Prisoners of War: Chapter 40
Title: Prisoners of War Ch. 40
Author: xpaperplanex
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~4300
Pairings: Sephiroth/Cloud
Genre: hurt/comfort, romance
Warnings: mentions of scientific torture, future character death (I'm tossing this out here now, so you know it's a possibility, but I don't want to spoil when it actually happens.)
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.
Summary: Cloud and Sephiroth are taken prisoner by AVALANCHE. No one, least of all themselves, could have expected what it would set in motion.
Previous Chapters: | Part 1 |
| 29 | 30 | Omake 4 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 |
Important A/N: There is no M-preg in this fic. I warn for everything and everthing's dog, I would have warned for M-preg. Also, Genesis has been renamed 'Sir Not Appearing in this Fic'. Just so nobody gets their hopes up. Also note the character death warning for future chapters, please.
My new roommate is a passive aggressive bitch and I'm a bad mother duck. It's quite sad.
***
Alde Strife could peel potatoes like nobody's business and she was flying through the bag at a rate that even she had never before achieved. She was just so... infuriated at this whole situation. Peeling potatoes didn't really help, but it did give her something inanimate to vent her frustrations on.
"What are you making?" Alde hadn't even heard the girl come into the kitchen.
"Stew," Alde said shortly.
"Would you like some help?"
Alde looked up from her potatoes. Aerith seemed so sweet and innocent; she wondered how a nice girl like her had gotten mixed up in all this. "That would be appreciated, thank you." She got Aerith set up chopping vegetables and went back to her potatoes.
After a few minutes of silence, Aerith spoke. "I can try to answer some of your questions. If you want. I don't know everything about what happened to Cloud, but it'd be better than what you've gotten so far. I'm a bit more patient than certain other individuals."
Alde snorted. "That wouldn't take much."
"True enough," Aerith laughed.
"Why?" Alde stopped, staring at her sink full of potatoes. "Why Cloud? Why did all this have to happen to him?"
"To the best of my knowledge, it was because he has a very high mako tolerance. That's how they make SOLDIERs the way they are, with mako. Cloud's tolerance made him a good candidate. And then Hojo found out about his relationship with Sephiroth. I think, in the end, he chose Cloud in order to hurt Sephiroth. Vincent, stop hovering and come in here and help."
Alde jumped and nearly dropped her knife when Vincent spoke almost right behind her. "I don't know how to cook."
"I should give you all bells," Alde muttered. She was grateful for the distraction, however. It gave her a moment to digest the new information that Cloud had been hurt because that Hojo character had decided to use him to hurt Sephiroth. If Sephiroth had enemies like that, he should have never gone near her son in the first place.
"It would go well with their uniforms, I think," Aerith said. "Here, Vincent, just cut up the meat into bite-sized pieces. That's not cooking."
Vincent was a strange one, to be sure, Alde thought as she watched him awkwardly holding the meat with that clawed hand. She considered asking about him, but there were other, more important, things that she wanted to know.
"What was done to Cloud?" Alde starting putting ingredients in her biggest pot and hoped it would be big enough for so many people.
"We're not really sure yet. Project C was supposed to create another Sephiroth and improve upon the results that had been achieved with him. We know that Cloud's a lot stronger and faster than a regular human, but we're still trying to figure out the rest."
"Hey, Aerith." Zack poked his head in through the door, causing Alde to jump again. Bells. They all needed bells. "Tseng and I are going to go see if Seph is willing to talk about what we're going to do next."
"Okay, have fun."
"What'cha making?"
"Stew."
"Would you tell Cloud that it will be ready in a couple hours?" Alde asked.
"Sure thing, ma'am." Zack disappeared and Alde heard two sets of feet going upstairs. What had Cloud been doing with that man this whole time?
Alde opened the fridge and rummaged around, looking for her beef stock. When she found it and straightened up, she barely managed to contain her scream when she was met by a vividly green pair of eyes.
"Excuse me," Sephiroth said and proceeded to start taking things out of her fridge like he owned it. Alde could only stare in shock as Sephiroth fixed a small plate of cheese, crackers, and sausages, completely ignoring everyone else in the kitchen. He poured a glass of milk and reached around Aerith to grab a napkin out of the holder.
"We're making dinner," Alde said for a lack of anything better to say.
"I know. Zack told me." Sephiroth paused on his way out. "Cloud's hungry now," he added as an explanation.
Alde glared at Sephiroth's retreating form, but couldn't argue, either. If Cloud was hungry, he should eat now, despite her initial instinct to say that he shouldn't spoil his appetite. "Coming in here, acting as though he owns the place," she muttered angrily. "Couldn't even manage a 'where's the small cutting board?' to be polite."
"Sephiroth's not really used to being a houseguest," Aerith said apologetically. "I think he thinks it's easier to just look for things himself, rather than explaining what he wants. But I think he is doing the right thing about the food."
"Cloud's too thin."
"That happens in the lab," Vincent finally said something and Alde supposed he was right. The man was practically a walking skeleton.
"Right, well, Sephiroth said that Cloud was having trouble eating very much at once, so his plan is to have him eat small amounts more often. It should help get his weight back up. So I'm sure he'll make sure Cloud gets some stew too."
"I'm sure he will." Alde knew she sounded a little bitter, but she didn't really care.
"How did they end up together?" Vincent asked. "It seems so unlikely that they should have ever even met. Tseng told me that Cloud is a corporal, just a regular army grunt."
