it.
Gritting his teeth, he swung the blade toward the mat --
And struck a new blade.
Cloud jumped backward and defensively held his sword in front of him. Glowing eyes glared at him.
A SOLDIER, but not one Cloud had met before, not even from before Nibelheim when Zack would drag him around. Tall and dark with bright green eyes, the SOLDIER paced back and forth in front of Cloud, never looking away from his face. Cloud stared back, feeling sweat trickle down his spine.
“I guess being called Sephiroth’s Shadow has gone to your head,” the stranger mocked. “Not even a respectful ‘Sir’?”
Cloud narrowed his eyes, lips tight. Once upon a time, it would have been an automatic reaction when seeing those glowing eyes. He wasn’t sure what had changed. He only knew this asshole had struck first.
And after this he really, really needed to pin Zack down and have him explain some things.
“What?” the SOLDIER mocked. “Nothing to say? Or just not so brave without the General and colonel behind you?”
“Or maybe you’re just this brave without them behind me?” Cloud snapped before he could stop himself. As the man bristled, Cloud found himself wondering if he had a certain red-eyed someone behind him now.
For this asshole’s sake, he hoped not.
The SOLDIER sliced his blade through the air. It whistled in front of Cloud. Cloud didn’t blink. “C’mon then. Show me what you got.”
Cloud didn’t move; he just watched the SOLDIER. As tall and broad as the Buster Sword in his hands, the SOLDIER could easily kill him. With those muscles bulging in his black uniform, the man had undoubtedly been strong before the chemical enhancements of SOLDIER.
But he was also wielding a Buster Sword three times larger than Zack’s, a show of force if Cloud had ever seen one. It reminded Cloud of when the dragons in the mountains would extend their wings and roar, making themselves bigger and tougher than they really were. A SOLDIER who had an ounce of cunning and skill wouldn’t need something like that.
And he already showed he wasn’t expecting much from Cloud. Cloud relaxed, feeling the perfect balance of his blade. Even if he couldn’t win, he could shut this guy up.
Another swish of the SOLDIER’s blade. Cloud held steady. “Well?” the man taunted. “You worked so hard for that sword. Aren’t you going to show me you know how to use it?”
Filth lined every word; Cloud still didn’t blink. The bullies in Nibelheim said worse about Cloud and his mother.
Another thing had taught him about bullies: “If anyone knows about using swords, it would be you. Sir.”
Taunting was a great weapon. Especially against someone who wasn’t used to being taunted back.
“Little shit!” The blade swung but the movement was exaggerated, telegraphed long before the sword even moved. Cloud dodged with ease, even if the lights flickered for a moment before his eyes. He practiced with Zack. Zack never telegraphed.
The SOLDIER flushed. Cloud stood still again, letting the world settle around him. Okay: too much dodging was bad. Next step then. “If your aim’s always that bad, it’s no wonder you haven’t made First yet.”
The flush slid down that thick neck. Most bullies were rarely bullied back. SOLDIERs? Never mocked back.
Cloud felt too hot, sweat making his uniform cling. Quick, quick. “Or is it make Second like that? I hope your catching’s better.”
No yell this time, just an attack, but Cloud saw it coming long ago. Cloud barely had to duck -- most SOLDIERs weren’t used to opponents of his height -- and then he was pressed against the SOLDIER’s chest, sword against his throat. The SOLDIER froze; Cloud felt him shake.
“Don’t,” Cloud heard, as if the words were coming from someone else’s mouth, “fuck with me today.”
Point made, Cloud stepped back. The SOLDIER just stared at him, green eyes wide. Cloud couldn’t hold his gaze, feeling drained and too damned hot. When he fell to his knees, he stubbornly held his sword the whole way down.
“Cloud!” Then Zack was at his side, strong arm behind Cloud’s back. The blond smiled tiredly at him. He should have known his friend wasn’t too far away. “What are you doing here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you? Didn’t I tell you to stay in bed?”
Cloud wanted to rest his head on Zack’s shoulder, but he was too aware of the SOLDIER in front of them. “You never said ‘stay.’”
Zack growled. “It was implied.” As if noticing the other SOLDIER for the first time, Zack looked up and stared at him. “Miroslaw! What are you doing here? Your comrades are still debriefing.”
Miroslaw flushed and took a step back. All the fight had fled him. Now he looked back and forth between Cloud and Zack, hand clenching convulsively on the hilt of his sword. “Sir!” His free hand jerked like he was thinking of saluting, froze at his side, and then Miroslaw nodded sharply. “I’ll rejoin them in the bay, Sir!”
Cloud thought he felt Miroslaw’s eyes on him the entire way out of the room but was too tired to care. Now that Zack brought it up, his bed did sound good…
No. Cloud quickly shook his head, ignoring the way it made the room spin. “What’s going on, Zack?” he snapped. “Why does everyone keep calling me Sephiroth’s Shadow? Why does Reno keep bothering me? What is going on with you and Sephiroth?”
