Disclaimer: I only own one of Sephiroth's pretty wing feathers which I bought on e-bay…don't tell me, I've been conned again? I don't think anyone whose tried plucking his feathers has lived to tell the tale…bugger!

- khff - khff - khff -

Chapter 2

They arrived safely outside Cloud's grandpa's unscathed as they dismounted his precious motorbike, Fenrir. Removing their helmets, the blonde hooked them on each handlebar. This part of the district was relatively quiet, so there was very little risk of them being mugged. Why anyone would just steal helmets is beyond me, but people have stolen stranger things before.

Together, they walked through a rickety old gate, which really needed replacing, into an unkempt garden. The grass was knee high, plentiful of weeds, and was that a thicket of venus fly traps in the far corner? Lovely…

Yes, the man who lived in this rugged looking bungalow was a tad on the crazy side. No matter how many times he or his mother had offered, the old man refused to let anyone tidy up his garden. He liked to have a 'natural' garden, not a 'boring, false, suburban piece of nonsense', to quote him. Therefore they just left it alone; if he wanted to be stubborn, it was his problem when those venus fly traps mutated into Audrey II's and ate him.

Braving the jungle of a lawn, Cloud took a deep breath before knocking the brass door knocker. Walking in without waiting, Leon followed suit without questioning. His grandpa had been pre-warned about him bringing a friend along, so he knew it was only them anyway. He wasn't the type of man who had a lot of guests. Unlike the front garden, the inside of his house was very neat and precise. It was very scarce in the hallway, only a coat and hat rack by the door and a few walking sticks propped against the wall.

"You're late." an elderly voice stated with a hint of annoyance.

Slapping his forehead, barely restraining a groan, Cloud led the way into the sitting room, where his granddad sat waiting in a tall, cushioned red chair, slightly worn out from years of usage. He wore something akin to a hospital robe; it was a primary blue that reached just above his skinny ankles, with matching pointy shoes to compliment it (as much as a skanky dress thing can be complimented). To top of his outfit, no pun intended, was a tall hat of the same colour, which ended at a sharp tip just below the top of the chair. He wore this daft garb because he had this delusion that he was an alchemist; a magician of sorts. Like I said before; a loony.

"Sorry Merlin." he didn't like being called grandpa or anything like that; says it makes him feel like an old man, hence calling him by his first name. Denial much.

Glancing at his lover to make sure he was okay, Cloud was pleased to see that he looked unperturbed as per usual. I guess it takes more than a nutty old man to ruffle Leon's feathers.

"We got here as soon as we could." he said in hopes that the old geezer would be appeased by it. Unfortunately for him, a miracle didn't happen.

"Not soon enough clearly, since you are six minutes late." always one for precision, "Nice to meet you young lad, my name is Merlin." He held out a bony hand out to Leon, whose nose crinkled on one side; which Cloud would have cooed at if they had been alone.

"Leon." It seemed that the brunet's antisocial behaviour stretched out to old people too. This would either make this visit a lot more easier, or a lot harder.

The smile that had been on Merlin's face gradually slipped away as he took back his extended hand. Grumbling something unintelligible under his breath, he stood up and hobbled into the kitchenette past the dining room.

"You two take a seat while I make some tea."

Without replying, the two made their way to the dining room table. It was small and circular, since there had never been any need for anything bigger. His grandpa would spend Christmas at his place, so he didn't have that excuse either. Cloud smiled at Leon who had his eyes shut, face in hands; a sign that he was utterly frustrated.

He would have made a comment on how he was sorry that Leon had to put up with his batty grandfather, but pre-mentioned old man had the ears of a bat. Nothing went unheard in his house. Instead, he put a hand onto his thigh, and squeezed it encouragingly. Retreating momentarily from his little hideaway, Cloud could have sworn he saw a miniature smile as the brunet turned away.