Alde laughed slightly at the annoyed look Aerith threw at Vincent for seemingly ignoring all thoughts of tact. "I'd like to know that as well," she said. "You two have a seat and I'll just put the lid on this. Then you can tell us all about how General Sephiroth came to have feelings for 'just a regular army grunt'."
"I didn't mean to-"
"Don't worry about it, Vincent. I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it." Alde drew up her cozy rocking chair and waited rather impatiently for Aerith to begin. The girl was certainly taking her time.
"Zack met Cloud first," Aerith finally said. "He was watching the SOLDIER candidates training one day and noticed Cloud. He said that Cloud stuck out because he looked like a chocobo hatchling about to be crushed underfoot. He was the smallest one in the group, but no matter how many times he got knocked down, Cloud kept getting back up."
"That's my Cloud."
"Zack liked Cloud's spirit, he said, and decided that Cloud would make a good SOLDIER. Attitude and common sense are more important than anything else going into SOLDIER. So he started mentoring him, giving him extra training here and there, that sort of thing. He was planning on introducing Cloud to Sephiroth at some point-Zack's of the firm belief that all of his friends should be friends with each other-but it turned out that they were assigned a mission together anyways. Sephiroth was impressed with Cloud and offered to train with him sometimes."
"Just like that?" Vincent sounded skeptical. "Does he do that often?"
"No, not just like that; I'm trying to sum up." Aerith shot an annoyed glare at Vincent.
"What happened on the mission that caused him to take notice of Cloud?" Alde asked.
Again, Aerith spent several moments thinking before she answered, "Sephiroth said he was impressed with the way Cloud kept his head under pressure. The mission didn't go as planned; in fact, it went quite badly. But Cloud handled the situation far better than would have been expected of a trooper. I don't really know any details beyond that, though. The whole thing is still classified."
"You don't know how it went badly?"
"No, I'm afraid not. But I do know that the whole unit came back alive, so that's something." Aerith smiled warmly. "They met a few times after that, mostly Zack getting all three of them together. And they also met by chance once and went out for coffee. That was when Sephiroth offered to train Cloud. Zack was really busy around that time, so he didn't have much spare time for training. Since Sephiroth's schedule is more flexible, he offered to pick up the slack. It was while they were training, I think, that they started to develop feelings for each other, and Sephiroth asked Cloud out on his birthday."
"Cloud probably said 'yes', thinking that Sephiroth would stop training him if he said otherwise." Alde glanced at Aerith out of the corner of her eye. She didn't really believe it, but she said it in hopes that Aerith might reassure her otherwise.
"Oh no." Aerith shook her head. "Well, Zack and I did leave them alone so Sephiroth could ask him, but I'm pretty sure he followed the script."
"The script?"
"Yeah, the script. He was really nervous, you see. For many of the reasons you mentioned. So Zack and I came up with a sort of script for him to follow, so it would be clear that Cloud was in no way obligated to go out with him and that they could still be friends if Cloud said no. I also made sure that he was going to be clear on the dating aspect, and that he wasn't just after sex."
"I think scripts are a good idea," Vincent mumbled and Aerith patted his knee consolingly.
"Sex?" Alde knew that they were probably having sex, but the idea just seemed so wrong. Cloud was her baby!
"They took it slow," Aerith said matter-of-factly. "Sephiroth made sure to go at Cloud's pace, not his. It was over a month before their clothes even came off. And quite a while after that before they went all the way."
Alde attempted to wrap her mind around that; there were some things she really didn't want to know. "How... how do you know that?"
"Zack. He worried about them at first; Sephiroth's got a reputation for being a bit... special when it comes to social skills. So he talked to Cloud a lot about how things were going. Just to make sure that Cloud was comfortable, happy, that sort of thing. He also talked to Sephiroth; I think that man will never forget the phrase 'no means no' for as long as he lives. Although I prefer 'yes means yes', personally."
"So," Alde said very cautiously, almost daring to hope, "Cloud would have told Zack if he was feeling pressured or threatened? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Cloud keeps things bottled up, but Zack would have noticed if something was wrong and he would have gotten it out of him. He's remarkably good at that sort of thing. And Zack would have done something about it, I promise. Gutted Sephiroth, at the bare minimum. And I would have helped. I think that between the two of us, we would have managed."
"I see..."
"Anyways, my point is, Sephiroth loves Cloud dearly, and he's been working really hard at their relationship. He's made mistakes, we all do, but he learns from them and I don't think he's ever made the same mistake twice."
Alde smiled a bit; men who learned from their mistakes were hard to find. She wasn't completely mollified, but Aerith's explanation had been a comfort to her. "Thank you, dear, for taking the time to sit down with me. Now if only Sephiroth could work even half as hard at his relationships with other people."
"Good luck with that," Aerith laughed. "I think you might be waiting a long time, though, if you're wanting him to behave like a proper houseguest."
"I suppose I will be." Alde got up to check the stew; it was coming along nicely. She wondered how long they were all planning on staying. She didn't want Cloud to leave, but having seven people in her house, when she was used to one or two, was becoming a strain. At least they had fixed the door, she supposed, though they had been the ones to break it. But feeding them was also becoming quite a strain on her budget. Couldn't a few of them stay at the inn?
***
"Stop fussing," Sephiroth said without looking back. "Your hair looks fine."
Cloud let his hands drop with a sigh. It didn't look fine and he knew it. It just didn't sit right anymore and felt really weird, not to mention that it was embarrassing. He didn't have long to brood over bald patches, however, since Zack came running in as soon as Sephiroth was out the door.
