It was Friday night date night. Cloud Strife was pretty excited because this week, it was his turn to pick their date spot, and he'd chosen his favourite diner, the Rainbow Diner.

Well, maybe "favourite" was a bit of a strong word to use. Although he'd moved to Midgar a month prior, he'd yet to even visit any other dining establishment save for the one at which he was currently seated. In his defense, it was a nice place. The wait staff was efficient and pleasant, the food was delicious, and they were open all hours of the night. It had become especially convenient once he'd started drowning his cancelled dates in work and leaving the auto body shop at all odd hours of the morning.

Not—not that he'd left Nibelheim just to be closer to his long-distance boyfriend. No way, that wasn't it at all; Midgar simply offered more opportunities for a guy like him. He'd never really fit into Nibelheim, anyway, with his weird straw-coloured hair, July sky eyes, and soft features. In Midgar, he was just another non-factor, and he'd even managed to find a job that catered to his love of anything automechanical. The fact that his boyfriend also lived in the city was just…a bonus.

A bonus that isn't really panning out, Cloud thought with a sigh. It was the third week in a row that his boyfriend hadn't showed up for their predetermined weekly date, though this was the first time the douchenozzle hadn't even bothered to let him know. Cloud played with the straw on the milkshake he'd ordered twenty minutes ago, glancing out the window with a sigh. He'd made sure to sit in one of the booths that lined the plate glass windows, just so he'd have a front row view when Reno showed up. So far, nothing.

"You sure I can't get you something to eat, honey?" asked the waitress, interrupting Cloud's thoughts momentarily, a wary expression on her face. It was her fourth time visiting his table over the past hour. Cloud couldn't blame her if she was beginning to get suspicious; he would have kicked his pathetic ass out of the place half an hour ago if their positions had been reversed. Gaia, he was about ten minutes away from dragging himself out of there anyway. He heaved a huge sigh.

"Sir?"

Cloud glanced at her. Now she just looked extremely worried. "No, I…" His voice trailed off, the same way his gaze drifted back to the parking lot that was sadly bereft of a cherry red, 2010 Mazda3 sedan. "I think I'll just wait a bit longer, if you don't mind," he said politely, his Nibelheim breeding hindering him from being even remotely rude.

"You want a refill on that shake?"

Cloud inspected his glass of Oreo milkshake, which was only half empty, and shook his head. "No," he said, aiming a wan smile at her. "I'm good for now, honest. I'm just—as soon as my boyfriend gets here. I'm sure he won't be much longer now."

The man in the booth behind him—the jackass had been gossiping with his girlfriend about Cloud all night in "hushed tones", like Cloud was fucking deaf or something—snickered at that, and Cloud whipped around with a glare. His girlfriend quickly shushed him, though she hid her own titters behind a dainty, manicured hand.

Cloud turned back to the waitress with a determined mien. "It's fine," he said firmly. "My boyfriend will be here soon."

A couple of young girls sitting at the countertop swiveled back and forth on their seats as they sucked down their sodas, covertly sending him apologetic glances in between revolutions. Cloud pointedly ignored them, upping the wattage on his already blinding smile instead.

The waitress raised her eyebrows and thinned her lips, but didn't say another word as she flipped her notepad shut and turned away. Cloud waited until she was clearly occupied with another table before he dropped his bright and sunny demeanor and collapsed in his seat like a jellyfish.

This whole thing was a fucking mistake, he thought, dragging a hand over his face. Five more minutes. That's all he gets.

It was Friday night date night, and Sephiroth Crescent-Valentine was just about fucking done. He'd suffered through all that bullshit, and he hadn't even gotten a single orgasm out of it.

Okay, so perhaps "bullshit" was a bit of an overstatement. To be fair, it was almost a ritual between the two of them, and it wasn't like Sephiroth never did his fair share of contributing to the hellacious antagonism between them. On the contrary, it was practically the only way he and his co-counsel (and sometimes lover) Genesis Rhapsodos ever got anything done. Sephiroth would win a case, Rhapsodos would reluctantly acknowledge his brilliance while at the same time implying that he could do much better, he would subtly challenge the auburn-haired drama queen, Rhapsodos would overtly declare war and inevitably end up in over his head, Sephiroth would continue to egg him on with taunts of implied stupidity—somewhere in the middle they'd break the sexual tension with a blowjob or something—Rhapsodos would win the goddamn case on some goddamn technicality, he'd become invariably disgruntled, Rhapsodos would make some snide-ass remark, and then the entire cycle would begin again, roles reversed.

