CHAPTER TWO

Genesis's eyes flickered up from his book before cycling back down to the page, repeating the motion at the end of every paragraph.

There was something strange happening, and he hadn't figured out what it was just yet. He was reading at the dinner table, waiting for the inevitable comment about how rude it was. Normally he'd only make it through a chapter before his attention was captivated by one of only three men who could pull him away from a good book, and despite the fact that two of those men were present, he'd already finished a second chapter without interruption.

Of those two men, Angeal was the one he expected to speak first, and so he was the one Genesis fixated on. The subtle glances went unnoticed though, and so he allowed his gaze to linger a moment longer each time. Soon he was blatantly staring over the top of his book, drawing several conclusions as he observed the burly Soldier. He set the book down loudly, astounded that he still hadn't caught the man's attention.

"Why are you sulking?" he demanded, a bit disgruntled that he even had to ask.

Even that didn't snap Angeal out of his daze immediately; it took a minute for him to realize the question was being posed to him, and he shook his head silently. When it became clear that gesture wouldn't suffice as a response, he offered a reluctant, "I'm not."

"Angeal!" Genesis exclaimed, offended by the denial.

He saw the way Angeal's brows were furrowed—the way he blinked his way back to reality after Genesis had called for his attention. Even the way his fingers were curled into a fist was obvious, despite the fact the larger man had his hands in his lap—the way his arm muscles were tensed was an easy giveaway. Not to mention the plateful of food that was being ignored. They were sitting at the table for a reason, and he was the only one who had eaten already.

He let out a short sigh when Angeal didn't respond. "I've known you for how long? I think I can tell when you're upset."

"You're wrong this time."

Genesis stared at him with awed disbelief before turning his head to the third person at the table. Sephiroth was eating his meal without showing any signs of distraction—fork and knife in hand while the other two men spoke. He didn't have to offer his undivided attention to know exactly what was happening, and he set his utensils down gracefully as soon as the redhead's eyes landed on him.

"Tell him you agree with me, Seph."

Sephiroth turned to Genesis first, blinking once at the request. There was an unspoken understanding in the redhead's eyes, but he still stared back expectantly. He turned his bright mako-green eyes to Angeal, already having drawn his own conclusions.

Deducing Angeal or Genesis's emotional state was a simple task for Sephiroth; they had been an important part of his life for many years, and he knew them both well. He could see just as plainly that Genesis was correct—that something was plaguing Angeal's mind. Demanding he speak about whatever was troubling him was disconcerting though. It was preferable when his boyfriends offered their thoughts freely; then he could respond accordingly—if they broached a subject willingly, then he could request additional information.

It was clear why Genesis was demanding he chime in this time though.

His kindhearted companion was deploying a tactic he was intimately familiar with—he had retracted into himself, which wasn't typical for Angeal. The burly Soldier tended to speak passionately about everything in his day to day—his missions, training, hobbies, student—always with a warm smile on his face. Even his frustrations were aired regularly, though perhaps not in the same loud, dramatic manner as Genesis.

If he had chosen to keep something to himself and it was visibly upsetting him despite his efforts to conceal it, then it had to be serious.

"Something appears to be bothering you," Sephiroth concluded, pushing his personal discomfort aside—it was more important to try to help Angeal under the circumstances.

Genesis perked up in his chair, smirking victoriously. "See? That's two against one!" When Angeal failed to react, the gloating ceased, and Genesis quickly changed to a more concerned tone. "Are you okay?"

"I came here to have a normal night with both of you," Angeal responded, a forced smile tugging at one side of his mouth. "I appreciate your concern, but I'd rather not talk about it right now."

"We may be able to assist you, Angeal," Sephiroth offered, his steady tone oddly reassuring.

"Does this have something to do with your pet?" Genesis guessed, his eyes lighting up with interest as his old friend shifted just barely. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened."

