This is sort of a sequel to Welcome to the Neighborhood, but after a lot of thinking and the opinion of an awesome author (ShadesofImagination, to be exact. *cough*), it was decided this could be a stand alone oneshot as well. They're all pretty OOC, but that shouldn't really come as a surprise.
Despite Cloud's acceptance of dinner at his neighbors' house a week prior, they had yet to have their date. The day of the yard sale, the five had sat outside on Cloud's dumpy little home's front lawn and ate pizza that Sephiroth claimed the blonde had to try. Personally, Cloud wasn't a fan of anchovies, olives, mushrooms, and pineapples on the same pizza, but thankfully, Angeal made sure a regular old pepperoni and cheese pizza was ordered, too. So dinner was a no-go that night. And then it was the weekday and Genesis and Angeal had to work late.
Which was about when Cloud came to realize that Sephiroth quite enjoyed his company. And knew how to pick locks, apparently. The silver-haired teen managed to make his way into Cloud's house every single day. Cloud would walk down the hallway, enter his office, and have a fucking heart attack because somebody that wasn't him was inside his house. While his front door was locked. When he demanded to know how Sephiroth had gotten in, his only answer was a raised eyebrow.
Apparently Angeal had a parental block on the internet next door, so Sephiroth quite enjoyed using Cloud's. Though what he looked at, Cloud wasn't sure; everytime he checked the history, it was wiped clean.
He was honestly probably better off not knowing.
But now he stood at the end of the front walkway to his four neighbors' house, biting his lip and looking around nervously. Angeal had invited him over for dinner. He could do dinner, right? Right. He hoped. He hadn't actually had the chance to spend much time with any of them—aside from the resident lock-picker—and wasn't sure how they acted together. All he knew was Zack liked to paint toenails, Genesis hated it, and Angeal liked to mother everyone.
Not exactly helpful.
Determined, he took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and—
"Well, hello, Cloud!" a voice shrieked behind him.
Cloud let out a shrill scream and whirled around, clutching his chest. Little old Eunice was standing less than a foot behind him, smiling toothlessly. "Oh. H-Hello, Eunice. You startled me." he explained, taking deep breaths.
"Where ya headed off to this time of night?" Eunice yelled at him, toothless grin still in place. Her rat-dog sniffed Cloud's foot and he sincerely hoped it wasn't about to take a piss on him.
"Going to Angeal's for dinner." he told her, smiling politely. It wasn't night time; it was 3:30 in the afternoon.
"Oh, that's nice, dearie!" she screeched, patting him on the shoulder. "You all make sure ya wear a condom, ya hear? Don't want anyone gettin' pregnant!"
"Um, Eunice, guys can't get—"
"Why when I was your age—"
"Eunice—"
"—me and Jack used to—"
"Eunice—"
"—and that's how I gave birth to Sophia here." Eunice finished, pointing down at her rat-dog.
"…Okay." Cloud said slowly, looking down at "Sophia"—who was pissing on the sidewalk next to his shoes, thank god. "Well, I've got to… go now. Have a nice night, Eunice."
She waved to him and hobbled down the sidewalk, dragging Sophia with her. Cloud watched her go, slightly more creeped out by his elderly neighbor now that he'd discovered she believed she had given birth to her dog. But really, it wasn't Eunice's fault. She was old. Old people got senile and weird. Shrugging, he turned and headed up the walkway towards the large brown house. And as he stood on the stoop, he started to realize just how dumpy his little house must look compared to the neighboring homes. Angeal's front door was polished wood. Cloud's was metal. And painted a weird shade of yellow. He lifted his hand to knock, but the door swung open before he had a chance. Genesis stood there, hands behind his back and beaming at the blonde. His shirt was at least two sizes too big, and Cloud had a feeling that it may have belonged to Sephiroth. As a matter of fact, he recalled the silver-haired teen wearing the exact same shirt two days prior.
"Hello, Cloud." he greeted, rocking slightly on the balls of his feet. He took a few steps back and waved the teen inside, closing the door behind him.
"Hello, Genes—"
A kiss descended upon Cloud's lips, cutting him off. And then Genesis—blushing furiously—took off down the hallway, screaming at the top of his lungs (and surprising Cloud quite a bit—he didn't think Genesis was capable of being that loud). "Cloud's here!"