"Spiky!" he shouted, jumping on the bed with a whump that caused Cloud to bang back against the headboard, wincing. He was quick to keep any signs of pain from showing; Tseng followed Zack into the room and Cloud was pretty sure that the Turk would notice.
"Hi, Cloud. How're you feeling?" Tseng pulled the chair out from under Cloud's old desk and sat down.
"Hey, Tseng. I'm doing all right, I guess."
"You really do love that chocobo, don'tcha?" Zack grinned up at Cloud from his spot at the foot of the bed.
Cloud realized that Mini-Cloud was still in his lap and tossed it aside with a glare. It wasn't like that! He didn't need some stuffed animal; it was just-
"Oh, come on, you don't have to be embarrassed!"
"Fair, I don't think that Cloud is in the mood to be teased right now," Tseng said.
"I'm not teasing him. If I were teasing him, I'd ask him what he and Seph were doing this past hour. Because he sure doesn't look like he was sleeping." Zack tossed a wink in Cloud's direction.
"Fuck off, Zack." Cloud really wished he could hold onto Mini-Cloud... without being teased. It was comforting when Sephiroth wasn't here.
"Like I said, not in the mood to be teased, so leave him alone, Fair."
"Hey, sorry, Spike. You know I'm only joking, right? Thought it might cheer you up a little."
Well it didn't, Cloud wanted to say. Instead he went with, "Don't worry about it," and pulled his knees up to his chest, wishing that Sephiroth would get back soon. He breathed a small sigh of relief when Tseng said something to Zack and drew the attention away from him. He sat in bed, ignoring what the other two were saying, until he heard Sephiroth on the landing. Although that just caused him to sigh in frustration. He was depending way too much on Sephiroth. What was he going to do when he found out?
Sephiroth came in quietly, carrying a plate and a glass, which he set on the bedside table. Settling himself onto the bed next to Cloud, he gave him a quick kiss on the head. "Cheese, crackers, sausages, and milk," he said, handing the plate over to Cloud, who let go of his knees in favour of food. "Eat what you can."
"Thanks." Cloud picked up a slice of cheese and nibbled at it as Sephiroth wrapped an arm around his waist and let him lean into his chest.
"You're welcome. So," Sephiroth addressed Tseng and Zack, "We need a plan."
"Does Cloud know about the thing with the planet?" Zack asked.
"Cloud is sitting right here and can tell you himself that he knows about the thing with the planet if you'd care to ask him." Cloud was aware that he was being cranky and unreasonable, but he didn't really care, either. He had gotten enough of people talking like he wasn't in the room when he was in the labs.
"Right, sorry."
"We talked about it earlier," Sephiroth said. "We agreed that we want to destroy Jenova and Hojo together. I think it will take a few more days before Cloud will be ready to travel. Tseng, you mentioned something about needing more people. Am I right in thinking that you want to go back to Midgar to recruit the Turks and SOLDIER to our side?"
"Yes. I'm certain that we'll be able to get all the Turks. Our loyalty is to Rufus, not ShinRa, and Rufus is with us."
"Why?" Cloud asked. "Aren't you guys supposed to be loyal to the company until death do you part or something like that?"
"We're supposed to be," Tseng said. "But the company isn't loyal to us. Turks have a high-risk job; we know that when we sign up, of course, but it doesn't change the fact that we put our lives at risk every single day. Shinra Sr. is... extremely casual in regards to our lives. He never hesitates to send us into situations we have no hope of surviving and he couldn't care less when we come home in bags.
"Rufus is different from his father, however. He was practically raised by the Turks, as he was required to have a bodyguard from the moment he was born. He grew up with an understanding of what we do and the risks that we take. He doesn't risk our lives unnecessarily, and he has never missed a funeral. In short, Cloud, he's earned our loyalty. Something Shinra Sr. always just assumed he had."
Cloud nodded his understanding. He wondered what was different about SOLDIER, whose lives were also put at risk. Maybe it was the enhancements. Or the fact that they didn't do any of the truly dirty work.
"SOLDIER might be a bit more difficult, however," Tseng continued as though Cloud hadn't interrupted. "Since your 'death', SOLDIER has been at a bit of a loss. Director Lazard disappeared about a month after the Nibelheim incident as well."
"Lazard?" Cloud was curious. Lazard hadn't been his favourite person after what he said about Sephiroth, but he didn't hate him. It was even kind of nice, now that he had thought about it, that the man had taken him aside to make sure that everything was all right.
"Yes." Tseng, at least, didn't seem to mind the interruptions. "He had been embezzling funds from the company and ran for it just as the Turks were about to make their move. I suspect Rufus may have had something to do with that," Tseng added quietly, "Family ties and all. Shinra didn't want to deal with finding a new director-or a new general-so he decided that SOLDIER no longer needed to be a division on its own and placed it under Heidegger's command."
"Damn, glad I dodged that bullet," Zack said. "Imagine working for Heidegger!"
"The SOLDIERs aren't thrilled about it, but I think they're just glad that they weren't disbanded all together. There's not as big a need for them now that the war with Wutai is over and AVALANCHE isn't a threat. It might be hard convincing them to give up their chances at more enhancements without something big."
"Something big being me," Sephiroth stated flatly.
"Yes, that's what I was thinking."
"No."
Cloud looked up from his sausage slice. "Sephiroth?" Wouldn't Sephiroth want to do everything he could?
"You need rest, Cloud. You'll still be recovering by the time we get to Midgar. People who are supposed to be dead sneaking into ShinRa headquarters and encouraging a mutiny isn't restful. Zack can go in my place and we'll wait for them in Kalm."
