Title: Made of Smoke

Couples: A mess between Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, Cid, Zack, Cloud, Nero and Weiss. Cid/Sephiroth, Cid/Angeal, Sephiroth/Genesis, Genesis/Angeal, Zack/Cloud, Weiss/Nero, Genesis/Weiss/Nero, Sephiroth/Zack/Cloud, etc.

Summary: The SOLDIER's find their lives change completely when a certain blonde decides to watch the LOVELESS play (takes place around Crisis Core).

Warnings: Sexual scenes and strong language inside somewhere. Characters might sound a little out of character. Some characters will not have their original age (for example, Cid is 19 and Cloud is 17).

Rating: M for strong language and sexual scenes

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CHAPTER 1

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"And what is your experience in the field?"

It was a white room, with plain decoration such as one shelf stacked with files on one side; no windows for natural illumination or plants for animation.

"I've been flyin' my entire life. Ever since I was a lil' kid."

He room could be considered intimidating, but it didn't seem to affect the confident voice that spoke in answer to the question.

"Hum."

The man on one side of the desk that was placed right in the middle, pondered on what to say next.

"Well, your family does have quite a reputation here with us."

The man spoke, looking over at the youth that sat before him.

"So?"

The youth spoke, obviously impatient, which made the other man want to chuckle.

The man let out a teasing smile and continued.

"Mr. Highwind."

He refrained from laughing as the youth coughed in embarrassment.

"Please, Sir. Mr. Highwind was my old man. Jus' call me Cid."

"You're going to be THE Highwind, now. Your father, Joseph…."

The man trailed off at the sad memory of his deceased friend.

"…he was a good man. And I know that he would be proud of you, Cid."

The blonde scratched his head in embarrassment, muttering a soft 'I know he would'.

"How is old Christ?"

He asked the younger man, referring to his uncle.

"He's alive. Drunk as a silly bean, but alive."

Pierce nodded, giving a sad look to the other man.

"Cid, be careful out there. Not only the war, but inside ShinRA as well. It can be dangerous."

Cid waved a hand at the other man, grinning sheepishly.

"Ye don't have ta remind me, Pierce. I know how ta take care of myself."

"Sometimes I wonder. The Highwinds are temperamental and have a knack for getting into trouble."

The man, Pierce, spoke of experience. He had under his tutelage three Highwinds, at different times. They had caused him to grow white hair and to dye his hair brown as well spend many nights grounding them with extra training hours or laundry/cleaning tasks. And he knew that the new offspring was going to be no exception.

"Oh really? Never noticed."

Cid spoke casually, leaning on his chair with overconfidence, flashing his famous grin at the brown haired man in front of him.

"You can go, now. The secretary outside will give you indications about your placement, and answer any other questions you may have."

Cid rose from his seat excitedly, raising his arm over to perform a playful continent to Pierce.

"Sir! Thank you, Colonel!"

The brunette chuckled, waving the blonde off.

"Remember, I won't be so light hearted on the field, Highwind."

Cid smirked, knowingly.

"Ya don have ta remind me, Pierce. I seen ya in action before."

Pierce blinked at the memory.

"You remember that day? You were only four or so, when Joseph came to pay a visit!"

The blonde youth shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets as if out of embarrassment.

"Ya know…it was a cool day. I got to be inside an army airship an' all that."

Pierce nodded in understanding. He remembered how happy the little punk was on that day.

~He's not a little punk anymore.~

Pierce knew that it was too soon to make that statement mentally. The youth still lacked values that will make him a full grown adult. But it ached his hart to see his lost friend in the young boy in front of him.

~He picked up Joseph's accent, that's for sure~

"I will be seeing you in the training field within a week, Cid. Don't disappoint me."

Pierce spoke, as he got up from his seat, walking the Highwind out of the plain office with him.

"Sure thing, John Pierce."

"Remember that I won't be tolerant to first names when I officially become your superior, Cid Highwind. Also give my regards to Christopher, will you?"

"Yeah, I know! An' I will, don' worry."

Pierce stood by the door and watched the young man make his way to his secretary's desk, filling out excitedly the final application papers.

The man sighed, turning back into his annoying office. He had more young men to interview. ShinRA was on high demand for pilots or cadets ever since things became rather heated with Wutai. He wished that his office had a window for him to look out into. It helped him clear off his mind and think better. Pierce was nearly sixty and he was stuck with seeing new faces come and go, and mostly die on him.

~I sure hope that this Highwind will prove to be more resistant than the last~

John grimaced in his thoughts in a taunting manner, as if Joseph was there to hear it.

~!~

Cid nearly skipped down the streets after exiting the tall white building, The interview to join the air force had gone smoothly as he had hoped.

~Now I jus' need to find someone from the science department to le'me suggest space exploration~

The blonde grinned to himself. He had a lot of plans formed in his head, in case some of his ideas backfired.

But he had to calm down, for now. He could prove himself in one week and slowly rise from runt to pilot, and finally, become a captain.

For now, Cid would become familiar with this area. He came from Sector 4, near to the edge, far from the center of Midgar, and Sector 8 felt alien to him.

~I usually came here with ma pop, and he knew his way around, so I might as well~

His parents originally came from the slums, more specifically, Sector 2. That Sector was known to house nomads, people without a country or a home. On ShinRA's good intentions, those people were given a 'home', as long they did civil duty and followed the laws just like everyone else living in Midgar.

When his father and uncle, Christopher, joined the ShinRA forces, they were moved to Sector 5 on the top, the military section. As both Highwinds progressed in their military career, they were able to purchase a house in Sector 4 and by that time, Cid was to be expected.

Unfortunately, when Cid hit age 5, his father had passed away during a check up on the Mako Reactor in Gongaga. The explosion had brought a lot of pain and suffering for a while. Cid's father was then replaced by his uncle, who raised Cid just like his lost brother would. The man also tried to replace his lost son, William Highwind, who died at age 19 during a ShinRA mission that went terribly wrong.

It was by his uncle's word that Cid joined ShinRA forces as well. Cid understood the reasons. His uncle became addicted to alcohol after his father and his own son's death. He would drown his sorrow with a large amount of drinks, and that sometimes led to some serious situations. Christopher would let out all of his pain, resulting in hurting everyone that surrounded him.

Sending the young nephew away to Junon when Cid hit 16 was a wise choice, possibly the only good reasoning the man did after so many years of drinking stupidly. After three years of infantryman training, Cid choose the field that best suited him: the Air Force.

As Cid walked down the many streets of Sector 8, he came across a very familiar poster that grew with him.

"Loveless…"

He knew that the play took place every summer, but he never got the chance to watch it. Not only was it too far from home, but it never spurred much interest on the man.

~But I'm going to be around 'ere for a while, so might as well catch up~

Making up his mind, Cid made his way to the ticket bout, noticing that there was quite a line to wait on.

~!~

TBC