And that was apparently all it took for Zack—a shirtless, wet Zack—to fly out of one of the side rooms into the hall, hurling himself at the blonde and tackling him to the floor. Cloud felt the air leave his lungs in a rush; he was not built for being tackled by men twice his size. And he was pretty sure his shirt was being pushed up by the rug—which was giving him a rugburn.
"Zack, get the hell off of him." Sephiroth snapped, hauling the raven-haired teen off of Cloud. "You're fucking wet. What the fuck were you—did you just take a shower?"
And Cloud was met with shock number two of the night thus far. To think Sephiroth was capable of forming sentences longer than five words! Cloud had assumed he was only capable of one or two words grouped with a swear. Obviously, he was mistaken.
"Hello, Sephiroth." Cloud called up from the floor.
He pushed himself into a sitting position, then climbed to his feet and awkwardly stood in front of his two neighbors. Was he supposed to… kiss them? He shifted his weight uncomfortably for a moment, then leaned forward and—face red—placed a shy kiss on Zack's cheek. He turned to Sephiroth.
And Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow, smirking at him.
And that was enough to make Cloud just raise his hand and sort of wave. Of course, Sephiroth was having none of that. He grabbed the front of Cloud's shirt, yanked the blonde forward, and kissed him on the lips. Then he turned and just walked down the hall, like nothing happened. Leaving Cloud feeling slightly dazed and standing with a soaking wet, shirtless Zack. His neighbors were weird—but in a good way. Or, he hoped so; they hadn't done anything too outrageous yet, and he was pretty sure they weren't spying on him or anything.
Zack ushered him down the hall, his hand maybe just a little bit too far down on Cloud's back. He was struggling to find a way to tell Zack he'd rather he not be so touchy when he was shoved into a room at the end of the hall—apparently the kitchen, judging by the refrigerator. Genesis looked up from a book. And just stared. Cloud frowned; he'd really thought the redhead had gotten past just staring. Angeal was standing at the counter, a cutting board in front of him. The moment he heard Zack stumble into the kitchen, he whirled around.
With a butcher's knife in his hand.
"Zack, how many times have I told you to stop run—" He paused and stared down at Cloud. Who was watching him casually waving a knife the size of his forearm all over the place. "Oh, hello, Cloud."
"H-Hello." Cloud answered, taking a small step back.
Angeal gave Cloud a strange look, then realized he was holding a large knife and set it down on the counter. He reached for the blonde and pulled him into a rib-crushing hug. And for the second time that day, he was glad he had never taken up football as a sport. He was finally released and a kiss landed on his forehead, followed by a hand ruffling his hair. He frowned; his hair was naturally spiky, yes, but he had spent two hours trying to make it look somewhat decent, and Angeal had just ruined his hard work. With another quick ruffle of his spikes, Angeal returned to chopping what looked like a potato.
Cloud fucking loved potatoes.
He crept closer until he was right next to Angeal, staring at the potato on the cutting board. "Is that a potato?"
"Yes." Angeal answered, slicing it again. He cast a sideway glance at Cloud, then plucked a piece off of the board and held it out to Cloud. "Now shoo. Go hang out with Seph or something. I'll call you guys when dinner's ready."
Cloud took the potato and blinked down at it. Raw potato? Surely it didn't taste—oh god, it was amazing. And he could hear angels singing. Alright, that was a little bit of an overstatement—but it did taste amazing and he wondered why he'd never tried it before. He munched on his slice on potato and wandered towards the table, where Genesis was curled up in a wooden chair, reading his book again. Zack seemed to have just disappeared—presumably to put a shirt on. Personally, Cloud had no qualms with the teen being shirtless; he had a nice chest. He peeked over the redhead's shoulder and the book snapped shut. Blue-green eyes blinked up at him curiously.
"Hello." Genesis said quietly after a moment, clutching the book to his chest.
"Is that Sephiroth's shirt?" Cloud asked, craning his neck and trying to read the title of the book. "What're you reading?"
Genesis slowly nodded, then flipped the book around so Cloud could read the title. "It's Loveless." he explained, still keeping a firm grip on it. "It's my favorite book."
He started to ask what the book was about, but Sephiroth slipped into the kitchen and latched onto Cloud's arm. "C'mon."
"But Genes—"
"It's okay. I'll see you at dinner." Genesis interrupted with a shrug. By the time they were out of the kitchen, Loveless was open again and the redhead had his eyes glued to the pages.