"Couldn't Zack stay with Cloud in Kalm and-"
"No," Sephiroth cut Tseng off. "Just no. I don't think I need to explain myself further, do I?"
Sephiroth was sounding surprisingly menacing, and Cloud attempted to distract him, just in case Tseng kept arguing. "Could you hand me the milk, please?" It worked, Cloud was pleased to see Sephiroth's face soften, and he handed Cloud the glass. Although it seemed that Tseng didn't need the distraction after all.
"All right," he agreed. "I guess you leaving him wouldn't work anyways, because of Jenova. Zack and I will go to Midgar. We'll also need transportation for afterwards."
Cloud settled back, sipping at his milk and only half paying attention to what the others were saying. It was probably really selfish, not to mention hurting their cause, but he was really happy that Sephiroth wasn't willing to just leave him. He didn't want to be alone right now. Although, if they were holed up alone for any length of time, there would be a lot fewer distractions to keep Sephiroth from asking about why he was still in pain. Cloud grabbed another sausage. He had tried to convince himself that Sephiroth wouldn't care, but there was always that little voice in the back of his mind. The one that sounded remarkably like Hojo. Cloud sighed and turned his attention back to the conversation.
"We'll send Vincent to recruit the pilot," Tseng was saying.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, Vincent's not exactly Mr. Social Skills," Zack said.
"He was a Turk, that should mean he's got at least some negotiation skills." Tseng paused for a moment. "I'll have Rufus call him as well; that should help. But really, Highwind will do anything for a chance to fly."
Ugh, flying. Maybe all the things Hojo had done to him had cured him of his motion sickness. That would be the only good thing to come out of it all. Well, Cloud supposed, he was also strong now. He had wanted to be able to stand by Sephiroth's side as an equal, after all. Maybe this was just a really good example of 'be careful what you wish for', because he sure as hell hadn't wanted anything like this. Cloud nudged Sephiroth's elbow and handed the milk glass back to him. He was so tired; he never had gotten that nap that Sephiroth promised him. He curled up into Sephiroth's side and felt a comforting hand in his hair.
***
Cloud walked quickly down the corridor to Sephiroth's office; this place was like a maze sometimes and he was running late. He finally found the office and paused a moment outside to straighten his uniform. He could hear Sephiroth's smooth voice on the other side of the door; it sounded like he was talking to Zack. Knocking lightly on the door, Cloud opened it and stepped through. He saw Sephiroth turn and smile at him before the floor opened up underneath him and he was falling. He caught one final glimpse of Sephiroth's stricken face before he was falling through complete darkness.
Down and down he went, scrabbling frantically at the sides of the walls, trying to get a grip, but there was nothing to hold on to. The falling sensation suddenly stopped and Cloud looked around blindly. "Sephiroth?" he said hesitantly.
"Sephiroth isn't coming for you."
Cloud whipped around at the sound of the voice. That was-that was-His breaths were coming in gasps and Cloud fought not to panic. "No, no, no..." Cloud moaned. "He loves me; he'll come."
"Even if he's not dead, do you really believe that he'll come for you? Now? What do you think his reaction will be when he sees you? You think he'd still want you? You're disgusting."
The world shifted and Cloud was lying face down on a table, unable to move. He could hear movement behind him and someone spoke.
"This is certainly an interesting development, isn't it, Specimen?"
Cloud felt hand on his back and writhed helplessly against his bonds. When his back felt like it exploded in pain, Cloud screamed at the top of his lungs and thrashed. He must have broken the straps holding him down, as it was suddenly a lot easier to move, but something was still holding him. Cloud fought and kicked out against it, trying to get away. Whatever-whomever-it was let go and Cloud scrambled through the darkness. The floor abruptly ended and Cloud fell a short distance, landing with a thud. His eyes flew open-had they been closed?-and he looked around the room, trying to interpret his surroundings.
It didn't look like the lab; Cloud recognized his own bed next to him and his things on the dresser. He must have fallen off the bed. And the people in the room weren't in lab coats. That was Sephiroth, crouched down in front of him, and Zack and Tseng behind Sephiroth.
"Cloud?" Sephiroth said very softly. "Do you know where you are?"
Cloud nodded, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Home."
"That's right. You're at home, and you're safe. I'm sorry that I didn't notice you were dreaming." Sephiroth inched a little bit closer. "We got talking logistics and I was distracted. I should have been paying better attention."
"S'okay. Just a nightmare." Cloud kept his arms firmly around his knees as Sephiroth attempted to embrace him. Sephiroth shouldn't have to deal with him like this. He needed to plan and recruit and go save the world. Cloud was just in the way.
As if reading his mind, or maybe just sensing his reluctance, Sephiroth moved back and crouched, bouncing a bit on his toes. He reached up to the bed and handed Mini-Cloud over. Cloud took it hesitantly, tossing a quick glance in Zack's direction.
"Do you want anything, Cloud?" Sephiroth reached out and brushed a few tears off Cloud's cheek.
"My... my mom. I want my mom," Cloud whimpered.
"Could one of you?" Sephiroth turned and looked up at Zack and Tseng.
"Of course." Both men headed out of the room and Cloud was left looking up at Sephiroth, feeling a bit guilty.
"I'm sorry, I just-"
"It's okay, I understand. She'll be right up."
"'Kay." Cloud felt like such a weakling, crying for his mommy, but he really wanted to see her.
"Shh, it's okay." Sephiroth brushed away a few more tears. "She'll be right here."