Gaia, they were a shitshow. But they worked.

Except for tonight, Sephiroth thought to himself, smoothing his bangs back from his forehead for about the fifteenth time since he'd pulled into the parking lot thirty minutes ago. He didn't visit the Rainbow Diner often, but when he did, it meant he was at the end of his rope. He wasn't necessarily of the "My body is a temple" camp, but he certainly took good care of it, and the greasy, delicious food they served at the diner was hardly a regular part of his routine. That's why it was his chosen comfort food; Sephiroth very rarely needed comforting that he couldn't find at the bottom of a stiff drink.

"But tonight took the fucking cake," he muttered, glaring through his windshield as he slumped over the steering wheel of his Jaguar. He and Genesis had a penchant for hate-fucking each other into next month, but tonight, they'd gone way past hate-fucking and well into the realm of general hatred. Somewhere in between the $500 food fight and the arrival of the SWAT team, Sephiroth had called it quits and snuck out a back entrance, making his way to his favourite diner without anyone the wiser.

On the plus side, Sephiroth mused idly as the waitress walked away from the blond he'd been eyeing for the third time. On the plus side, there was a real hottie sitting in one of the window booths, and Sephiroth was having an incredibly hard time taking his eyes off him. Blond hair that looked like it was made of liquefied halos, big, blue eyes that could put Caribbean waters to shame, arm muscles that could probably bench his full 192 pounds with ease. The only downside was a frown so disheartening, Sephiroth would betray his own mother to erase it. Sephiroth didn't know exactly why the blond was so upset, but he imagine it had something to do with the boyfriend who would be, according to the blond, "here soon."

Oh, yeah. Sephiroth had picked up a talent for reading lips somewhere along his life, and he was never ashamed to abuse it.

Especially when he hadn't been sure whether or not a rescue attempt would even be welcome. The blond had been rather vague about the no-show he was supposed to be meeting at the diner, and it wasn't until just then that Sephiroth was able to make out the word "boyfriend" on the other man's lips. Thanking every goddess with her eye on him for the waitress' exasperating persistence, Sephiroth pulled down his visor, fixing his silver hair in the mirror. If he was gonna go all white knight for this bitch, he was damn straight gonna do it w—

"Oh, shit," he muttered. A sudden flash of gold and the hottie was on the move—straight towards the cash register. In a flurry of motion, Sephiroth flipped up his visor, snatched his keys out the ignition, and rocketed out his car door, pulling at his already rumpled dress shirt and tie in an attempt to make it look intentionally fashionable. There was no way he was letting this gem slip past his fingers.

Five more minutes was literally all Cloud gave him. In those five minutes, neither a text, nor a phone call, nor Reno himself made their presence known in his life.

So, Cloud got up to leave.

It was a little difficult getting up from the booth with the weight of all those stares on him, but Cloud managed. He partially deflected them by pretending he was searching the farthest recesses of his wallet for exact change as he walked towards the countertop, but he knew he was fooling exactly no one. Cloud heard three different sets of laughs, two "Awww"s, and at least one person who said, "That poor dear." Grinding his teeth, Cloud persevered, and had almost stepped up to the counter, cash in hand, before the store's front bell jingled.

He didn't look up immediately, but after hearing the simultaneous gasp of virtually everyone in the restaurant, Cloud rolled his eyes and spun around.

To come face-to-face with a god. A six foot, suit-wearing, silver-haired, green-eyed god.

"Hey," said the god in a voice that sounded like honeyed whiskey.

Cloud responded with a mouth slightly agape.

"Sorry I'm so late, babe, traffic is crazy right now," continued the god, pulling him back towards the booth hand in hand. It wasn't that difficult. Cloud was a perfectly willing hostage at that point, and the man had at least four inches of height on him.

"There was a massive accident on the highway, some big chase thing, and…" The god trailed off in his explanation, probably because he finally noticed the completely dazed look in Cloud's eyes, and he chuckled.