Sephiroth dragged him through the living room—which was at least twice the size as Cloud's dumpy little one and much more well-furnished than his own—and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. And pinned Cloud against the wall. Grinning. It was about that time that Cloud realized Sephiroth wasn't wearing his glasses. And had his arms on either side of the blonde. And was slightly too close for comfort—even if they were technically on a date.
He raked his brain for some clever comment related to the current situation. Something that'd break the ice and maybe make the man take a few steps back, something brilliant—"Uh, what's up?" Something to figure out why he was pinned against the wall.
"Cloud." Sephiroth simply said, slowly cocking an eyebrow.
"Sephiroth." Cloud replied, blinked wide blue eyes at the man.
"I want you—" Oh dear god. Cloud wasn't ready for sex. Not yet, not—"—to pierce my lip."
Cloud released the breath he was holding, then started laughing. "That is not what I thought you were about to ask."
Sephiroth snorted, tossing some of his hair behind his shoulder. "What else would I ask?"
"Well—I thought—" Cloud worked his mouth wordlessly for a minute, then shrugged helplessly. "I don't know?"
"Will you do it?" Sephiroth asked, with what could possibly be considered a pout on his face. He leaned a little bit closer, one leg sliding between Cloud's legs.
Well. That wasn't awkward at all.
"U-Uh, I don't know. I've never pierced someone else's lip—"
"Great," Sephiroth cut him off, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the stairs. "I have everything you'll need."
Cloud swallowed hard and stumbled up the stairs after his neighbor. He'd never even pierced his own lip—nevermind someone else's. The second floor of the house had another hall with two doors on each side and one at the very end. One door was open, revealing a tidy room, while the opposing door showed the messiest room Cloud had ever seen. Sephiroth slowed to a stop in front of a black door with a Metallica poster on it, across the hall from a plain wooden door that was closed. He kicked the door open, dragged Cloud inside, then shut it.
And locked it.
Sephiroth's room was borderline-terrifying to Cloud; horror movie posters were plastered all over the walls—and the fucking ceiling—alongside various band posters. It was surprisingly neat (Cloud had assumed Sephiroth was messy), and the bed was made with dark blue blankets. The rug under his feet was an equally dark shade, but the walls were green, for some reason. And sitting right there on the wooden desk that was pushed up against one of the walls with a laptop on it, was a row of needles, a bag of cotton balls, and a box of tissues.
Cloud was starting to regret going to his neighbor's for dinner.
"Sephiroth, I've never pierced anything." Cloud deadpanned, turning to face the teen.
Sephiroth just frowned at him and crossed his arms, leaning his back against his door. "It's not hard; I just can't do it myself."
"But I—"
"Please?" he begged, taking a few steps forward until he stood before Cloud. "I really want a lipring."
Cloud swallowed hard, staring into the teen's piercing green eyes. "U-Um, where are your glasses?" he asked, attempting to completely change the subject.
Sephiroth just blinked down at him, then pointed at his dresser. Sure enough, folded neatly on the corner of the wooden top were Sephiroth's glasses. "So… Will you do it?"
"A-Alright. But let me know exactly what I need to do." Cloud sighed in defeat, rubbing the back of his neck. "Promise you won't kill me if I screw it up?"
"Promise." Sephiroth beamed down at Cloud, practically skipping over to his desk.
"Angeal," Zack whined, throwing himself halfway across the table. "I'm hungry! When are we eating?"
"Soon, Zack. I just need to—"
"Fuck!"
Angeal dropped the knife he was holding, and Genesis nearly fell off of his chair. All three occupants of the kitchen looked up at the ceiling with wide eyes, then slowly looked at each other.
"Was that Seph—" Genesis started, climbing to his feet.
"Shit, I'm sorry!"
"Cloud?" Angeal questioned, brow furrowed in confusion.
Something crashed on the next floor up, and the three took off for the living room. They stopped just long enough for Angeal to tell them both to sit—mostly because Zack always had a habit of getting under his feet and Genesis looked like he was going to throw up—and then the elder of the three bounded up the stairs. Another crash echoed down the second floor hallway, and he headed for Sephiroth's door, slamming his fist down on it when he found it locked.
"Seph, open the door!" he shouted, knocking on it again.
The lock clicked, and the door swung open.