***
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
Author: xpaperplanex
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~4300
Pairings: Sephiroth/Cloud
Genre: hurt/comfort, romance
Warnings: mentions of scientific torture, future character death (I'm tossing this out here now, so you know it's a possibility, but I don't want to spoil when it actually happens.)
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.
Summary: Cloud and Sephiroth are taken prisoner by AVALANCHE. No one, least of all themselves, could have expected what it would set in motion.
Previous Chapters: | Part 1 |
| 29 | 30 | Omake 4 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 |
Important A/N: There is no M-preg in this fic. I warn for everything and everthing's dog, I would have warned for M-preg. Also, Genesis has been renamed 'Sir Not Appearing in this Fic'. Just so nobody gets their hopes up. Also note the character death warning for future chapters, please.
My new roommate is a passive aggressive bitch and I'm a bad mother duck. It's quite sad.
***
Alde Strife could peel potatoes like nobody's business and she was flying through the bag at a rate that even she had never before achieved. She was just so... infuriated at this whole situation. Peeling potatoes didn't really help, but it did give her something inanimate to vent her frustrations on.
"What are you making?" Alde hadn't even heard the girl come into the kitchen.
"Stew," Alde said shortly.
"Would you like some help?"
Alde looked up from her potatoes. Aerith seemed so sweet and innocent; she wondered how a nice girl like her had gotten mixed up in all this. "That would be appreciated, thank you." She got Aerith set up chopping vegetables and went back to her potatoes.
After a few minutes of silence, Aerith spoke. "I can try to answer some of your questions. If you want. I don't know everything about what happened to Cloud, but it'd be better than what you've gotten so far. I'm a bit more patient than certain other individuals."
Alde snorted. "That wouldn't take much."
"True enough," Aerith laughed.
"Why?" Alde stopped, staring at her sink full of potatoes. "Why Cloud? Why did all this have to happen to him?"
"To the best of my knowledge, it was because he has a very high mako tolerance. That's how they make SOLDIERs the way they are, with mako. Cloud's tolerance made him a good candidate. And then Hojo found out about his relationship with Sephiroth. I think, in the end, he chose Cloud in order to hurt Sephiroth. Vincent, stop hovering and come in here and help."
Alde jumped and nearly dropped her knife when Vincent spoke almost right behind her. "I don't know how to cook."
"I should give you all bells," Alde muttered. She was grateful for the distraction, however. It gave her a moment to digest the new information that Cloud had been hurt because that Hojo character had decided to use him to hurt Sephiroth. If Sephiroth had enemies like that, he should have never gone near her son in the first place.
"It would go well with their uniforms, I think," Aerith said. "Here, Vincent, just cut up the meat into bite-sized pieces. That's not cooking."
Vincent was a strange one, to be sure, Alde thought as she watched him awkwardly holding the meat with that clawed hand. She considered asking about him, but there were other, more important, things that she wanted to know.
"What was done to Cloud?" Alde starting putting ingredients in her biggest pot and hoped it would be big enough for so many people.
"We're not really sure yet. Project C was supposed to create another Sephiroth and improve upon the results that had been achieved with him. We know that Cloud's a lot stronger and faster than a regular human, but we're still trying to figure out the rest."
"Hey, Aerith." Zack poked his head in through the door, causing Alde to jump again. Bells. They all needed bells. "Tseng and I are going to go see if Seph is willing to talk about what we're going to do next."
"Okay, have fun."
"What'cha making?"
"Stew."
"Would you tell Cloud that it will be ready in a couple hours?" Alde asked.
"Sure thing, ma'am." Zack disappeared and Alde heard two sets of feet going upstairs. What had Cloud been doing with that man this whole time?
Alde opened the fridge and rummaged around, looking for her beef stock. When she found it and straightened up, she barely managed to contain her scream when she was met by a vividly green pair of eyes.
"Excuse me," Sephiroth said and proceeded to start taking things out of her fridge like he owned it. Alde could only stare in shock as Sephiroth fixed a small plate of cheese, crackers, and sausages, completely ignoring everyone else in the kitchen. He poured a glass of milk and reached around Aerith to grab a napkin out of the holder.
"We're making dinner," Alde said for a lack of anything better to say.
"I know. Zack told me." Sephiroth paused on his way out. "Cloud's hungry now," he added as an explanation.
Alde glared at Sephiroth's retreating form, but couldn't argue, either. If Cloud was hungry, he should eat now, despite her initial instinct to say that he shouldn't spoil his appetite. "Coming in here, acting as though he owns the place," she muttered angrily. "Couldn't even manage a 'where's the small cutting board?' to be polite."
"Sephiroth's not really used to being a houseguest," Aerith said apologetically. "I think he thinks it's easier to just look for things himself, rather than explaining what he wants. But I think he is doing the right thing about the food."
"Cloud's too thin."
"That happens in the lab," Vincent finally said something and Alde supposed he was right. The man was practically a walking skeleton.
"Right, well, Sephiroth said that Cloud was having trouble eating very much at once, so his plan is to have him eat small amounts more often. It should help get his weight back up. So I'm sure he'll make sure Cloud gets some stew too."
"I'm sure he will." Alde knew she sounded a little bitter, but she didn't really care.
"How did they end up together?" Vincent asked. "It seems so unlikely that they should have ever even met. Tseng told me that Cloud is a corporal, just a regular army grunt."