"You probably don't care about that right now, do you," he murmured, drawing in close to Cloud's ear. Cloud promptly forgot his own name.

"I'm Sephiroth," the god helpfully provided in a whisper that sent shivers down Cloud's spine. "Just go with it, yeah? Whoever didn't bother to show up for you is a dick." And in that moment, Cloud Strife experienced firsthand the meaning of the phrase, "walking sex."

Sephiroth knew he was doing what Genesis liked to call his "victory smirk" at that point, but he really couldn't help it. Everyone in the restaurant was jealous as hell of his pretty blond, and it was all his fault. Okay, so maybe he might have shocked the man into cardiac arrest, but Sephiroth knew a pretty good way of shocking him right back out.

Pressing a gentle kiss to the blond's cheek, Sephiroth took advantage of his resulting bonelessness to guide the man back into the booth, and quickly took a seat beside him, slinging an arm across the back of the seat. Colour blossomed into the man's previously pale cheeks, and he aimed a suspicious glare Sephiroth's way. Grinning, Sephiroth ignored it in favour of waving the waitress over to their table.

"Hi," he said, "I'd like a deluxe turkey burger with waffle cut fries and a Coke, and my boyfriend would like…" Sephiroth deliberately left his sentence open-ended and gave his new companion a pointed glance.

"Um…I'll have my usual," the blond mumbled, barely glancing between him and the waitress before staring down at the table.

The waitress made a quick note before letting them know their order would be out shortly and making her way back behind the countertop. Sephiroth wasted zero time. "So," he said, turning towards the blond angel, "whom might I have the pleasure of rescuing this fine evening?"

Though he hadn't thought it possible, Cloud could feel the blush in his cheeks getting worse by degrees. "Cloud," he answered, turning to stare straight ahead rather than at the fucking Adonis who dared lower himself to sit with him.

"Cloud," the man repeated, as though he were savouring a particularly delicious candy. "It suits you."

"I—thanks," Cloud answered, desperately wishing for some freak accident to occur that would devoid him of all his blood so he would stop the goddamn blushing. "Um…Seph—Sepha—"

"Sephiroth," the man helpfully repeated. "Sephiroth Crescent-Valentine."

"Oh—oh."

"Attorney at law."

"Oh, right."

"You have no idea who I am, do you."

Cloud cringed. He hadn't know that he was supposed to have known the man in the first place. "Um, no, I know who you are," he hastily said. "You're with that guy, what's-his-name…Rhapsody?"

"Rhapsodos," Sephiroth answered with a chuckle and a wide grin. "You're new around here, aren't you."

Cloud wanted to sink even further into his seat. "Is it that obvious?" he asked.

Sephiroth gave an outright laugh. "Relax, I've just got a huge ego," he said with a wink, and Cloud fought to regain his breath.

"Right," Cloud said, and then he breathed in deeply. "Right. I—um. I just moved to Midgar about a month ago."

"Oh, really?" Sephiroth said. "What brings you to our fair city?"

Cloud's lips thinned, and he fought hard not to let loose a huge sigh. "I came—I came—"

"Leviathan, Cloud, I haven't even gotten you into bed yet," Sephiroth said.

It took Cloud a second longer than he liked to get Sephiroth's little joke, but when he did—fucking A. His blush, which had just begun to die down, returned with a cold-hearted vengeance.

"I came to Midgar," he gritted out, "because I didn't really fit in at my hometown, and Midgar offered a lot more opportunity."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Huh."

The waitress returned just then, drinks in hand. "One Coke," she said, placing the appropriate glass in front of the silver-haired man, "and one orange juice."

Sephiroth thanked her and took a healthy sip from his glass before eyeing Cloud expectantly. Cloud heaved a sigh.

"I also came to be closer to my boyfriend," he admitted grumpily, playing with the condensation on the outside of his drink.

"Ah, and the plot thickens," Sephiroth said dramatically. "This wouldn't happen to be the same boyfriend you were supposed to meet tonight?"

Cloud's eyes widened. "How—"

"If I were any type of romantic, I would say 'There's no way someone are gorgeous as you was spending their Friday night alone in a 24 hour diner,'" he said, "but I'm not romantic. I've been watching you from my car for the past half hour, and I can read lips."