And Angeal did not expect what he saw.
He was greeted by Sephiroth, clutching his chin, and Cloud standing in the middle of the room with blood on his hands. Both looked very much like deer caught in the headlights, and blood was dripping down Sephiroth's chin. Of course, the first logical explanation that came to Angeal's mind was that the two had gotten into a fight and Cloud knocked out a tooth. He wrapped one arm around the silver-haired teen and stepped into the room, frowning deeply at Cloud.
"What the hell did you do?" he asked, one hand on his hip.
"H-He asked me to!" Cloud stuttered, dropping the needle he was holding.
Angeal watched it all the way to the floor, then turned to Sephiroth. He pulled the teen's hand off of his chin to reveal a small hole with a stud in it. Then where was the blood coming—
"He poked my gums!" Sephiroth complained, pulling his newly pierced lip down to reveal bloody gums.
"I'm sorry!" Cloud wailed, holding his hands up defensively. "The needle slipped a-and—"
"I thought I told you we'd all go with you next week?" Angeal frowned down at his younger lover, crossing his arms.
Sephiroth rolled his eyes, wiping blood from his chin with the back of his hand. "I didn't feel like waiting a week."
"I'm so sorry, Sephiroth." Cloud said, biting his lip. He dropped to his knees and snatched the bloody needle up, then dabbed at the blood that had dripped to the floor. "A-And I'll clean everything up, Angeal."
"You don't need to—"
"Stop that." Sephiroth snapped, dropping next to Cloud and swatting his hands away. "Angeal, go get me the carpet cleaner."
Angeal left the room without a word, and Cloud swallowed hard, looking at the specks of blood on his hands while Sephiroth dabbed at the blood on his carpet. He sat up, leaning back on his heels and cocked his head, looking his companion up and down. He leaned forward, gripped Cloud's chin, and kissed him on the lips. Bloody gums and all. It was completely disgusting.
And oddly sweet, because as soon as he pulled away, he pulled Cloud into a hug.
"Thank you, Cloud." he murmured, resting his chin on the blonde's shoulder. Then he shoved Cloud away from him and returned to cleaning up blood. "Bathroom's at the end of the hall. I'll take care of this shit."
Cloud climbed to his feet and—holding his bloody hands out in front of him—headed out into the hallway. The sound of the TV in the living room echoed up the stairs and down the hall, along with Zack's obnoxiously loud laughter. Once again, he considered how strange his neighbors were. One had convinced him to pierce his lip, one had tackled him as soon as he entered the house, and another was too shy to speak more than five words to Cloud. The only one who hadn't proved to be a little bit odd so far was—
"Cloud, be a sweetheart and let Genesis know he needs to finish dinner?" Angeal spoke from towards the bathroom.
"Sure, Ang—" Cloud paused, half turned around. And stared. Because Angeal was standing in front of him in a completely different outfit than he'd had on less than five minutes ago. When the fuck had he changed his clothes? "Uh. S-Sure."
He stepped around the taller man and made a beeline for the bathroom. He had a feeling walking downstairs and hunting for Genesis with blood on his hands might make his neighbors think he was the weird one. Although really, wasn't he weird already? He'd accepted a date from four men he still barely knew. Shrugging one shoulder, he slipped into the bathroom and nudged the door shut with his hip. And came to a complete stop because the bathroom was so unlike anything he'd imagine any of the four using.
It was pink. And the shower curtain had hearts on it.
Even the sink was pink.
He stepped up to the counter and frowned down at the girlishly colored marble. And realized for the umpteenth time since moving in next door that his neighbors were weird.
"Zack?" Cloud ventured, taking the last few steps quickly and standing in the living room. He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow at the raven-haired teen—who was lying upside down, with his legs draped over the back of the couch.
"Hm?" Zack hummed, not taking his eyes off of the TV.
"Where's Genesis?"
"Uh…" the teen rubbed his chin, then shrugged. "I don't know. Check the office. Last room on the left."
"Alri—"
"Wait!" Zack cried as soon as Cloud started across the living room.
The blonde stopped right in front of the TV. "What?"
"Want to watch this with me?" Zack asked, pouting at him. "It's about some deranged killer tooth fairy."
Cloud turned to the TV and cringed; he'd looked just in time to see someone lose their fucking arm. "U-Uh, nah." he replied, shaking his head. He moved out of the way, hands crossed behind his back. "Thanks for the offer, though."