There were more questions raging in Cloud’s chest, but he was out of breath. Even when he caught his breath again, though, Zack’s pained grimace kept him from continuing.
“Shit, Cloud.” Zack’s free hand rested over Cloud’s on his sword. Cloud felt Zack’s breath against his ear. “I thought you knew.”
Knew what? He kept quiet, though. Zack’s hand felt cool over his overheated one.
Zack pressed against him like this made Cloud think of Sephiroth’s kiss and Zack and Sephiroth in the field and the noises they made and no, that wasn’t what he was thinking of right now. Focus!
“Sephiroth’s Shadow was what they started calling me after I started following him around.” More warm breath against his ear; a golden strand of hair fluttered against Cloud’s cheek. “I had to watch after him, you know? I mean, he had no one.” Zack laughed faintly. “If Aeris could have, she would have started trailing after him like a mama chocobo, but she couldn’t, so I took care of him.”
Aeris. Cloud shivered a little. Did she know? About Zack and Sephiroth? Cloud couldn’t see her not knowing. From what he had seen so far, she probably approved.
The arm around Cloud’s back began to move; Zack’s other hand rubbed against Cloud’s far arm. “You’re burning up. Let’s --”
Cloud settled more firmly on the mat. “Finish explaining,” he ground out. If they tried to move from here, Cloud would never hear the end of it. The wolves would probably start directly attacking Midgar or a giant rock would fall from the sky or something.
Zack laughed quietly again. It sounded too soft coming from him. “Okay, okay. So they started calling me that because I was always a step behind him, and I figured you would, too. I think you earned the title when you dragged him and his tentacles up the mountain rather than let Hojo and his goons get him.”
Cloud huffed, feeling more heat rising in his cheeks. He had a feeling there was more to it, but that was good enough for now.
“And I think the Turks have their eye on you.” Cloud involuntarily snorted; Zack squeezed him close. “You took out Hojo in front of them, somehow survived the trip back to Midgar, took out a couple of their goons…just to name a few. You’re pretty dangerous now; imagine after some specialized training.
“And as for the last bit…” Zack trailed off. Cloud turned his head to look curiously at him. Zack’s face was closer than he thought. “I went to Seph first, you know. I loved him and Aeris both, and Aeris said if I didn’t do something she was going to kick my ass.” Zack smiled at Cloud, warm and fond. “He’s still shy about it, but I think me getting tentacles too helped. I really never thought he would have the guts to make a move on you.”
Cloud paled and tried to move back. Zack tightened his grip.
“He’s still pretty flustered about that,” Zack continued casually, arm like a steel band behind Cloud’s back. “We talked earlier about it, though, and if you’re open to it…”
Zack leaned closer. Cloud didn’t move.
The kiss was as chaste as the one with Sephiroth. Cloud closed his eyes.
This felt right.
And Zack tasted like coffee.
Something metallic clicked loudly above them. Zack froze, mouth still against Cloud’s. “Back away,” Vincent growled. “Now.”
Oh, by Hel.
The ripping of pants and the sight of tentacles flying didn’t surprise Cloud in the slightest. He sighed wearily as Zack pulled away.
“It’s fine, Vincent,” he said. The light that shone off the weights didn’t reflect the slightest on Vincent’s gun. “Don’t shoot anyone, please.”
Zack glared at Vincent, long tentacles writhing. Gun steady, Vincent stared back at him.
“You’re sick and exhausted, and he was taking advantage,” Vincent said flatly.
Cloud had had dreams that were less humiliating than this, even the naked ones. He spoke quickly before Zack began looking too guilty. “Did I really, really look like I was protesting?” Then a thought occurred to Cloud, and he looked sharply at Zack. “You and Sephiroth were talking about kissing me?”
Zack grinned sheepishly, one eye still on Vincent’s gun. “…yes?”
Cloud thought about that for a moment and then flushed with embarrassment and arousal. One thing about being sixteen: even being sick and exhausted couldn’t keep him from getting turned on after hearing that. “Oh,” he murmured. He cleared his throat. Would continue that train of thought when Vincent didn’t have his gun aimed at Zack’s head. “Did you find out anything, Vincent?”
Shooting Zack a dark look, Vincent lowered his weapon. Zack relaxed a little, shoulders slumping, but his tentacles didn’t stop twitching. Cloud couldn’t blame him even if they were incredibly distracting.
“I’m still researching,” Vincent said curtly. He didn’t look away from Zack; Zack stared suspiciously back. Cloud sighed, exhausted.
“Okay. I’ll meet with you later, okay?” The gym spun a little when Cloud stood, but he didn’t let that slow him down.