Cloud's first reaction was instantaneous indignation. "You what?"

Sephiroth, bless his soul, rolled his peridotite eyes. "Oh, come off it," he said. "That's my car. You can't possibly have missed it." He turned slightly and gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. Cloud looked past him to see a forest green, 2 door, 2 seat, GT coupe Jaguar XKR parked perfectly within his line of sight. Damn.

"It's a nice car," Cloud grumbled appreciatively.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "You know cars?"

"Like it's my job," Cloud said with a snort.

"What is your job?"

"Auto technician."

"Oh. Oh!" Sephiroth's eyes crinkled as he laughed, and Cloud found himself smiling alongside him, previous ire nearly forgotten.

Nearly.

"So you've been watching me for half an hour, huh," he said, casting Sephiroth a sidelong glance. "Am I just that fascinating, or were you just that bored?" So he had a slow start. That didn't mean that Cloud Strife was out of the game, no sir. He just needed a little time to warm up.

"Definitely not bored," Sephiroth answered, barely refraining from another eye roll. It was a nasty habit he was starting to pick up from Rhapsodos. "I've had the night from hell, and you're the most fascinating thing I've seen all month."

He took a sip from his Coke as Cloud's eyebrows shot up. "All month?" asked the blond.

Sephiroth winced. "Well," he said, "there was this one case with a stripper."

Cloud laughed, and Sephiroth couldn't think of any sound he relished more. He smiled.

"Second to a stripper in court," Cloud said, "I think I'll settle for that."

"You should never settle for anything, Cloud," Sephiroth said, only partly joking.

"You think so?" Cloud glanced over to him, head cocked, eyebrow raised, and Sephiroth found himself completely drawn into those crystalline blue eyes.

"I know so," Sephiroth answered quietly.

The waitress came by just then and shattered the moment as she placed their dishes on the table. Cloud glanced from his pancake special—which consisted of three buttermilk pancakes, two eggs, bacon, ham, and hash browns, all topped with a generous dose of maple syrup—to Sephiroth's turkey burger and fries, and covertly sucked in his stomach.

"So, um…you come here often?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth gave a small smile. "I don't, actually," he said. "This is sort of a comfort food thing for me."

"That's comfort food?"

Sephiroth paused in the act of taking a huge bite of his burger at Cloud's shocked tone. "What?"

Cloud leveled him with a blank stare, and Sephiroth was man enough to admit he squirmed a little. "You're eating a turkey burger," Cloud pointed out, "and it's got enough lettuce on it to feed a small vegetarian country."

This time, Sephiroth did roll his eyes. "It's not easy keeping my body looking this good," he said defensively. In actuality, it was—he had an excellent metabolism, and rather enjoyed his daily workouts—but Cloud didn't need to know that.

The little blondie scoffed at that, and dug into his own breakfast-for-dinner. "The point is, you clearly don't understand the meaning of the words 'comfort food,'" he said. "What do you even need comforting for anyway?"

"I broke a nail," Sephiroth deadpanned, shoving a handful of fries in his mouth to keep from bursting into laughter. Cloud wasn't so lucky, and gagged on his pancakes as he swallowed too soon. Sephiroth clapped one hand over his mouth as he snickered quietly, triggered by Cloud's minor distress. Cloud glared at him throughout his coughing fit, and Sephiroth could only turn away as he struggled not to spew chewed potato all over the table.

"You're an asshole," Cloud finally rasped, punching Sephiroth hard in the arm with one hand and holding his OJ in the other.

Sephiroth managed to get his food down. "Sorry," he said, entirely unapologetically. He waited until Cloud gave an exasperated sigh before continuing. "I had a…falling out with my co-counsel," he said.

"Your co-counsel? Rhapsodos?"

Sephiroth nodded.

"I'm sorry," Cloud said.

Sephiroth waved him off. "It's not a significant issue," he said. "Our entire relationship consists of fighting. I'd be worried if we actually managed to get along for 24 hours straight."

"Doesn't that get tiring?" Cloud asked.

"Not really," Sephiroth said with a shrug. "I've known him for a long time now, so I suppose I've gotten used to handling him. It makes for marvelous sex, anyway."