Zack didn't reply, violet eyes already back on the TV, so Cloud headed out into the hallway. Last room on the left? He stopped in front of the kitchen, brow furrowed in confusion. Because that was the last room on the left. Did Zack mean… right? The door directly across the hall from the kitchen was half open, and Cloud could hear someone humming to themselves. He poked his head into the room, and sure enough, Genesis was curled up in a chair, Loveless open and resting on his knees. He had Sephiroth's shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and he was sitting in a chair that large—giving Cloud the impression that he was much younger than he really was.
"Genesis?" Cloud called softly, stepping into the room.
And apparently scaring the hell out of the redhead.
He abruptly stopped humming, snapped Loveless shut, and jerked his head up, staring at Cloud with wide eyes. "Y-Yes?" he squeaked, clutching the book to his chest.
"Angeal wanted me to tell you to finish dinner." Cloud explained, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling sheepishly.
Without a word, Genesis gently placed his book down on the desk in the middle of the room, and darted out of the room, making sure to put as much space as possible between himself and Cloud. The blonde stood there for a moment, awkwardly shifting his weight, then slowly started across the hall. He lingered in the kitchen doorway, watching Genesis stirring one pot, then pulling the oven open to check on something. Blue-green eyes continuously darted nervously to Cloud, and he heaved a sigh, stepping up to the kitchen counter and leaning back against it.
"Are you afraid of me?" he deadpanned, vaguely waving one hand.
For a moment, Genesis was completely silent, chewing on his lip and crossing his arms in front of his fest, eyes focused on the counter. "N-No." he finally answered.
"Then why are you so afraid to talk to me?"
"Because," Genesis said so quietly that Cloud had to strain his ears to hear him. "Sephiroth likes you more."
Cloud's hand dropped to his side, and he gaped at the redhead. He was afraid Sephiroth liked Cloud better? All the silver-haired teen had done in the past week was borderline molest him, steal his internet, and beg him to pierce his lip—which had resulted in Cloud getting mouth blood all over his hands. "What?" he laughed, then covered his mouth because Genesis was frowning at him. "He doesn't like me more than he likes you. Trust me."
"How do you know?" Genesis snapped, one hand on his hip.
Cloud cocked an eyebrow.
Genesis blushed and turned back to the stove.
"He doesn't know me as well as he knows you." Cloud offered, scooting closer to the redhead. "Besides, you're hotter than me."
The spoon Genesis was holding clattered to the floor. "W-What?"
Cloud looked away, blushing and shaking his head quickly. "Did I say that out loud?"
Genesis nodded mutely, then crouched down to snatch up the spoon. He dropped it into the sink. And whirled around to face Cloud, his face red. "You really think so?" he whispered, taking a step closer. He didn't give Cloud a chance to reply. He leaned forward, pecked him on the lips, then shoved him towards the door. "I-I need to cook. Go hang out with Zack or something."
Shoved away by one of his neighbors. Again.
And as he wandered back across the hall into the living room, he wondered if it was some odd habit of all of those. He slid down onto the couch, as far from the upside down form of Zack as possible, and gaped at the TV. Cloud didn't do the whole bloody horror movie thing; it always made him feel sick to his stomach. To his left, violet eyes peered at him, one black eyebrow arched high. He shuffled around, fell off of the couch, then leaped to his feet and sat down.
Right next to Cloud.
"Hello." Zack said, a wide smile on his face. He draped one arm around Cloud's shoulders and leaned back, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. "Watch this next part. It's great."
He watched.
It was some lady getting her intestines ripped out.
…It was going to be a long wait for dinner.
Cloud looked down at his plate in awe; the chicken was picture-perfect, the rice was delicious, and the potatoes were absolutely amazing. Angeal was a damn good chef—or was it Genesis, since the redhead had finished the meal? He'd had to sit through the remainder of Zack's horror movie, but it had been worth it. Half an hour after planting himself on the couch, Angeal and Sephiroth had come back down—Sephiroth in a new set of clothes and blood free. He also looked completely thrilled and stuck his tongue out with a smile at Zack when the teen asked about the lip ring.
Now he was sitting between Sephiroth and Genesis, across from Angeal at Zack.
And was in complete shock at how good the food tasted.