It was ironic how the room was less tense when it had been just Cloud and Miroslaw.
Cloud bypassed the shower for now even though he could feel his sweat drying on his skin. He kept his head low as he ducked past other troopers. Before all of this, he would have been drilling with them, learning alongside them. Never before had he wished to be doing normal, everyday push-ups.
The scent of the stables brought a small smile to his face. Most of the chocobos perked up their heads as he walked by, a sea of yellow with the occasional blue and green peeking at him. Cloud smiled at their chirps and kwehs. Since the stablehands tucked Vali on the far side, farthest from the inner entrance and closest to the outer exit, he had to walk past all of them.
“Don’t worry, guys,” he called dryly. “I’ll be back to muck your stalls soon enough.”
Kwehs answered.
So did a voice. “Cloud?”
Cloud started and unconsciously hurried his steps. “Sephiroth?”
Looking as tired as Cloud felt, the General nonetheless smiled a little at Cloud as the blond stepped to his side. He looked as appropriate in the shadows the stable as Cloud’s warbird did: it disconcerted Cloud a little.
“Hello,” Sephiroth greeted with a nod, eyes dark before he turned back to the corner of the stables. “I believe Astridr has attracted your chocobo’s attention.”
Cloud followed his gaze and winced. Free from his pen -- and Cloud didn’t want to know how -- Vali had sidled up to the pen that held Sephiroth’s black hen. Astridr preened her right wing, back to Vali, but that meant little when the large black could have ripped Vali’s eyes out with her sharp beak for his presumption. As if he knew that, Vali kept up a stream of low chirping that almost sounded like a purr.
Cloud disbelievingly shook his head. A comment about brash males simmered on his tongue, but he bit it back. He silently stood beside Sephiroth, letting the sounds of the chocobos fill the air.
“Has Zack talked to you then?” Sephiroth inquired presently. Before them, Vali fluffed his crest. Astridr switched to her other wing.
Cloud’s lips twisted in a wary smile. He hoped it had been all right to leave those two alone in the gym. “Yeah.”
Sephiroth shifted beside him. Their arms brushed. “And is this arrangement…agreeable?”
Slowly extending his wings, Vali looked like he was stretching. Astridr slanted a look at him. Cloud watched. “Is it okay for you?”
Silence fell again. Cloud thought of them in the lab, of himself in the shower in Nibelheim, of the pair in the field. He thought of all three of them at the stream in the mountains and Zack laughing.
Cloud had to bite the inside of his cheek.
“…when the scientists’ location is discovered,” Sephiroth said slowly, “we should talk.”
Cloud bit harder. The wary hope in Sephiroth’s voice sounded too familiar. He leaned to the side, letting his arm brush against Sephiroth’s again. He felt the tension ease from Sephiroth’s body.
Together, they quietly watched Vali’s flirtations.
Next Part
Fandom: FF7
Pairings: Zack/Aeris, Sephiroth/Cloud/Zack
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: besides the tentacles?
A/N: Looked over by artimusdin with much gratitude on my part. All mistakes are still mine.
Summary: In which Cloud gets fed up, Zack thinks he’s smooth, Vincent is not a mama chocobo, and Sephiroth’s chocobo gets more than he does.
Previous Parts
Part XII
It smelled appetizing.
It looked appetizing.
It gave under his fork but didn’t threaten to bite back…
Cloud finished studying his food and raised an eyebrow at Zack. Zack simply grinned back.
Only Zack would get take-out and eat it in the cafeteria.
“You’re supposed to eat it,” Zack pointed out, raising his voice to be heard over the new wave of chattering cadets. Cloud looked away from his plate to look at them. He wondered how many only had that energy because they knew they were heading toward coffee. It couldn’t be the cafeteria food that roused them.
He looked down again when Zack scooted Cloud’s plate closer to him. Zack’s breakfast was long gone, but between his sore back from sleeping on Sephiroth’s couch all night and his continued nausea, Cloud couldn’t find the drive to eat.
“I know it’s not what you’re used to,” Zack commented, looking around. One cadet visibly flinched away from his scrambled eggs. “But I think you’ll like it, anyway.”
Cloud looked away from his food to study the cadet’s scrambled eggs. He couldn’t tell if those were bits of eggshell or teeth. Cloud shuddered and turned back to his food. That didn’t help his appetite at all.
He glanced back at Zack; the other man’s lips moved like he was testing some words. Zack snapped his mouth shut when Cloud glared. One more word about the doctor and Zack would be the one eating those scrambled eggs.
As if sensing Cloud’s thoughts, Zack grabbed Cloud’s spoon and pulled it out of his reach. He prodded Cloud’s cooling bacon with it.
“We never had bacon back home,” Zack commented, voice a little wistful. “Lots of frog legs, though.”