Cloud's fork paused halfway to his mouth. "Sex? You guys are dating?"

"Not dating, no," Sephiroth said. "More like…we fuck occasionally."

"Friends with benefits," Cloud said.

Sephiroth thought for a moment. "That seems to be an appropriate description," he said with a wry smile. "Although 'frenemies' might be more suitable."

"Hmm."

They fell into a comfortable silence as they each finished off their plates. The waitress came to clear their table, Sephiroth ordered the decadent chocolate volcano chocolate cake ("Ah, so that's the real comfort food," Cloud jibed, though he declined ordering his own dessert to share Sephiroth's), and then they were left to their own devices again.

"So how long ago did you move to Midgar?" Sephiroth asked. "Are you finding everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm doing well," Cloud said, nodding his head. "Well, except for the whole boyfriend thing. No. Ex-boyfriend thing." He gave his head another determined nod. He was through with that douchebag.

Sephiroth raised his glass. "Hear, hear," he said, clinking it against Cloud's.

Cloud cracked a wan smile. "I'd be lying if I said he wasn't part of the reason why I moved here," he said. "I thought...I thought I really…you know."

"You thought you loved him," Sephiroth offered.

Cloud shrugged. "He was great, in the beginning. Reno, he's kinda rough around the edges, but he was—he was really sweet to me," he said.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "'In the beginning'? What about now? Is he abusive? Do you need a place to stay?" He suddenly sat up straighter, and a certain gleam entered his eyes. Taking out his cell phone, Sephiroth began taking a memo. Whoever the fuck this Reno was, he was really about to goddamn get it.

"Reno what?" he said tersely. "What's his last name and address? And a physical description now would be helpful, but I can always look that up later. Look, Cloud, you may not know me very well, but I am a very powerful man, in and out of the courtroom. I will drag this man to the furthest extent of the law, and when he has nothing left to himself but his own fucking name, I will beat him so hard he won't even remember it. I will flay this man alive, Cloud."

"I—"

"You don't have to protect him, Cloud. You don't even have to be afraid of him. I will protect you, just give me his name. Are you still staying with him? I'll give you a place to stay, you can stay with me—you can stay with Genesis, he and Hewley have a whole fucking house to themselves. Although, Genesis is bitchy drama queen, and even I can only handle that shit in doses. You're probably better off with me—I swear, I'll be a perfect gentleman—but Cloud, you have to—"

"He's not abusing me," Cloud shouted, and then he instantly clamped his hands over his mouth as everyone, everyone, in the diner turned to look at him.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Nothing's…we're fine. We're fine. Sorry."

Turning back to Sephiroth, Cloud spoke in a tight hiss. "He's not abusing me, you fucking psycho, calm the hell down! I don't even live with him—do you really think I'm that stupid?"

Sephiroth blinked. Then he blinked again. "I—oh," he said, putting away his phone. "I apologize."

Cloud stared hard at him for a moment longer, and then sighed heavily. "It's fine, it's—it was kinda cute," he grumbled.

"I try," Sephiroth said, canting his head graciously.

"Reno didn't get abusive, he just got…absent," Cloud explained. "I thought moving closer might bring us closer, but it seems like it had the exact opposite effect." He shrugged. "Anyway, I'm done with him. And Midgar is nice, even without him. I have a job that I love down at Cid's, and I have a roof over my head. I really can't complain."

"Where are you staying?"

"Sector 6. I answered this guy's ad for a roommate, it's been working out pretty well so far," Cloud said.

Sephiroth perked up. "Sector 6? What's his name?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm not telling you his name so you can go beat up my roommate, Seph," he said flatly.

"'Seph,' I like that," Sephiroth said, giving Cloud a warm smile. "But no, I was asking because I know a guy in Sector 6. Thought it might be the same guy."

Though he said so, Sephiroth absolutely did not think it might have been the same guy. He knew it was the same guy. He just couldn't fucking believe his luck; it would make this entire process so much easier.

"What if it's not the same guy?" Cloud questioned.

"Humour me," Sephiroth said.

Cloud's lips thinned. "Zack," he answered finally. "Zack Fair, he's a—"

But Cloud couldn't finish his sentence over Sephiroth's howls of laughter. He waited, but Sephiroth continued laughing even as the waitress brought out his dessert. Cloud impatiently began tapping his spoon on the edge of the plate, waiting for Sephiroth to calm down.