Of course, he hadn't had anything more than ramen in a cup for the past two weeks. But still, Angeal was amazing.
"This," Cloud started, pausing to swallow his chicken. "Is amazing."
"Thank you." Angeal replied, then pointed his fork at Genesis. "Genesis added some spice, though."
Cloud turned to compliment his shy neighbor, but his face was already bright red and he was staring down at his food in an honest attempt at ignoring the conversation. He was still in Sephiroth's shirt, though he looked a lot less like a little kid while he was sitting at the kitchen table.
His neighbors weren't all that bad. Sure, a little odd. Sure, he'd gotten Sephiroth's mouth-blood all over his hands. But they were sweet—and still very much hot. "We should, uh." He stopped to think, all eyes on him. "I don't know, go to the zoo sometime."
"We can't go to the zoo." Genesis piped up, biting his lip. "We're not allowed in."
"You're not?" Cloud blinked, one eyebrow raised. "Why not?"
"Well—"
"Zack tried to ride a giraffe." Sephiroth interrupted, poking at his food.
"There wasn't a sign saying I couldn't!" Zack cried from across the table. "If they don't want people in the enclosures, there should be a sign."
"There was a sign." Angeal pointed out, frowning at the teen.
"You just chose to ignore it." Sephiroth added. He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe if you hadn't painted Gen's toenails again, he wouldn't have shoved you over the fence."
Genesis blushed brightly again, shrinking down in his chair.
"Why do you always try to paint his toenails?" Cloud asked curiously; it was the second time he'd heard about an incident relating to Genesis' feet.
"Zack has a foot fetish." Sephiroth replied, grinning maliciously.
"And a fetish for feathers, actually." Angeal added.
Genesis cleared his throat and offered up a forgotten fetish. "He's obsessed with Seph's hair, too."
Zack's knife and fork hit the table with a clatter and he glared at his lovers. "Excuse me; I thought this was dinner time, not 'Share all of Zack's fetishes' time."
They grew silent, chewing on Angeal's meal—Cloud trying not to laugh.
"Oh, and leather." Sephiroth said after a moment, smirking.
"Alright, that's it." Zack shouted, slamming his hands down onto the table and standing up, his chair scraping loudly across the floor. "Sephiroth likes it when Genesis looks like a kid! He's a fucking pedophile!"
Genesis' jaw dropped and he gave Zack a horrified and hurt look. Sephiroth was furious. Abso-fucking-lutely furious. But before he had a chance to move—or Angeal had a chance to speak—Cloud was already on his feet, one hand on his hip.
"He doesn't like when Genesis looks like a kid." Cloud snapped. "He probably likes it when he looks cute. That does not make him a pedophile."
Four pairs of eyes turned to him and he shifted uncomfortably, then quickly sat back down and stared at his plate. "Sorry." he murmured, poking at his rice.
"No, Zack's the one that needs to apologize." Angeal sighed.
Zack sank down into his seat, crossing his arms and glaring at his plate. And didn't say anything.
"Zack, apologize." Angeal said softly, one hand landing on his shoulder and gripping it gently.
"I'm sorry." Zack muttered, looking away.
Sephiroth shrugged one shoulder and returned to his dinner. "I'm sorry, too."
"May I be excused?" Genesis whispered across the table. He stood up and left the room before Angeal had a chance to answer.
Sephiroth sighed and went after him, followed by Zack seconds later. Leaving Cloud sitting awkwardly at the kitchen table with Angeal.
"I'm sorry you had to see that." Angeal apologized, rubbing his chin. "Sometimes they get a little carried away."
Cloud nodded, picking at his dinner. Angeal acted so much older than them, and he was so damn curious—"Angeal, how old are you?"
Angeal cocked an eyebrow, his face twisted in confusion. "22, why?"
"Well, you act so much older than—"
"Everyone else?" the man offered, gesturing to the kitchen doorway. Cloud nodded. "Somebody has to stop all of their fights. Besides, Seph turns 20 in a month, and Genesis is 21."
Cloud blinked. And blinked again. Genesis was 21? "And I've been thinking Genesis was a teenager." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"He can act it sometimes." Angeal sighed and started cleaning up his missing housemates plates. "Would you like to spend the night, Cloud?"
Cloud almost choked. "U-Um, I don't know if I'm ready for that yet." he rushed, blushing as he held his plate out to Angeal.