Grabbing his fork to defend his bacon, Cloud glanced curiously at Zack. When was the last time he had heard Zack mention Gongaga? “Really?”
Zack quickly pulled Cloud’s bacon toward him. Cloud defiantly stabbed it. His plastic fork gave first. “Yeah. Had to watch which ones you ate, but there were plenty to eat. Part of the reason I split from Gongaga was to get away from the damned things.”
Zack nudged at Cloud’s bacon again. Cloud scooped it up with his fork and bit down hard on it. Undeterred by this minor defeat, Zack reached for Cloud’s biscuit, spoon scraping the button on top.
“When ShinRa came, we got more variety, as well as better technology,” Zack continued, putting a “Z” design on Cloud’s biscuit. “We still had frog legs, but at least we had the running water to better wash them off, not to mention us.”
Cloud snatched the biscuit away from Zack. It already had a “Za” written in the butter. He pointedly bit that part off. Then he smacked the hand that was reaching for his juice.
“I actually like the streams,” Cloud said, pulling his juice closer. It was orange juice, even. “They were nice and cool, and no one else wanted to come near them.”
Zack paused, spoon still in the air. Warm butter slid off to plop on the table. It camouflaged perfectly with the other stains. “Because of the wolves?” he inquired, voice even.
Taking a second to lick some butter off his bottom lip, Cloud nodded. It was nothing compared to the butter from home, but it was better than what he usually ate in the cafeteria. “Yeah.” He eyed Zack oddly. “And what is it with you and the wolves?”
Zack shook his head, lips quirked. “Nothing.” His left hand edged toward Cloud’s juice; Cloud smacked it again.
“Some of the older men especially smelled.” Cloud wrinkled his nose. “I think the running water was one of the few things my mama liked about ShinRa.”
Too bad she often forgot they were even there. Cloud shook his head. Even with the technology in the town booming as he grew older, the Strifes more often than not relied on the old methods. Ulfhilde kept forgetting they had the newer options.
Or maybe she did it on purpose. He never knew for sure with her.
While Cloud defended his juice, Zack reached with his other hand for the uneaten half of the biscuit. Cloud began nibbling on it.
“Soap was a great invention,” Zack said with a small laugh. “I think that was one of the main reasons everyone welcomed ShinRa into their towns.”
“No more making it by hand,” Cloud agreed, finishing off the biscuit with one bite.
“No more destroying aluminum spoons,” Zack added. Cloud idly smacked his hand from his juice again.
“What’s this about destroying spoons?” a familiar voice asked idly. Cloud tensed. He hadn’t even heard him come up.
Zack’s smile didn’t falter. The shine of his eyes grew brighter, though. “Soap,” he told Reno cheerfully, not even flinching when the Turk sat at the small table across from him. Cloud had to release his juice so he didn’t suddenly smash it. Zack took that as an invitation to try to steal it again. Cloud had to look away from Reno’s smiling face to defend it. “I thought Mom was going to kill Dad after that.”
Cloud thought of his mother making soap, explaining the process to him like he hadn’t done it before himself…explaining it to a lover who had been dead for years. He didn’t say that, though.
Zack sighed dramatically. Reno looked back and forth between them, bemused. “And he tried using her cooking herbs for scent.”
Cloud sighed, shoulders drooping. Not looking up, he smacked Zack’s hand away from his juice again. “Let me guess: tastes great but doesn’t actually do anything?”
“Except waste her herbs and attract bugs,” Zack agreed. “And he was using her good wooden spoon to stir it.”
Even as Zack smiled, Cloud saw him still eying his juice. Cloud opened it and put it to his lips. “What happened after that?”
Zack laughed, violet eyes unwavering on Cloud’s juice. Cloud pointedly drank it. “It took him two weeks to go to the next town and buy new spoons and stuff. Then another two weeks because he bought the wrong stuff.”
Cloud tried not to laugh. At least if he laughed up the juice, Zack still wouldn’t get it.
Reno raised an eyebrow. “Are you talking about making soap?”
Cloud finished his juice. Very nice, no pulp. One thing he and his mother never agreed on. He busied himself with that, looking at his mostly empty tray. When had that happened? Apparently Zack’s hands were busier than he thought.
Even now, Zack’s spoon edged toward Cloud’s eggs. “And the joy of showers.”
Cloud’s fork interrupted the spoon. “I like the streams, but they made things easier in the winter,” he admitted. His fork cut off Zack’s spoon again. Zack’s spoon slinked back. Cloud prodded his eggs, as if making sure they weren’t going to run off after the spoon.
When he looked up, Reno was staring at the pair in a way that was eerily reminiscent of Hojo’s when he found a new specimen. The last time Cloud had met him, Hojo had looked at Cloud like that.
In fact, that might have been his dying expression.
“Okay,” Reno said slowly, standing back up. His bright eyes drifted to Cloud’s face. “I’ll leave you two to that.”