Alde laughed slightly at the annoyed look Aerith threw at Vincent for seemingly ignoring all thoughts of tact. "I'd like to know that as well," she said. "You two have a seat and I'll just put the lid on this. Then you can tell us all about how General Sephiroth came to have feelings for 'just a regular army grunt'."
"I didn't mean to-"
"Don't worry about it, Vincent. I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it." Alde drew up her cozy rocking chair and waited rather impatiently for Aerith to begin. The girl was certainly taking her time.
"Zack met Cloud first," Aerith finally said. "He was watching the SOLDIER candidates training one day and noticed Cloud. He said that Cloud stuck out because he looked like a chocobo hatchling about to be crushed underfoot. He was the smallest one in the group, but no matter how many times he got knocked down, Cloud kept getting back up."
"That's my Cloud."
"Zack liked Cloud's spirit, he said, and decided that Cloud would make a good SOLDIER. Attitude and common sense are more important than anything else going into SOLDIER. So he started mentoring him, giving him extra training here and there, that sort of thing. He was planning on introducing Cloud to Sephiroth at some point-Zack's of the firm belief that all of his friends should be friends with each other-but it turned out that they were assigned a mission together anyways. Sephiroth was impressed with Cloud and offered to train with him sometimes."
"Just like that?" Vincent sounded skeptical. "Does he do that often?"
"No, not just like that; I'm trying to sum up." Aerith shot an annoyed glare at Vincent.
"What happened on the mission that caused him to take notice of Cloud?" Alde asked.
Again, Aerith spent several moments thinking before she answered, "Sephiroth said he was impressed with the way Cloud kept his head under pressure. The mission didn't go as planned; in fact, it went quite badly. But Cloud handled the situation far better than would have been expected of a trooper. I don't really know any details beyond that, though. The whole thing is still classified."
"You don't know how it went badly?"
"No, I'm afraid not. But I do know that the whole unit came back alive, so that's something." Aerith smiled warmly. "They met a few times after that, mostly Zack getting all three of them together. And they also met by chance once and went out for coffee. That was when Sephiroth offered to train Cloud. Zack was really busy around that time, so he didn't have much spare time for training. Since Sephiroth's schedule is more flexible, he offered to pick up the slack. It was while they were training, I think, that they started to develop feelings for each other, and Sephiroth asked Cloud out on his birthday."
"Cloud probably said 'yes', thinking that Sephiroth would stop training him if he said otherwise." Alde glanced at Aerith out of the corner of her eye. She didn't really believe it, but she said it in hopes that Aerith might reassure her otherwise.
"Oh no." Aerith shook her head. "Well, Zack and I did leave them alone so Sephiroth could ask him, but I'm pretty sure he followed the script."
"The script?"
"Yeah, the script. He was really nervous, you see. For many of the reasons you mentioned. So Zack and I came up with a sort of script for him to follow, so it would be clear that Cloud was in no way obligated to go out with him and that they could still be friends if Cloud said no. I also made sure that he was going to be clear on the dating aspect, and that he wasn't just after sex."
"I think scripts are a good idea," Vincent mumbled and Aerith patted his knee consolingly.
"Sex?" Alde knew that they were probably having sex, but the idea just seemed so wrong. Cloud was her baby!
"They took it slow," Aerith said matter-of-factly. "Sephiroth made sure to go at Cloud's pace, not his. It was over a month before their clothes even came off. And quite a while after that before they went all the way."
Alde attempted to wrap her mind around that; there were some things she really didn't want to know. "How... how do you know that?"
"Zack. He worried about them at first; Sephiroth's got a reputation for being a bit... special when it comes to social skills. So he talked to Cloud a lot about how things were going. Just to make sure that Cloud was comfortable, happy, that sort of thing. He also talked to Sephiroth; I think that man will never forget the phrase 'no means no' for as long as he lives. Although I prefer 'yes means yes', personally."
"So," Alde said very cautiously, almost daring to hope, "Cloud would have told Zack if he was feeling pressured or threatened? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Cloud keeps things bottled up, but Zack would have noticed if something was wrong and he would have gotten it out of him. He's remarkably good at that sort of thing. And Zack would have done something about it, I promise. Gutted Sephiroth, at the bare minimum. And I would have helped. I think that between the two of us, we would have managed."
"I see..."
"Anyways, my point is, Sephiroth loves Cloud dearly, and he's been working really hard at their relationship. He's made mistakes, we all do, but he learns from them and I don't think he's ever made the same mistake twice."
Alde smiled a bit; men who learned from their mistakes were hard to find. She wasn't completely mollified, but Aerith's explanation had been a comfort to her. "Thank you, dear, for taking the time to sit down with me. Now if only Sephiroth could work even half as hard at his relationships with other people."
"Good luck with that," Aerith laughed. "I think you might be waiting a long time, though, if you're wanting him to behave like a proper houseguest."
"I suppose I will be." Alde got up to check the stew; it was coming along nicely. She wondered how long they were all planning on staying. She didn't want Cloud to leave, but having seven people in her house, when she was used to one or two, was becoming a strain. At least they had fixed the door, she supposed, though they had been the ones to break it. But feeding them was also becoming quite a strain on her budget. Couldn't a few of them stay at the inn?
***
"Stop fussing," Sephiroth said without looking back. "Your hair looks fine."
Cloud let his hands drop with a sigh. It didn't look fine and he knew it. It just didn't sit right anymore and felt really weird, not to mention that it was embarrassing. He didn't have long to brood over bald patches, however, since Zack came running in as soon as Sephiroth was out the door.