"I'm sorry," Sephiroth sputtered, wiping his eyes. "It's just—I know Zack Fair. Very well, in fact. He's a cop, six foot, black spiky hair, behaves like an untrained—"

"Puppy, shit," Cloud finished, his lips curving upwards. "You really do know Zack. What a small world."

Sephiroth picked up his spoon and dug into his cake. "Welcome to Midgar," he said.

Over dessert, they talked about lots of things—Zack turned out to be a great topic of conversation, what with Sephiroth so amicably divulging more blackmail on the man than Cloud even knew what to do with. Cloud found out that aside from being a brilliant lawyer, Sephiroth was also a rather accomplished chef, practiced kendo on the weekends, and absolutely hated LOVELESS. On the other hand, Cloud found himself a veritable babbling brook as he told Sephiroth about his childhood in Nibelheim, his dream of owning a motorcycle, and his love for mixed martial arts. All in all, the evening was not only salvaged, but exceedingly enjoyable.

They stood out front, in the parking lot near Sephiroth's car. After learning that Sephiroth had done some tinkering himself under the hood, Cloud had insisted on having a look. That had been another twenty minute conversation, shocking Cloud with how easily he found it to engage in conversation with Sephiroth.

"I had a great time tonight," he said softly. "Thanks."

Sephiroth shrugged a shoulder. "You don't need to thank me, Cloud," he said. "If anything, I'm the grateful one."

"How so?"

"I got the chance to meet you," Sephiroth answered, nudging Cloud with his elbow.

Cloud chuckled, colour flooding his cheeks again as he gazed at the sidewalk. "I—you should probably get going, right? I'm sure you've got important things to get to," he murmured.

"Right now, there is nothing more important to me than you," Sephiroth said seriously, gazing out over the parking lot. "But if left to my own devices, I would keep you here with me all night, so I suppose I should go after all."

Cloud's heart thudded hard in his chest. "R—right," he stuttered. "I guess I'll see you, then. Or—"

Sephiroth laughed softly. "You probably will," he agreed, "since you're Zack's roommate. In fact, I'm surprised we hadn't met already. That fool always insists on every single one of his friends meeting the other."

Cloud scratched the back of his head. "I find a lot of excuses not to be in the apartment, actually," he admitted.

"Understandable," Sephiroth said with a chuckle. "So, rather than 'goodbye,' I'll see you later, Cloud."

Sephiroth walked around to his driver side door, counting to ten in his head. If he'd been reading Cloud correctly all night…

"Wait," called Cloud.

Sephiroth grinned.

"Yes, Cloud?" The little cutie was standing just next to him, fidgeting nervously.

"You should kiss me," Cloud blurted out, looking immediately mortified. "No, wait—that came out wrong. I meant—I meant—the diner. You—they all think you're my boyfriend, and if people are watching, they might think it's weird that you're my boyfriend and you didn't even kiss me goodni—"

It was a bit crass, and definitely not Sephiroth's usual style, but he interrupted Cloud mid-sentence to press their lips together. He felt Cloud's intake of breath as he slid an arm around the blond's waist, pulling them closer.

"Relax," Sephiroth muttered, before he kissed Cloud in earnest. Goddess, but he'd been waiting the entire night to do it. Cloud's lips were everything they'd advertised: soft, plump, and pliable. Sephiroth let loose a soft moan as one hand came up to cup Cloud's jaw, caressing gently. It was an indescribable feeling, to have Cloud in his arms. So new, yet so familiar at the same time, like he belonged there.

Though he was very tempted to just take Cloud over the hood of his Jaguar (fuck anyone who was watching), Sephiroth managed to rein himself in. Instead, he pressed his lips hard against Cloud's one last time, nibbled on that luscious bottom lip just a little bit, and then rested his forehead against Cloud's while he desperately attempted to catch his breath.

"That," he whispered, "that was—"

"Amazing," Cloud finished, eyes still shut as his lips curved into a smile.

Sephiroth gave a breathy laugh. "So I guess this would be a great time to ask you out on a date, for real," he said.