Reno smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. Cloud glanced at Zack, who smiled an identical smile at Reno.
“Sure you don’t want to stay?” Zack asked. “We haven’t even mentioned toilets yet. Man, I remember --”
“Later,” Reno interrupted. He flapped his hand over his shoulder like he was waving, and then the redhead vanished into the mass of soldiers.
Cloud watched him leave out of the corner of his eye. “Friend of yours?” The egg was already on his fork, so he absently bit it off.
“Working relationship,” Zack corrected. His spoon tapped beside Cloud’s eggs. He looked like he was smiling at Cloud, but his violet eyes focused beyond him. “Hard for outsiders to be friends with Turks.”
Cloud looked up sharply at Zack’s tone, but the other man was still smiling.
Resting his spoon on Cloud’s plate, Zack stood up. He stretched his arms over his head and cracked his knuckles. Cloud winced at the loud pops. “Well, I’m going to go check on Seph. Why don’t you go back to your quarters. You’re still a little feverish.”
No hint of a question colored Zack’s words. Cloud scowled, but Zack didn’t give him time to answer.
“Oh, and Cloud? Lock your door.”
When Reno walked away, he vanished into the crowd. When Zack left, the crowd quickly parted around him. Cloud clutched his fork and watched him go. He only waited a second before pushing away from the table, too. He left a bite of his eggs behind.
It was happening just like Cloud thought it would. He shook his head a little as he walked, trying to knock the thoughts away, but they wouldn’t leave him alone.
Cloud knew he was being ridiculous, especially since Zack had just spent the morning talking to him about soap of all things…except that little voice in the back of his mind had been whispering how this was all temporary since Nibelheim.
Lost in thought, Cloud touched his lips. They felt dry and chapped under his fingers.
The shadows flickered in his doorway. Cloud moved before he even knew what he was doing. A moment later, the world was spinning, his nausea back with a vengeance, and Reno was backing away from Cloud’s door, Cloud’s knife to his throat.
“Easy, killer,” Reno started, but Cloud cut him off.
“What are you doing here? And why are you at my door?”
The small enclave had almost hidden the slender Turk. Was he trying to jump Cloud? No, then Cloud would be down already. Cloud glared at him. Trying to mess him with him then? Like he had at the stables?
Except Turks never just messed with people.
Reno held up his hands like he had in the stables. This time, though, there was no Vali at Cloud’s back. “I was just passing on a message, that’s all. No need to ruffle your feathers.”
Cloud narrowed his eyes into slits. Reno shrugged one shoulder. “It’s the hair. And the eyes, but mostly the hair.”
Cloud’s fingers twitched on the hilt. The blade slid over Reno’s throat. Reno took a step back, hands steady in the air. “Think you could put that down now?” he inquired. “it’s hard to pass on a message with a hole in your throat.”
Point made, Cloud lowered his knife but didn’t put it away. Reno didn’t comment; he simply put his hands down.
“You’d be wasted on SOLDIER, ya know,” Reno commented casually, leaning against the wall. He shoved his hands in his pockets and crossed one foot over the other. “If SOLDIER even exists now.”
Cloud clenched his knife, wishing it was his sword. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Another one-shoulder shrug. “Just sayin’. Did you really think it through? You’re talented and shit, sure, but you really want that spotlight? That’s the point of SOLDIER, y’know. Show of force.”
Cloud took a step back before he knew what he was doing. Reno grinned lazily.
“And then there’s the problem of who’s runnin’ the SOLDIER program, since you killed the head honcho and all. Might make things a little hard. Maybe something a little quieter is more up your alley, ya know?”
“Was that the message?” Cloud snapped. His head spun. Reno kept grinning.
“Nah. Just that you might want to keep your chocobo under wraps. It‘s a little familiar, if ya know what I mean.” Reno winked and slid away from the wall. “The rest was just friendly advice.” Another lazy grin, like a sleeping dragon’s, over Reno’s shoulder. “Later.”
When Cloud finally let himself into his room, he locked the door behind him.
xoxoxox
Cloud didn’t remember falling asleep. One minute he was cleaning his blade and the next Vincent was whispering “Cloud” in his ear. He jerked awake, almost cracking his head on his headboard. Vincent’s human hand behind his head stopped him.
“Hi, Vincent,” Cloud greeted drolly, shaking his head. He still felt half-asleep, the world blurry and unformed around him.
Vincent pulled away and stood, his cape swishing around him. Cloud blinked at him. He noticed his sword propped against the wall behind Vincent, his cleaning kit neatly put away and sitting on his nightstand.
“You have attracted the Turks’ attention,” Vincent said, the most mild rebuke tingeing his words.
“I figured that one out myself.” Cloud stretched and heard/felt something in his back crack. “I should be okay if I can just keep my head down.”