"Spiky!" he shouted, jumping on the bed with a whump that caused Cloud to bang back against the headboard, wincing. He was quick to keep any signs of pain from showing; Tseng followed Zack into the room and Cloud was pretty sure that the Turk would notice.
"Hi, Cloud. How're you feeling?" Tseng pulled the chair out from under Cloud's old desk and sat down.
"Hey, Tseng. I'm doing all right, I guess."
"You really do love that chocobo, don'tcha?" Zack grinned up at Cloud from his spot at the foot of the bed.
Cloud realized that Mini-Cloud was still in his lap and tossed it aside with a glare. It wasn't like that! He didn't need some stuffed animal; it was just-
"Oh, come on, you don't have to be embarrassed!"
"Fair, I don't think that Cloud is in the mood to be teased right now," Tseng said.
"I'm not teasing him. If I were teasing him, I'd ask him what he and Seph were doing this past hour. Because he sure doesn't look like he was sleeping." Zack tossed a wink in Cloud's direction.
"Fuck off, Zack." Cloud really wished he could hold onto Mini-Cloud... without being teased. It was comforting when Sephiroth wasn't here.
"Like I said, not in the mood to be teased, so leave him alone, Fair."
"Hey, sorry, Spike. You know I'm only joking, right? Thought it might cheer you up a little."
Well it didn't, Cloud wanted to say. Instead he went with, "Don't worry about it," and pulled his knees up to his chest, wishing that Sephiroth would get back soon. He breathed a small sigh of relief when Tseng said something to Zack and drew the attention away from him. He sat in bed, ignoring what the other two were saying, until he heard Sephiroth on the landing. Although that just caused him to sigh in frustration. He was depending way too much on Sephiroth. What was he going to do when he found out?
Sephiroth came in quietly, carrying a plate and a glass, which he set on the bedside table. Settling himself onto the bed next to Cloud, he gave him a quick kiss on the head. "Cheese, crackers, sausages, and milk," he said, handing the plate over to Cloud, who let go of his knees in favour of food. "Eat what you can."
"Thanks." Cloud picked up a slice of cheese and nibbled at it as Sephiroth wrapped an arm around his waist and let him lean into his chest.
"You're welcome. So," Sephiroth addressed Tseng and Zack, "We need a plan."
"Does Cloud know about the thing with the planet?" Zack asked.
"Cloud is sitting right here and can tell you himself that he knows about the thing with the planet if you'd care to ask him." Cloud was aware that he was being cranky and unreasonable, but he didn't really care, either. He had gotten enough of people talking like he wasn't in the room when he was in the labs.
"Right, sorry."
"We talked about it earlier," Sephiroth said. "We agreed that we want to destroy Jenova and Hojo together. I think it will take a few more days before Cloud will be ready to travel. Tseng, you mentioned something about needing more people. Am I right in thinking that you want to go back to Midgar to recruit the Turks and SOLDIER to our side?"
"Yes. I'm certain that we'll be able to get all the Turks. Our loyalty is to Rufus, not ShinRa, and Rufus is with us."
"Why?" Cloud asked. "Aren't you guys supposed to be loyal to the company until death do you part or something like that?"
"We're supposed to be," Tseng said. "But the company isn't loyal to us. Turks have a high-risk job; we know that when we sign up, of course, but it doesn't change the fact that we put our lives at risk every single day. Shinra Sr. is... extremely casual in regards to our lives. He never hesitates to send us into situations we have no hope of surviving and he couldn't care less when we come home in bags.
"Rufus is different from his father, however. He was practically raised by the Turks, as he was required to have a bodyguard from the moment he was born. He grew up with an understanding of what we do and the risks that we take. He doesn't risk our lives unnecessarily, and he has never missed a funeral. In short, Cloud, he's earned our loyalty. Something Shinra Sr. always just assumed he had."
Cloud nodded his understanding. He wondered what was different about SOLDIER, whose lives were also put at risk. Maybe it was the enhancements. Or the fact that they didn't do any of the truly dirty work.
"SOLDIER might be a bit more difficult, however," Tseng continued as though Cloud hadn't interrupted. "Since your 'death', SOLDIER has been at a bit of a loss. Director Lazard disappeared about a month after the Nibelheim incident as well."
"Lazard?" Cloud was curious. Lazard hadn't been his favourite person after what he said about Sephiroth, but he didn't hate him. It was even kind of nice, now that he had thought about it, that the man had taken him aside to make sure that everything was all right.
"Yes." Tseng, at least, didn't seem to mind the interruptions. "He had been embezzling funds from the company and ran for it just as the Turks were about to make their move. I suspect Rufus may have had something to do with that," Tseng added quietly, "Family ties and all. Shinra didn't want to deal with finding a new director-or a new general-so he decided that SOLDIER no longer needed to be a division on its own and placed it under Heidegger's command."
"Damn, glad I dodged that bullet," Zack said. "Imagine working for Heidegger!"
"The SOLDIERs aren't thrilled about it, but I think they're just glad that they weren't disbanded all together. There's not as big a need for them now that the war with Wutai is over and AVALANCHE isn't a threat. It might be hard convincing them to give up their chances at more enhancements without something big."
"Something big being me," Sephiroth stated flatly.
"Yes, that's what I was thinking."
"No."
Cloud looked up from his sausage slice. "Sephiroth?" Wouldn't Sephiroth want to do everything he could?
"You need rest, Cloud. You'll still be recovering by the time we get to Midgar. People who are supposed to be dead sneaking into ShinRa headquarters and encouraging a mutiny isn't restful. Zack can go in my place and we'll wait for them in Kalm."
