"They had expected it to be hard," Cloud recited from the storybook as Zack lay his head in his lap, listening "Almost impossible in fact. But it was so easy that it was hard not to back out."
He closed the book and Zack sighed.
"Such a good book," he said.
"Yeah, apart from that human sacrifice scene, I enjoyed it," Cloud shrugged and Zack chuckled.
"You have such an eloquent voice," he smiled.
"Ahem!" Genesis coughed loudly from the kitchen.
"Not as eloquent as Gen's voice obviously," Zack grinned as they both imagined Genesis's annoyed look from behind the chopping counter.
Cloud frowned as his nose twitched.
"Do I smell eggrolls?" he asked and Zack sniffed the air too.
"I smell them too…" he said and sat up "Gen, I thought you were making cheesecake!"
"I am!" Genesis called.
"With eggrolls?" Cloud asked.
"Call it an experiment!"
Cloud and Zack exchanged an incredulous look.
"So…want to watch a movie?" Cloud asked.
"Nn, sorry, buddy, sounds like Angeal and Seph are on the SNES at the moment…"
They paused at Sephiroth's loud swearing and Angeal's hearty laugh followed by the music of Super Mario Kart.
"Wow, just a few hours earlier I was sandwiched between the two and I cannot imagine them sandwiched together in front of a TV screen playing video games," Cloud frowned and Zack cackled.
"Yeah, Angeal is pretty good and Seph hates being bested in anything."
"But…" Cloud blinked as he stared ahead "Angeal…tops Seph…"
"Yes, Seph has been battling again and again to try and top Angeal," Zack grinned "It normally happens when Gen and I cuddle on our side of the bed. They can fight for hours until Seph just flops onto the mattress exhausted."
Cloud smiled wistfully at the image.
"But I do like the idea of a movie night," Zack held up a finger "How about The Little Mermaid?"
"No, I really don't like the idea of merpeople," Cloud shook his head "How about Bambi?"
"No!" Zack pouted.
"What?" Cloud frowned "Bambi's a good film."
"The mean hunter kills his mom!" Zack whined.
"The hunter needs meat to survive, survival of the fittest," Cloud shrugged.
Zack let out an insanely high-pitched gasp and shifted to the other side of the sofa, pointing at Cloud accusingly.
"Cloud supports the hunter in Bambi!"
The Super Mario Kart music stopped, Genesis's gasp could be heard from the kitchen and the door slammed open. Three incredulous looks from the men behind Zack were directed at a confused looking Cloud.
"How could you?!" Genesis accused.
"You support the heartless hunter who kills Bambi's mother?" Sephiroth questioned softly in disbelief.
"You do realise the movie was designed through the perspective of a little faun whose mother gets killed when he's still growing up?" Angeal asked slowly.
"I cried so much when she was shot," Zack whimpered as tears began brimming in his eyes.
Cloud raised his hands in an act of surrender and stared at his boyfriends in surprise.
"Um…" he said "OK, maybe it is heart-wrenching that Bambi lost his mother at a young age."
"Maybe?!"
"It is heart-wrenching that Bambi lost his mother at a young age!"
Four accusing looks immediately melted into content looks.
"So, who wants some of my newly invented cheesecake?" Genesis suggested as he went back into the kitchen.
"Shouldn't it set first?" Angeal asked curiously and blinked in surprise as Genesis came out with a suspiciously green cheesecake sprinkled with sugar.
"I have told you time and again my dear Angeal," Genesis simpered as he placed the cheesecake onto the coffee table "I'm a brilliant cook."
"Not a brilliant inventor though…" Sephiroth muttered as he eyed the cheesecake suspiciously.
Zack dived forward eagerly and cut off a slice. Cloud took one of the spoons offered by Genesis and took a piece off Zack's slice.
"Oh, you put my vitamin gummies inside them!" Zack exclaimed excitedly as he pointed to the orange dots inside the cream.
Sephiroth and Angeal raised their eyebrows in alarm.
"At least you added sugar on the top…" Angeal said as Cloud swallowed his bite.
Cloud paused and went rigid, causing their alarmed looks to turn into worry.
"Cloud?" Sephiroth came to Cloud's side and petted his back.
Cloud swallowed slowly.
"It's salt, not sugar," he whispered.
"You actually mixed up the sugar and salt?" Angeal said to Genesis.
"No, I put salt instead of sugar," Genesis said smugly "So, how is it Cloud?"
Cloud stood up shakily and Sephiroth rose to hold his elbow.
"Cloud?" he said worriedly.
"Water…" Cloud rasped and Sephiroth dragged him into the kitchen to get him a glass of water.
Angeal sighed as he heard Cloud retch and turned to Zack, blinking in surprise when he saw him grab another slice.
"See?" Genesis grinned towards Angeal "Zack likes it."
"Zack enjoys eating cardboard, he'd eat anything," Sephiroth called from the kitchen.
Genesis scoffed and petted Zack's head fondly.
"Who's a good puppy?" he cooed and Zack grinned happily.
"Zack, are you even tasting it?" Angeal asked slowly as he sat down next to Zack and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"What?" Zack shrugged "I like eggrolls, cheesecake, salt and vitamin gummies."
"Altogether?" Angeal shot and incredulous look at him.
"Well, it's really good combined together!" Zack sniffed.
"You should stick some cardboard in next time, Genesis!" Sephiroth called from the kitchen as Cloud retched again.
"Oh, you know cardboard isn't good in cheesecake!" Genesis huffed and tossed his hair.
"Gen…" Cloud said weakly as he stumbled back into the room with Sephiroth's help "I love your cooking. But not your experiments so don't be insulted."
"I'm not insulted," Genesis pouted as the blonde sat in one of the armchairs "You just have a weak stomach."
Cloud groaned as he leaned on Sephiroth who petted his hair soothingly.
"So, how about Indiana Jones for movie night?" Zack suggested with his mouth full of Genesis's cheesecake.
"Well Reno is borrowing Raiders of the Lost Ark," Angeal shrugged "We have Temple of Doom though."
"Oh no, I don't like the idea of human sacrifice," Cloud paled.
"Well apart from Bambi, what would you like to watch?" Angeal suggested.
"How about Lion King?" Cloud perked "That's a happy movie."
"Mufasa dies," Zack pouted.
"Oh, it's not that sad," Cloud sighed.
And yet another argument about one of Disney's saddest moments erupted between the men.