He didn’t really believe that, and judging by Vincent’s arched eyebrow, neither did he.
“They’ve tried pulling your records,” Vincent continued, brushing past Cloud’s words. “Most of it is highly classified. Most of it was classified before your return to Midgar.”
Cloud sat up straight on the bed. A distant part of his mind noted how often the pair conversed in his bedroom. “What does that mean?”
Vincent stared steadily at him. “You were chosen purposefully for the Nibelheim mission. I’m still investigating.”
Cursing, Cloud swung his legs off the bed. They felt heavy and lax; apparently, his unplanned nap hadn’t helped as much as he would have liked. “Any news on the missing scientists?”
“No,” Vincent said quietly. “Tell the SOLDIER that locked doors mean nothing to a Turk.”
Cloud didn’t watch him walk away; his blue eyes focused on his sword.
He was chosen purposefully. They were never meant to leave Nibelheim intact.
Cloud stood and grabbed his sword. When he left his room this time, he was far more armed than just a knife.
Neither Zack nor Sephiroth were in Sephiroth’s office; nor were they in Zack’s quarters. Cloud restlessly prowled through the halls, paranoia whispering int eh back of his mind. His feet finally led him to the gym. He only hesitated a moment before pushing his way inside.
The mat-littered room stood empty, the bright florescent lights shining off the scattered weights. Cloud glanced at the black and white clock on the far wall. Most of the lower enlisted were probably in either classes or post-lunch drills. Were the higher-ups with Sephiroth and Zack?
Cloud shoved those thoughts from his mind. He would worry about it later. It had been too long since he practiced. If h wanted to be a SOLDIER (if his chances hadn’t died with Hojo), he needed practice.
He began sweating at the very beginning of his katas. Cloud gritted his teeth and swung his sword through the air, thinking of Zack’s effortless motions with his Buster Sword.
There was too much happening. He felt like he was drowning in plots and conspiracies and knowing looks. Everyone was scheming and whispering around him and he was tired of it.
Gritting his teeth, he swung the blade toward the mat --
And struck a new blade.
Cloud jumped backward and defensively held his sword in front of him. Glowing eyes glared at him.
A SOLDIER, but not one Cloud had met before, not even from before Nibelheim when Zack would drag him around. Tall and dark with bright green eyes, the SOLDIER paced back and forth in front of Cloud, never looking away from his face. Cloud stared back, feeling sweat trickle down his spine.
“I guess being called Sephiroth’s Shadow has gone to your head,” the stranger mocked. “Not even a respectful ‘Sir’?”
Cloud narrowed his eyes, lips tight. Once upon a time, it would have been an automatic reaction when seeing those glowing eyes. He wasn’t sure what had changed. He only knew this asshole had struck first.
And after this he really, really needed to pin Zack down and have him explain some things.
“What?” the SOLDIER mocked. “Nothing to say? Or just not so brave without the General and colonel behind you?”
“Or maybe you’re just this brave without them behind me?” Cloud snapped before he could stop himself. As the man bristled, Cloud found himself wondering if he had a certain red-eyed someone behind him now.
For this asshole’s sake, he hoped not.
The SOLDIER sliced his blade through the air. It whistled in front of Cloud. Cloud didn’t blink. “C’mon then. Show me what you got.”
Cloud didn’t move; he just watched the SOLDIER. As tall and broad as the Buster Sword in his hands, the SOLDIER could easily kill him. With those muscles bulging in his black uniform, the man had undoubtedly been strong before the chemical enhancements of SOLDIER.
But he was also wielding a Buster Sword three times larger than Zack’s, a show of force if Cloud had ever seen one. It reminded Cloud of when the dragons in the mountains would extend their wings and roar, making themselves bigger and tougher than they really were. A SOLDIER who had an ounce of cunning and skill wouldn’t need something like that.
And he already showed he wasn’t expecting much from Cloud. Cloud relaxed, feeling the perfect balance of his blade. Even if he couldn’t win, he could shut this guy up.
Another swish of the SOLDIER’s blade. Cloud held steady. “Well?” the man taunted. “You worked so hard for that sword. Aren’t you going to show me you know how to use it?”
Filth lined every word; Cloud still didn’t blink. The bullies in Nibelheim said worse about Cloud and his mother.
Another thing had taught him about bullies: “If anyone knows about using swords, it would be you. Sir.”
Taunting was a great weapon. Especially against someone who wasn’t used to being taunted back.
“Little shit!” The blade swung but the movement was exaggerated, telegraphed long before the sword even moved. Cloud dodged with ease, even if the lights flickered for a moment before his eyes. He practiced with Zack. Zack never telegraphed.
The SOLDIER flushed. Cloud stood still again, letting the world settle around him. Okay: too much dodging was bad. Next step then. “If your aim’s always that bad, it’s no wonder you haven’t made First yet.”