Meanwhile, the devious old coot was scouring through his cupboards as the kettle sat boiling on the gas stove. For the life of him, he couldn't find the bottle containing the potion he was after. After the cold reception he received from his grandsons' rude companion, he wanted to teach the young brat a lesson. No one messed with the great sorcerer Merlin and got away with it! Some of the bottles he happened across were a bit much, their contents being a tad too extreme and would be unfair. No, just some hair loss or sores would do. Steam billowed out of the kettle with a high pitched whine, alarming him that his time for searching was up. They'd get suspicious if he was gone for too long, so he had to pick something now. Picking up a random bottle, he placed it on the counter along with three cups containing a tea bag in each. Pouring the hot water, he removed the tea bags and put a dollop of milk in each of them. In one, he poured a substantial amount of his homemade potion. He took a brief look at it's label, but it was too faded to make out what it was. Not really caring whether it was lethal or not, he re-entered the dining room with the cups on a tray. He memorised which one had the potion in it, and handed it to the brunet boy instantly.

Leon was by no means a tea person, but nodded as he received his steaming cup, "Thank you."

The blonde was fairly content with his boyfriends behaviour. No, he wasn't being particularly nice, but he was being civil. That was a lot to ask of him, especially in this instance. He was sure if it was the other way around, he'd have snapped out by now.

He also gave his thanks as he was handed his cup, and took a small sip out of it. It was far too hot for him, burning his tongue as he swallowed it down. So, he placed it down on the table, and smiled awkwardly at his grandpa.

"So, how have you been?" might as well get to the point of this visit, to check up on his grandpa for his mother. The woman worried far too much.

"I have been rather well, thank you very much. I went back to the past and met King Arthur when he was a young lad, a lot younger than you are now. A bit dim, but with my help, he got there in the end." Cloud nodded his head and acted like he was interested, his eyes itching to roll in disbelief. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leon raise a brown eyebrow. He really should have warned him before they'd arrived here. "Apart from that, just the usual. Creating more potions, looking after Archimedes."

How could he forget, Archimedes, Merlin's beloved talking owl. Yep, you heard me right, 'talking'. That is how far this man's insanity goes; to the point where he believes his pet bird talks…and has an IQ of 150. There is no hope for him, hence him not being put into a mental institute or old person's home. Not that either of these places would take him, too disturbing for even them.

"That's good." he said, taking another sip of his still too hot tea to avoid an uncomfortable silence.

"So Leon," oh god, he was going to interrogate his boyfriend, just fantastic. Merlin still didn't know that he was gay, and he didn't want to know what his reaction would be. Far too unpredictable to risk, and it wasn't a necessary piece of information anyway. "How is it that you know Cloud here?"

In his monotone voice, he answered, "He's my boyfriend."

Merlin began to raise the tea cup to his lips, "Oh, that's nice--" as he took a swig of the tea, he nearly chocked as Leon's words finally clicked. Oh well, so much for hiding his sexual preference, "--You mean, he's--really?" he shakily place the cup on the table. Cloud was nervous now, he didn't know what his grandfather's thoughts were on male couples. Well, he was about to find out. "How long?"

Scratching the back of his head, a gesture which he picked up from his best friend, he replied, "For a few years now, but Leon's only my second boyfriend." Might as well be perfectly honest, it was all out in the open now.

Beady eyes screwed up behind wire glasses, contemplating what information he had been bestowed with. There was a very small, very brief smile before he looked back up at him. It was rather disconcerting actually; as if he was plotting something evil, "I'm surprised you didn't tell me sooner." He didn't sound surprised, "Oh well, at least I know now."

That was it; no catty comments, no homophobic insults, nothing. Only the slurping sound of tea being consumed. Although, the blonde wasn't sure if he preferred the silence or not. Deciding to ignore it, he focused his thoughts on the cup of tea in front of him.

Thank goodness Cloud couldn't read minds, because if he could, he would have known what his granddad's real thoughts on his choice of partner were. All the old man wanted to do was cackle wildly, as he watched Leon drink the last dregs of his tea. Although he didn't know what he had spiked the young man's drink with, he had a funny feeling that it was going to cause problems for the foul brunet.

When the two left a while later, he sent them off with a genuine smile; genuine in a mischievous sense.

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Shoot, I can't believe how OOC I made Merlin. But if he was a (vaguely) normal grandpa, I could imagine him being all mental and evil. Old people are evil in general. Oh well, it's all for laughs anyway. So, what has naughty granddaddy spiked Leon's tea with me wonders? Hmm? Well, only time will tell. Keep the reviews a comin', I will do my best to reply to them all. Sayonara!