"Couldn't Zack stay with Cloud in Kalm and-"
"No," Sephiroth cut Tseng off. "Just no. I don't think I need to explain myself further, do I?"
Sephiroth was sounding surprisingly menacing, and Cloud attempted to distract him, just in case Tseng kept arguing. "Could you hand me the milk, please?" It worked, Cloud was pleased to see Sephiroth's face soften, and he handed Cloud the glass. Although it seemed that Tseng didn't need the distraction after all.
"All right," he agreed. "I guess you leaving him wouldn't work anyways, because of Jenova. Zack and I will go to Midgar. We'll also need transportation for afterwards."
Cloud settled back, sipping at his milk and only half paying attention to what the others were saying. It was probably really selfish, not to mention hurting their cause, but he was really happy that Sephiroth wasn't willing to just leave him. He didn't want to be alone right now. Although, if they were holed up alone for any length of time, there would be a lot fewer distractions to keep Sephiroth from asking about why he was still in pain. Cloud grabbed another sausage. He had tried to convince himself that Sephiroth wouldn't care, but there was always that little voice in the back of his mind. The one that sounded remarkably like Hojo. Cloud sighed and turned his attention back to the conversation.
"We'll send Vincent to recruit the pilot," Tseng was saying.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, Vincent's not exactly Mr. Social Skills," Zack said.
"He was a Turk, that should mean he's got at least some negotiation skills." Tseng paused for a moment. "I'll have Rufus call him as well; that should help. But really, Highwind will do anything for a chance to fly."
Ugh, flying. Maybe all the things Hojo had done to him had cured him of his motion sickness. That would be the only good thing to come out of it all. Well, Cloud supposed, he was also strong now. He had wanted to be able to stand by Sephiroth's side as an equal, after all. Maybe this was just a really good example of 'be careful what you wish for', because he sure as hell hadn't wanted anything like this. Cloud nudged Sephiroth's elbow and handed the milk glass back to him. He was so tired; he never had gotten that nap that Sephiroth promised him. He curled up into Sephiroth's side and felt a comforting hand in his hair.
***
Cloud walked quickly down the corridor to Sephiroth's office; this place was like a maze sometimes and he was running late. He finally found the office and paused a moment outside to straighten his uniform. He could hear Sephiroth's smooth voice on the other side of the door; it sounded like he was talking to Zack. Knocking lightly on the door, Cloud opened it and stepped through. He saw Sephiroth turn and smile at him before the floor opened up underneath him and he was falling. He caught one final glimpse of Sephiroth's stricken face before he was falling through complete darkness.
Down and down he went, scrabbling frantically at the sides of the walls, trying to get a grip, but there was nothing to hold on to. The falling sensation suddenly stopped and Cloud looked around blindly. "Sephiroth?" he said hesitantly.
"Sephiroth isn't coming for you."
Cloud whipped around at the sound of the voice. That was-that was-His breaths were coming in gasps and Cloud fought not to panic. "No, no, no..." Cloud moaned. "He loves me; he'll come."
"Even if he's not dead, do you really believe that he'll come for you? Now? What do you think his reaction will be when he sees you? You think he'd still want you? You're disgusting."
The world shifted and Cloud was lying face down on a table, unable to move. He could hear movement behind him and someone spoke.
"This is certainly an interesting development, isn't it, Specimen?"
Cloud felt hand on his back and writhed helplessly against his bonds. When his back felt like it exploded in pain, Cloud screamed at the top of his lungs and thrashed. He must have broken the straps holding him down, as it was suddenly a lot easier to move, but something was still holding him. Cloud fought and kicked out against it, trying to get away. Whatever-whomever-it was let go and Cloud scrambled through the darkness. The floor abruptly ended and Cloud fell a short distance, landing with a thud. His eyes flew open-had they been closed?-and he looked around the room, trying to interpret his surroundings.
It didn't look like the lab; Cloud recognized his own bed next to him and his things on the dresser. He must have fallen off the bed. And the people in the room weren't in lab coats. That was Sephiroth, crouched down in front of him, and Zack and Tseng behind Sephiroth.
"Cloud?" Sephiroth said very softly. "Do you know where you are?"
Cloud nodded, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Home."
"That's right. You're at home, and you're safe. I'm sorry that I didn't notice you were dreaming." Sephiroth inched a little bit closer. "We got talking logistics and I was distracted. I should have been paying better attention."
"S'okay. Just a nightmare." Cloud kept his arms firmly around his knees as Sephiroth attempted to embrace him. Sephiroth shouldn't have to deal with him like this. He needed to plan and recruit and go save the world. Cloud was just in the way.
As if reading his mind, or maybe just sensing his reluctance, Sephiroth moved back and crouched, bouncing a bit on his toes. He reached up to the bed and handed Mini-Cloud over. Cloud took it hesitantly, tossing a quick glance in Zack's direction.
"Do you want anything, Cloud?" Sephiroth reached out and brushed a few tears off Cloud's cheek.
"My... my mom. I want my mom," Cloud whimpered.
"Could one of you?" Sephiroth turned and looked up at Zack and Tseng.
"Of course." Both men headed out of the room and Cloud was left looking up at Sephiroth, feeling a bit guilty.
"I'm sorry, I just-"
"It's okay, I understand. She'll be right up."
"'Kay." Cloud felt like such a weakling, crying for his mommy, but he really wanted to see her.
"Shh, it's okay." Sephiroth brushed away a few more tears. "She'll be right here."
***
Previous Chapter | Next Chapter