The flush slid down that thick neck. Most bullies were rarely bullied back. SOLDIERs? Never mocked back.
Cloud felt too hot, sweat making his uniform cling. Quick, quick. “Or is it make Second like that? I hope your catching’s better.”
No yell this time, just an attack, but Cloud saw it coming long ago. Cloud barely had to duck -- most SOLDIERs weren’t used to opponents of his height -- and then he was pressed against the SOLDIER’s chest, sword against his throat. The SOLDIER froze; Cloud felt him shake.
“Don’t,” Cloud heard, as if the words were coming from someone else’s mouth, “fuck with me today.”
Point made, Cloud stepped back. The SOLDIER just stared at him, green eyes wide. Cloud couldn’t hold his gaze, feeling drained and too damned hot. When he fell to his knees, he stubbornly held his sword the whole way down.
“Cloud!” Then Zack was at his side, strong arm behind Cloud’s back. The blond smiled tiredly at him. He should have known his friend wasn’t too far away. “What are you doing here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you? Didn’t I tell you to stay in bed?”
Cloud wanted to rest his head on Zack’s shoulder, but he was too aware of the SOLDIER in front of them. “You never said ‘stay.’”
Zack growled. “It was implied.” As if noticing the other SOLDIER for the first time, Zack looked up and stared at him. “Miroslaw! What are you doing here? Your comrades are still debriefing.”
Miroslaw flushed and took a step back. All the fight had fled him. Now he looked back and forth between Cloud and Zack, hand clenching convulsively on the hilt of his sword. “Sir!” His free hand jerked like he was thinking of saluting, froze at his side, and then Miroslaw nodded sharply. “I’ll rejoin them in the bay, Sir!”
Cloud thought he felt Miroslaw’s eyes on him the entire way out of the room but was too tired to care. Now that Zack brought it up, his bed did sound good…
No. Cloud quickly shook his head, ignoring the way it made the room spin. “What’s going on, Zack?” he snapped. “Why does everyone keep calling me Sephiroth’s Shadow? Why does Reno keep bothering me? What is going on with you and Sephiroth?”
There were more questions raging in Cloud’s chest, but he was out of breath. Even when he caught his breath again, though, Zack’s pained grimace kept him from continuing.
“Shit, Cloud.” Zack’s free hand rested over Cloud’s on his sword. Cloud felt Zack’s breath against his ear. “I thought you knew.”
Knew what? He kept quiet, though. Zack’s hand felt cool over his overheated one.
Zack pressed against him like this made Cloud think of Sephiroth’s kiss and Zack and Sephiroth in the field and the noises they made and no, that wasn’t what he was thinking of right now. Focus!
“Sephiroth’s Shadow was what they started calling me after I started following him around.” More warm breath against his ear; a golden strand of hair fluttered against Cloud’s cheek. “I had to watch after him, you know? I mean, he had no one.” Zack laughed faintly. “If Aeris could have, she would have started trailing after him like a mama chocobo, but she couldn’t, so I took care of him.”
Aeris. Cloud shivered a little. Did she know? About Zack and Sephiroth? Cloud couldn’t see her not knowing. From what he had seen so far, she probably approved.
The arm around Cloud’s back began to move; Zack’s other hand rubbed against Cloud’s far arm. “You’re burning up. Let’s --”
Cloud settled more firmly on the mat. “Finish explaining,” he ground out. If they tried to move from here, Cloud would never hear the end of it. The wolves would probably start directly attacking Midgar or a giant rock would fall from the sky or something.
Zack laughed quietly again. It sounded too soft coming from him. “Okay, okay. So they started calling me that because I was always a step behind him, and I figured you would, too. I think you earned the title when you dragged him and his tentacles up the mountain rather than let Hojo and his goons get him.”
Cloud huffed, feeling more heat rising in his cheeks. He had a feeling there was more to it, but that was good enough for now.
“And I think the Turks have their eye on you.” Cloud involuntarily snorted; Zack squeezed him close. “You took out Hojo in front of them, somehow survived the trip back to Midgar, took out a couple of their goons…just to name a few. You’re pretty dangerous now; imagine after some specialized training.
“And as for the last bit…” Zack trailed off. Cloud turned his head to look curiously at him. Zack’s face was closer than he thought. “I went to Seph first, you know. I loved him and Aeris both, and Aeris said if I didn’t do something she was going to kick my ass.” Zack smiled at Cloud, warm and fond. “He’s still shy about it, but I think me getting tentacles too helped. I really never thought he would have the guts to make a move on you.”
Cloud paled and tried to move back. Zack tightened his grip.
“He’s still pretty flustered about that,” Zack continued casually, arm like a steel band behind Cloud’s back. “We talked earlier about it, though, and if you’re open to it…”
Zack leaned closer. Cloud didn’t move.