"Absolutely," Cloud breathed, and then he seemed to catch himself. "I mean, anytime would be a great time. I mean—I…I like you, Sephiroth."

"I'm glad to hear it," Sephiroth answered, his smile growing. How on earth he had managed to deserve such a blessing, he had no idea, but there was no way he would squander it. "I do have some work to get done tomorrow morning, but how about lunch? Are you free?"

"Fuckin' Fenrir, for kisses like that?" Cloud gave a hearty laugh, and opened his eyes. He quickly pressed his lips against Sephiroth's again before answering, "For kisses like that, consider my schedule permanently empty."

"Excellent," Sephiroth replied. "How does 12:30 sound? I'll stop by wherever and pick you up."

"Sounds like a date to me," Cloud answered coyly, giving Sephiroth a wink.

At that, Sephiroth groaned and spun Cloud around in his arms. "In that case, you need to go, now, before I do something you'll regret." With two hands on Cloud's back, Sephiroth pushed him away from his own car across the parking lot.

"Something I'll regret?" Cloud tossed over his shoulder, grinning widely.

"Yes," Sephiroth insisted, pushing Cloud towards his own vehicle. He took a step back, fully intent on returning to his own car, but Cloud surprised him with a ridiculously strong grasp on his shirt.

"One more kiss, then," Cloud said, his eye flickering between Sephiroth's eyes and his lips. "Because I'll definitely regret it if I don't." He didn't give Sephiroth a chance to respond as he held Sephiroth's face in his hands and pulled him close. There was no hesitation as he planted his lips on Sephiroth's and gently caressed, tasted, relished. At the slightest provocation from Cloud, Sephiroth parted his lips, and Cloud's tongue swept inside, inciting a veritable riot along his nerves. Cloud's hands smoothed down his torso and wrapped around his waist, but when they attempted to pull him in flush against Cloud's body, Sephiroth groaned and hastily pulled away.

"Cloud," he murmured, "as much as I swear I'm enjoying this right now, if you don't remove your hands from my person in the next five seconds, I also swear the entire diner is going to become very well acquainted with your o-face."

Cloud froze, and then raised an eyebrow. "What if I don't care?" he challenged.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "Cloud," he warned, his voice barely more than a rough growl.

Cloud laughed, and then pushed Sephiroth a full two feet away. "Alright, alright," he acquiesced. "I'm leaving. I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

Sephiroth took a deep breath before nodding. "Yeah, tomorrow," he agreed. "12:30."

"I'll be at Cid's," Cloud said.

"I'll see you there," Sephiroth answered, backing away as Cloud lowered himself into his car. "Goodnight."

Cloud gave him a wave and a smile, and then pulled out of the parking lot. As he reentered traffic, and all he could see of Sephiroth was a silver gleam in his rearview mirror, all Cloud could think was, Best. Date. Night. Ever.

A/N: So...it's not Marbles, and it's not any of the other multichaptered fics I've been working on, but it's something. Eh? EH?!

Actually, it's what I get for spending hours upon hours scrolling through tumblr and not knowing when to leave well enough alone. Here's what prompted it:

"some person: imagine that you've been stood up by your douche of a boyfriend on date night and the waitress keeps asking if you're ready to order but you keep asking for more time hoping that he's just late. people are starting to look at you with those apologetic looks like they know and you start to feel worse and worse about the whole situation but as you decide to just get up and leave, this boy you've never seen sits down explaining loudly "sorry i'm so late, babe, traffic is crazy right now." and he quietly adds, "i'm Michael. just go with it, yeah? whoever didn't bother to show up is a dick." and so you do go with it because he's being sweet and trying to save you (and plus he's the cutest thing you've ever seen) and as you're leaving the restaurant after the best non-planned date ever, he asks you out for real this time.

some other person: imagine your OTP"

I obviously couldn't leave well enough alone.

In case anyone cares about backstory, this is set in the So This Is Happening universe, except as a super-super prequel to the events of STIH, back when Ang and Ginny were the only ones actually pursuing each other. This is how Cloud met Seph. Blegh.

It was actually supposed to be a birthday present from me to the world on my birthday, but I couldn't finish it that quickly (and no fucking wonder, the thing turned out to be a 5,000+ word monstrosity), so here it is, a week later.