The man just chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "I don't mean sex, Cloud. Just sleeping." he reassured with a smile.
"Oh." the blonde sighed, feeling silly. "Yeah, sure."
He climbed to his feet and followed Angeal to the sink, offering the help wash them. Sleeping over couldn't be that bad—at the very least, he'd get to know his neighbors better. Besides, their couch was really comfortable—more comfortable than his bed—and he'd probably be sleeping on that. What could go wrong?
"Zackary fucking Fair, what the hell did you do to my foot?"
Zack laughed loudly, throwing his head back and rolling around on the couch. "Oh, c'mon, it's cute!"
They were sitting on the couch in the living room—Cloud crammed between Zack and Angeal with Sephiroth on the other side of the older man—about to watch a movie. They'd just settled on the couch when Genesis had come storming down the stairs barefoot, in yet another oversized shirt belonging to Sephiroth that made him look naked from the waist down. And now his foot was on the coffee table in front of the couch, and he was pointing at his toes with a deep scowl on his face.
Because at some point between dinner, Cloud walking back to his house to get an extra set of clothes, and them finally deciding on a movie, Zack had apparently drawn smiley faces on Genesis' toes.
And apparently, his little toe went "whee, whee, whee, all the weigh home".
"You spelled 'way' wrong." Sephiroth pointed out.
"So?" Zack guffawed, eyes watering. "It's still hilarious!"
Genesis glared at him, then dropped his foot to the floor and stomped. "Do you have any idea how long it's going to take to get this off, Zack? You used permanent marker!"
"Gen, come here." Sephiroth called calmly, leaning forward and reaching for the redhead. He curled his fingers in the edge of the shirt and dragged the man over, pulling him down onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around Genesis and rested his chin on the smaller man's shoulder. "Sit. Watch the movie. We've got company."
Genesis crossed his arms and pouted, but leaned back against Sephiroth. And glared at the TV.
Cloud wiggled his shoulders slightly, attempting to get comfortable between the large form of Angeal and the lanky form of Zack as the movie finally started. It wasn't that that couch was too small,—in fact, it fit them all just fine—it was that Zack kept moving closer. So he scooted towards Angeal. And Zack covered the space in seconds. By the end of the opening credits, Cloud was practically in Angeal's lap, and Zack was practically in his. Finally, he turned to look at Zack. Who was giving him a shy half-smile. Rolling his eyes, Cloud moved just a little bit closer and let the teen drape his arm around his shoulders.
…He wasn't quite expecting Angeal to do the same thing, though.
So Cloud sat there watching a horror movie in his neighbor's home with Angeal's arm draped across his shoulders, and Zack's arm traveling down his back to wrap around his waist. And he could hear Genesis and Sephiroth kissing. The entire thing wasn't nearly as awkward as he had expected it to be. Smiling to himself, he leaned his head against Angeal's shoulder. Zack moved slightly closer. Cloud turned to look at him, leaned forward and—
And caught a glimpse of the TV just in time to see someone get their heart ripped out.
He gaped.
Zack snorted out a laugh and kissed him on the cheek instead, and Cloud blushed, shrinking back into the couch. He averted his eyes from the movie, staring instead at the coffee table or his own lap. Anything but the disgusting movie Zack and Sephiroth had picked out to watch. He made an attempt at subtly looking around Angeal to see what Genesis was doing. But considering two of his neighbors had their arms wrapped around him, it wasn't subtle in the least. Fortunately, neither of them seemed to care, so he leaned forward slightly, and was met by wide blue-green eyes that looked completely horrified.
And judging by the pained expression on Sephiroth's face, Genesis was squeezing his hand slightly too hard.
Cloud leaned back and poked Angeal's side. "Switch spots with me." he whispered quietly, looking up at him.
Apparently "switch spots with me" meant "haul me onto your lap" to Angeal, because that was exactly what he did. And Cloud awkwardly shifted his weight, blushing furiously and nearly jumping a foot when Zack moved closer and wrapped an arm around him again. The teen leaned his head against Angeal's shoulder where Cloud's had been, and Cloud leaned back slowly. And Angeal wrapped his arm around Cloud's stomach.
Cloud had never felt so much like part of a sandwich.
He turned his head towards Genesis and smiled.
And Genesis stuck his tongue out.
Cloud cocked an eyebrow and frowned.