The kiss was as chaste as the one with Sephiroth. Cloud closed his eyes.
This felt right.
And Zack tasted like coffee.
Something metallic clicked loudly above them. Zack froze, mouth still against Cloud’s. “Back away,” Vincent growled. “Now.”
Oh, by Hel.
The ripping of pants and the sight of tentacles flying didn’t surprise Cloud in the slightest. He sighed wearily as Zack pulled away.
“It’s fine, Vincent,” he said. The light that shone off the weights didn’t reflect the slightest on Vincent’s gun. “Don’t shoot anyone, please.”
Zack glared at Vincent, long tentacles writhing. Gun steady, Vincent stared back at him.
“You’re sick and exhausted, and he was taking advantage,” Vincent said flatly.
Cloud had had dreams that were less humiliating than this, even the naked ones. He spoke quickly before Zack began looking too guilty. “Did I really, really look like I was protesting?” Then a thought occurred to Cloud, and he looked sharply at Zack. “You and Sephiroth were talking about kissing me?”
Zack grinned sheepishly, one eye still on Vincent’s gun. “…yes?”
Cloud thought about that for a moment and then flushed with embarrassment and arousal. One thing about being sixteen: even being sick and exhausted couldn’t keep him from getting turned on after hearing that. “Oh,” he murmured. He cleared his throat. Would continue that train of thought when Vincent didn’t have his gun aimed at Zack’s head. “Did you find out anything, Vincent?”
Shooting Zack a dark look, Vincent lowered his weapon. Zack relaxed a little, shoulders slumping, but his tentacles didn’t stop twitching. Cloud couldn’t blame him even if they were incredibly distracting.
“I’m still researching,” Vincent said curtly. He didn’t look away from Zack; Zack stared suspiciously back. Cloud sighed, exhausted.
“Okay. I’ll meet with you later, okay?” The gym spun a little when Cloud stood, but he didn’t let that slow him down.
It was ironic how the room was less tense when it had been just Cloud and Miroslaw.
Cloud bypassed the shower for now even though he could feel his sweat drying on his skin. He kept his head low as he ducked past other troopers. Before all of this, he would have been drilling with them, learning alongside them. Never before had he wished to be doing normal, everyday push-ups.
The scent of the stables brought a small smile to his face. Most of the chocobos perked up their heads as he walked by, a sea of yellow with the occasional blue and green peeking at him. Cloud smiled at their chirps and kwehs. Since the stablehands tucked Vali on the far side, farthest from the inner entrance and closest to the outer exit, he had to walk past all of them.
“Don’t worry, guys,” he called dryly. “I’ll be back to muck your stalls soon enough.”
Kwehs answered.
So did a voice. “Cloud?”
Cloud started and unconsciously hurried his steps. “Sephiroth?”
Looking as tired as Cloud felt, the General nonetheless smiled a little at Cloud as the blond stepped to his side. He looked as appropriate in the shadows the stable as Cloud’s warbird did: it disconcerted Cloud a little.
“Hello,” Sephiroth greeted with a nod, eyes dark before he turned back to the corner of the stables. “I believe Astridr has attracted your chocobo’s attention.”
Cloud followed his gaze and winced. Free from his pen -- and Cloud didn’t want to know how -- Vali had sidled up to the pen that held Sephiroth’s black hen. Astridr preened her right wing, back to Vali, but that meant little when the large black could have ripped Vali’s eyes out with her sharp beak for his presumption. As if he knew that, Vali kept up a stream of low chirping that almost sounded like a purr.
Cloud disbelievingly shook his head. A comment about brash males simmered on his tongue, but he bit it back. He silently stood beside Sephiroth, letting the sounds of the chocobos fill the air.
“Has Zack talked to you then?” Sephiroth inquired presently. Before them, Vali fluffed his crest. Astridr switched to her other wing.
Cloud’s lips twisted in a wary smile. He hoped it had been all right to leave those two alone in the gym. “Yeah.”
Sephiroth shifted beside him. Their arms brushed. “And is this arrangement…agreeable?”
Slowly extending his wings, Vali looked like he was stretching. Astridr slanted a look at him. Cloud watched. “Is it okay for you?”
Silence fell again. Cloud thought of them in the lab, of himself in the shower in Nibelheim, of the pair in the field. He thought of all three of them at the stream in the mountains and Zack laughing.
Cloud had to bite the inside of his cheek.
“…when the scientists’ location is discovered,” Sephiroth said slowly, “we should talk.”
Cloud bit harder. The wary hope in Sephiroth’s voice sounded too familiar. He leaned to the side, letting his arm brush against Sephiroth’s again. He felt the tension ease from Sephiroth’s body.
Together, they quietly watched Vali’s flirtations.
Next Part