"We are aware of your feelings for him." Angeal's eyes widened in surprised, but neither of his boyfriends seemed upset by the topic. Sephiroth continued, "There is no reason to feel awkward discussing this matter with us."

"We care about him too, 'Geal," Genesis added, a reluctant smile on his face when their eyes met.

The reassurance seemed to set Angeal at ease, at least somewhat—he ran a hand through his long hair, a short sigh as it fell back to his lap. "If you knew, why didn't you say anything?"

"We discussed it, and decided it'd be best to let you come to us when you were ready," Genesis explained, frowning at the words. "You certainly took your sweet time though."

"I took too much time," Angeal confessed, shaking his head dismally.

"Well, you should have opened up to us sooner, but you don't need to be so upset," the redhead told him, not seeing the problem. "Now that we're all aware, let's talk about it. Seph and I have grown to care about him just as much as you—this doesn't have to be a problem."

Angeal looked from Genesis to Sephiroth, pausing for a long minute. "I'm sorry."

"An apology is unnecessary."

"I'm apologizing for something else," Angeal responded, a pained look apparent in his eyes. "I'm sorry I waited to tell you, but…"

"Angeal, you can tell us anything," the silver haired man reassured, growing more troubled by the word.

More often than not, he was the one being reminded that it was okay to open up more—and he always did, or at least tried as best he could. Sometimes it was difficult to convey his feelings properly, but the effort always pleased his boyfriends, and so he continued trying. Communication was important in their relationship; they cared about one another, and needed to be open and honest. This particular subject was a unique one, and had only gone unmentioned because there were several valid reasons to wait before addressing it.

He and Genesis had understood and respected how conflicted Angeal felt about Zack, and intentionally never pushed the subject despite their own growing attachment to Zack. If they intended to accept anyone else into their relationship, it needed to be a group decision—one they were all comfortable with, and that meant giving Angeal the time he needed to come to terms with his feelings. The two had discussed the matter thoroughly, and agreed to wait for Angeal to approach them about it first.

It was distressing to see Angeal still holding back, even after the subject had finally come up in conversation.

"I'm sorry my waiting put us in this situation. If you care about him the way that I do, then you'll be just as…" He shook his head, hanging onto Genesis' gaze as he tried to find the right word. Heartbroken would have been the most accurate word, but he wasn't sure the extent of their feelings for Zack—he settled on a different word. "Upset."

"What do you mean?"

"He told me so many times how he felt," Angeal started, turning his gaze to Sephiroth. The silver haired man gave a slight nod, waiting for his boyfriend to continue, "and I denied feeling the same—to you, to him…to myself."

"How could you deny it?" Genesis asked, genuinely curious. "We watched you two together—saw how it changed over the years. You loved him well before he ever confessed to loving you."

"It wasn't appropriate. I don't think I accepted the possibility until after his promotion to First, and even then…" He shook his head again, looking as torn as he felt. "I was planning to wait for his birthday to pass before mentioning it to you—I wasn't sure how you'd feel about him, or any of this, but I had every intention of asking you both when the time was right."

"His birthday? He's been legal for years now!"

"I know, but he's turning 20 this year. I thought…I know it sounds strange, but I was hoping if he weren't a teenager anymore, it wouldn't feel—"

"Like you were violating your teenage student," Genesis finished, openly laughing as Angeal nodded. "He's been after you for years! Obviously he doesn't think of it like that, and neither should you. We don't need to wait. Seph and I have both spoken with him already, and I'm certain he'd be open to all of us. He just never considered it because he thinks Seph and I are together, which is also your fault."

"I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable when he was around the three of us—like a fourth wheel," Angeal explained, a bit defensive now. This was an old debate, and one that he only won because his boyfriends accepted that he was Zack's mentor, and that meant he had the final decision over what his student was exposed to. "What did he say to make you think he'd be open to all of us?"