Genesis grinned and snuggled up to Sephiroth.
Cloud blinked at him and turned back to the TV. Was he being challenged or something? He forced himself to concentrate on the movie, and not the noise coming from the pair next to him. Some major plot point was being rambled by a screaming man and Cloud furrowed his brow in confusion, wishing he'd paid more attention to the movie. Something about a werewolf? Toothpicks? He couldn't really tell; the actor scream-talked horribly. And considering he hesitated way too long to fall over when he was killed in the next scene by having his head ripped off, Cloud decided the actor in general was horrible. He yawned and snuggled back against Angeal's chest, averting his eyes from the movie again.
By the time the end credits rolled across the screen, Cloud was fast asleep and Zack was hovering over him, tilting his head this way and that. Likewise, Genesis had fallen asleep on Sephiroth—and Genesis slept like a rock. Zack climbed to his feet and stretched, then carefully sat back down, leaning closer to Angeal.
"Want me to get some blankets?" he whispered to the man, who was running his fingers through Cloud's hair.
Angeal nodded silently and Zack stood back up, heading for the stairs. Sephiroth started snapping his fingers and he whirled around. "What?" he whispered harshly, hands on hips.
"Get me something to drink, asshole." Sephiroth answered, moving himself and Genesis closer to Angeal.
Zack rolled his eyes and headed for the hallway instead, muttering to himself about being a slave and nobody appreciating him. He returned moments later, put a glass of water on the coffee table, and then dashed up the stairs. He paused in the upstairs hallway, staring at his mess of a room. Then he turned, walked into Angeal's, and tore the blankets off of his bed instead. Like hell he was messing up his own room. It was just the way he liked it—it was neatly messy and he knew exactly where to find everything. The TV was dark when he got back down the stairs, and his shin made use of itself by finding the coffee table as he was heading for the couch. He bit the inside of his cheek and hopping on one leg for a minute, clutching his probably-bruised shin and swearing under his breath. He rubbed it one more time, then collapsed on the couch, handing Angeal the blankets. The older man draped one over Sephiroth and Genesis, then another over himself, Cloud, and Zack. Cloud happily grabbed a hold of it and made an honest attempt at hogging it while sleeping. Zack rolled his eyes and pulled more of it his way. Cloud pulled on it again. Zack ended up halfway on Angeal's lap, pressed up against Cloud simply because the sleeping blonde apparently didn't want to give up any of the blanket.
Cloud shut the door to the neighboring house behind him with a smile. His hair was disheveled, he was wide awake, and he'd just had six of the best cups of coffee and five of the best pancakes he'd ever had. Sure, waking up draped across his neighbor's lap had been a little awkward at first, but getting four good morning kisses (five if he counted both of Genesis') had left him in a pretty good mood. Whistling to himself, he started down the walkway, heading for his own home.
"Good morning, sonny!" Eunice shrilly called from the sidewalk. Sophia the rat-dog tinkled on Angeal's mailbox. "I hope you all wore some condoms!"
"Eunice, we didn't have—"
"If you don't wear condoms, someone will get pregnant!"
"Eunice, for the last time, men don't get—"
"Why, when I was your age—"
"Eunice—"
"—and that's why you wear condoms!" Eunice shrieked, laughing her horse laugh. She hacked something up and spit it into the street. "So, did you wear a condom? Don't want you all gettin' pregnant."
"…Yes, Eunice. We wore condoms."
"Good, good!" Eunice cried, patting him roughly on the back. "Don't want ya gettin' pregnant!"
Cloud just nodded and smiled at his elderly neighbor, then shook his head as she started to walk away. This neighborhood wasn't half as bad as he had initially thought—hell, he could even get used to Eunice's strange words of wisdom. And then the mailman walked by, looked at Cloud standing there in all of his messy glory (he hadn't even bothered to button up his shirt since he only had to walk to the next house over). And just stared at the teen's bare chest. And was he drooling? Taking a few steps back, Cloud turned and rushed for his home. Because even though his neighborhood was perfect, his ancient mailman seemed to have a thing for him—and he was not into old men.
I had to include Eunice. It was pretty much required, just because it's her.
Glad I finally did this; I wanted to make a sequel for awhile, but just couldn't figure out how I wanted it to be. Hopefully it isn't as bad as I feel it is.
Thanks for reading! Leave me a review?