Sephiroth had childish impulses that he tried to ignore, and always eventually fulfilled. His most common one—that he quite enjoyed, thank you very much—was to point at his paperwork with a quiet "Ha!" when he finished it. Zack Fair had walked in on such an act once; the usually stoic and silent General with a rather psychotic smile on his face, laughing at his paperwork causing the boy to flee to his mentor, only for the incident to come up during dinner at Angeal's apartment later that night. Another urge he'd had in the past was slide across his newly-waxed kitchen floor in his socks. He had thoroughly enjoyed that one—Cloud and Zack had, as well, laughing alongside him as they slammed into counters, knocking dishes to the floor until Angeal had demanded to know what was going on. Sephiroth promptly returned to his usual neutral self, and blamed the two teenagers. The result had been Angeal lecturing both of them for disrespecting the General's kitchen, and, in turn, Cloud avoiding Sephiroth for a month.

Now yet another childish urge was climbing its way up his spinal cord to his brain, telling him to move—to hide before Cloud returned from training and classes. He ignored it in favor of texting the cadet back, letting him know the door was unlocked and he would see him soon. A few quiet moments of TV watching later found Sephiroth bounding down the hallway, ripping the hall closet open and throwing himself inside. He shifted uncomfortably for a moment, pushing a coat hanger out of his face before sliding to sit on the floor—only to hiss in surprise when he sank onto a pair of boots and… was that a practice sword? He pushed both out of his way and sat down, drawing his long legs up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees.

And then he waited. Eyes glowing softly with impatience, he waited.

Shifting ever so slightly to get more comfortable, holding his breath while he strained his ears and—ah yes! Cloud was home. He exhaled slowly when he heard the blonde close the door behind him and take his boots off, dropping his bag on the coffee table.

"Seph…?" he called out timidly, and the General bit his lip to stop himself from replying.

He almost wanted to end the game; almost wanted to leap from the closet and greet the cadet, but something inside him—something positively sinister, he decided—held him back, and he nuzzled the coat next to him, delighted to find it was Cloud's, and thus, covered in his scent. There was silence in the living room, and momentarily Sephiroth thought that maybe the boy had started to cry or panic. He was on the verge of giving into the desire to comfort his young boyfriend, hand halfway to the doorknob, when he heard soft steps in the hallway. He jerked his hand back and nestled back into the coats, grinning like a madman.

"Seph?" came the call again, followed by the opening and closing of the bedroom door, then the bathroom door. "Sephiroth, answer me."

Silence.

"Alright, fine." Cloud snapped at the silent apartment, hurt.

Sephiroth frowned as he heard the steps fade back down the hall. Had his lover really given up so easily? He hadn't even gone to the closet! He shot to his feet to open the door and sneak down the hall, realizing his mistake a split second too late as he slammed into the railing holding all the coat hangers.

"Fuck!" he shouted, grabbing his now aching head and stumbling backwards.

Back collided with dry wall, and the shelf at the top of the closet chose that very moment to spew forth everything it held, sending it all down on the General. He swore again as a box full of God-knows-what collided with his already sore forehead, and fell back to the floor. He kicked his foot out, colliding with the door and flinched. Steps sounded in the hall again, and Sephiroth clapped his hands over his mouth to stop himself from letting out a terrified yelp. It was then—as Cloud turned the knob and slowly opened the closet door, and the General let out a loud, pitiful whine much unlike him—that Sephiroth realized he was taking this whole hiding thing far too seriously.

"…What are you doing?" Cloud asked, a bizarre, questioning look on his face, blue eyes wide.

Sephiroth frowned and rubbed his head, staring up at his lover with innocent green eyes. "Hiding."

"From…?"

"You." The General deadpanned, climbing to his feet and stepping over the knee-deep pile of anything and everything that the two had managed to cram onto the shelf.

The blond looked down at his feet, shoulders sagging. "Y-You didn't want to see me? If this is a bad time, I could—"

Sephiroth grappled for the teen's arm before he could turn and walk away. "No, Cloud. It was a game."

Cloud cocked his head to the side and regarded the man with a confused look. "You were…" his lips quirked down at the corners. "…playing a game?"

The General sighed and gestured towards the living room couch. He followed the blond back down the hallway, settling himself next to his boyfriend. "When you said you were on your way back, I felt like…" he paused, trying to choose his words carefully as Cloud gave him a miserable look. "I felt like I needed to hide, and wait for you to find me."

Realization flashed through Cloud's eyes and he beamed at the General, causing the older man to sigh in relief. "Zack and I did that to Angeal once!" the teen cried with a laugh. "But Angeal found us, and Zack got in trouble for trying to hide in the cupboard over the fridge."

"How—"

"I have absolutely no idea, but Angeal had to take the cupboard door off to get him out."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, silent. Then, Cloud burst out laughing, Sephiroth chuckling alongside him at the mental image of Zack being stuck in a cupboard. He stopped mid-laugh when Cloud crawled onto his lap and shyly pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before hopping off of the General's lap and taking a few steps back, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Guess you'd better start counting, Seph."

"Start counting?" Sephiroth questioned dumbly, reaching out and trying to grab a hold of Cloud, who danced back out of his reach.

"My turn to hide!"

The elder of the two cocked his head to the side with a frown. "And I… find you?"

The blond bobbed his head enthusiastically, then turned and glanced over his shoulder. "Close your eyes and count to 10."

A smirk settled on Sephiroth's lips, and he closed his cat-like green eyes as Cloud rushed from the living room. "What do I get out of this, Cloud?" he called out.

A light laugh came from the bedroom, and the playful smirk widened. "Oh, I think you'll enjoy it." Cloud replied in a singsong voice.

"One…" Sephiroth started, leaning back against the couch. If his childish impulses continued to end this way, he had a feeling he'd really begin to enjoy them—especially this little game of hiding.

I really enjoyed writing this. I think Sephiroth's a bit out of character, but I hope that's alright! Review?