"He told me about his feelings for Seph," the redhead revealed, a smile growing at the surprised look his words had caused. "It's easy to get him talking about these things if you ask the right questions. As soon as he realized I wasn't going to be territorial, he opened right up—it was sweet, really. If anyone else showed that kind of interest, I would have run them off, but Zack...I was relieved to hear how he felt. He has a special bond with Seph, and he knows it. He just values our friendship too much to think about it more."

"I had a similar conversation with Zack," Sephiroth added, drawing an equally surprised look out of Angeal. "About Genesis though. If he were made aware of the full extent of our relationship, I believe he would be open minded about joining us."

Their words provided no relief to Angeal—after he accepted what had been said, he only seemed more hurt by the situation. "I'm sorry," he said again, a short sigh escaping his lips. It was time to let them know what was really bothering him. "We're too late now. Zack is seeing someone else."

Genesis snorted, not impacted by the severity in Angeal's tone. "I'm sure it's not serious, and it's not like he'd turn us down if he had the option."

"He didn't turn us down, he turned me down. I know I should have talked to you first, but when I found out, I couldn't hold it back any longer," Angeal admitted. "It didn't make a difference."

Sephiroth and Genesis exchanged a stare, each surprised in their own way before turning back to Angeal. "Who is it?" they asked, almost simultaneously.

"I shouldn't say," Angeal muttered, shaking his head. All three knew he wouldn't refrain from telling them anyway, so no one pressed the issue. They just waited a moment while he collected his thoughts, watching as he looked from one to the other. "It's a cadet. One of his students."

Sephiroth raised both brows just slightly, while Genesis openly gasped. "He's trying to prove a point to you!" he decided, rolling his eyes. "Dramatic little pet. I think he learned that from me."

"I had the same suspicion, but that's not it. I walked in on them while they were together, and they were so lost in each other's presence that they didn't even notice anyone had entered the room. Zack, at least, should have heard me before the door even opened. You should have seen the way he looked at the boy…he's completely enamored."

"Instructors are not permitted to have relationships with students. If you witnessed such a violation, it is your responsibility—"

"I know," Angeal cut in, almost apologetically as he eyed Sephiroth. They all shared the same responsibilities, but they understood that differently than Genesis; it wasn't like Angeal to ignore something like this. "I told him that, and I asked him to do the right thing without my intervention. He admitted that he had no intention of ending things, and I respected his honesty...I implied that he may have just been trying to prove a point, and I told him that it wasn't necessary," he said, slowing down rapidly in his explanation. "He said it didn't matter. He cares about me, but it doesn't change how he feels about the boy. I agreed not to press the issue unless they get caught together again."

"Well, I didn't," Genesis declared, his eyes lighting up slowly. "Now that everything's out in the open about all of this, maybe it's time I had a little chat with our pet. I'll remind him who he belongs to."

"He doesn't belong to anyone, Gen."

"He's ours," Genesis disagreed, too adamant for either of his boyfriends to counter. "I think Seph has a point. If he's seeing a student, we have a responsibility to end things. If you don't want to be the one to intervene, I will."

"You can't take action on something you didn't witness," Angeal reminded him, regretting every word as Genesis smirked.

"I'll just have to witness something then, won't I? Don't worry, I'll talk to him first—I'll explain everything that you didn't, and give him another opportunity to make the right choice. I'm sure he'll see it my way."

He picked his book back up, leaning back in his seat as he resumed where he had left off. Both his boyfriends were eyeing him, probably debating some kind of response. It didn't matter though—the ideas were already piling up in his mind. They had waited far too long for Zack; there was no way he'd let go so easily now that the time was finally right.

The response so far has been very nice! Thank you all :-D Yes, Angeal is a responsible shithead, but I love the guy anyway—he'll get better in time!

Most the story will follow Zack and/or Cloud from here on out, together or interacting with the others—there will only be a few of these AGC interludes to let you know why things are happening the way they're going to happen. I'm sure you can guess where it's going to some extent, but hopefully there will be a few surprises! More to come soon.