Chapter Three

/ For a moment, they were weightless together. Twelve year old Cloud, and the boy before him in the air. He couldn't have been more than a couple years older… As they hovered, Cloud saw the glow fade out of the young man's eyes, leaving him looking dazed and hollow and painfully human.

Then both of them dropped, and Cloud was only briefly aware of the ground approaching before pain blossomed in his head and everything went dark. The last thing he saw was unearthly green eyes rolling back in the other boy's skull as he fell into convulsions on the ground beside him./

Cloud Strife woke up in the pokémon Center with a pounding headache and only the dimmest recollection of something being wrong. Nurse Joy had been nearby to soothe his anxieties, but not to explain. It wasn't until much later in the day, when his confused fog had started to lift, that he realized that what he'd thought must have been a nightmare was the reality of the day before.

"What happened to the other kid?" He asked Nurse Joy with a frog in his throat and tears in his eyes at the thought. "The one in the glass?"

"He's getting help, dear." Nurse Joy had replied kindly. "He'll be quite alright, but officer Jenny will definitely be calling your parents to let them know how reckless you were, I'm afraid."

"That's fine." Cloud sighed, rolling over in bed. "Mom won't care…"

He was right. He never heard another word about his parent from Jenny or Joy. He endured their lectures about his recklessness, and when Clefairy declared him fit to travel, he took his Bulbasaur and left. After all, he was supposed to be on the road to becoming a pokémon master, like his father had been. Some auspicious start he was off to.

At night, he dreamed of silver hair and the dull green eyes he'd only briefly seen after the psychic glow faded.

"Go on, Ivysaur." Cloud said softly, rubbing the head of his first and only pokémon gently. "It's been a fun run, but I know you have better things to do than keep me company.

"Saur." The creature rumbled at him. Cloud have his head an extra pat, then smiled as the plant type wandered after the other Ivy-, Bulba-, and Venosaurs they'd stumbled across in the woods.

It had been fine, for a while. Pretending to himself that he wanted to be a pokémon trainer. But he didn't have the stomach for it. He'd fought with Bulbasaur, but only enough to keep them both well protected from attackers. It had been enough to level the pokémon up, but Cloud could never bring himself to look at an attacking pokémon and see a potential team member. It only made him sad. He'd only captured one, and only once. He'd let the Rattata go the next day with a sigh and an apology. And he'd let go of his dream at exactly the same time.

He'd never wanted it. His mother had, but not because of glory like he'd pretended to himself. It was easier for her, that was all. She'd been able to send him away from home knowing he'd find places to eat and sleep outside from under her roof. He tried not to hate her for it, but now that it was clear exactly how little of a pokémon trainer he was, he couldn't bring himself to not feel ANY resentment.

He tried to keep his resentment confined to the fact that she never answered his calls rather than the way she'd sent him from home.

He didn't bother trying to go to a pokémon center or gym that night. They were there to look after young pokémon trainers, and he was no longer so young nor in any way a trainer. He set up his rather ratty tent and slept under the stars, listening to the movements of pokémon outside through the long, chilly night.

He'd dreamed of a creature that was not human, but was not quite pokémon. He dreamed of it watching him with bright, shining eyes, like the ones he'd seen years ago on the face of a boy not much older than him as he screamed and screamed and screamed.

The next day, he went into the nearest town and started looking for work.

The jobs rarely lasted more than a week. The store owners would take pity on him, give him some tasks to do, then send him on his way with enough food to last him to the next town. It wasn't anything close to perfect, but Cloud couldn't help but be relieved. When he'd gone town to town as a trainer, he'd felt like he was lying to everyone he met. Now, at least, he was an honest out-of-luck teenager. And at least he actually was a fairly good worker. He couldn't bring himself to fight pokémon, but he could scrub floors all day.

He kept it up for three weeks before a crack appeared in his lonely routine. He was just leaving Kalm City when something struck him as odd.

The little trio of Eevees sitting together on the edge of the woods didn't run from him as most wild pokémon would have, and he paused, looking them over. He'd always thought the little brown critters were awfully cute, and it was fun to get to look at them for a moment. One turned and started washing the second's ear, while the third curled its tail around them. Cloud paused as the third one's deep brown eyes lifted pitifully to him.

"Hey," He said softly. "You three okay?"

He moved over slowly, expecting the little Eevees to break and run at any moment. They didn't. It wasn't until he got closer that he saw the little bloody abrasions on them, and the pitifully cowed expressions they wore.

"Did you three get left here?" He asked, crouching before them. He fished in the jacket pocket of his oversized raincoat—a gift from the last woman he'd worked for—and offered them some of the snacks he'd been sent on his way with. The first two ate out of his hand while the third regarded him with a quiet, grateful look.

He shouldn't have been surprised when they followed him.

He quickly ended up taking better care of them than he had of himself alone in a long time. They liked the berries he'd found along the way much more than he did, and he finger-combed the tangles from their manes gamely. When he slept in town, they stayed on the outskirts, and when he left they were always waiting.

Within a week he'd named them, and accepted his fate as their temporary guardian. After all, eventually he was sure they'd find somewhere they wanted to be. For now, he would enjoy the company of the playful Fenrir and Sleipner, and their more responsible brother Ramuh.

He came to Jenovan City at sixteen years old, with a blister on his foot, a bloody palm from a particularly rough fall, and a growing sense of despair. He'd done his best to bandage his hand, but his supplies were low, and he'd never been much good at it. He was very aware of how scruffy he must have looked as he walked through the town entry.

It had been a long time since he found a town big enough to have a gym or even a Pokémon Center. He was lucky the three eevees had stayed healthy this long. He'd work extra hard to be sure he had enough money to gain them some new treats and a checkout from the local Nurse Joy.

The town was still quiet compared to most gym towns, and when he walked to the Gym it was to find that it was being repaired. Good news for him, perhaps. Repairs meant work, and sometimes that meant extra hands were needed.

"Excuse me," He said to a brunette woman walking past on the street. She paused, shouldering a sack of flour that must have been fifty pounds. She handled it as though it were a toy. "Can you tell me who runs this gym?"

"Haven't caught his name yet, actually." She said with a smile that was warm and delighted, seeming pleased to have someone to chat to. "He's a tall guy, and pretty distinctive. I think he's still inside fiddling around. You should go check in! He might be ready to get the interior tested out with a battle."

"Oh, I'm not a trainer." Cloud said, lifting his hands and smiling. He lowered them quickly when the woman's quick eyes darted to the bandage on his hand. "Just looking for work. But thanks for the help. I'll go check inside."

"Hey," she said, "if you need a place to hang out afterwards, drop by my 7th Heaven. You're a little young to drink yet, but I can set you up with some better bandages at least. And I might have the odd job or two for you."

"Oh," Cloud flushed, wishing he could wave her away but knowing he needed the chance. "Thanks, then. I'll take you up on that, if I can be useful, miss…"

"Tifa," She said, giving a little salute with her free hand. "Drop by when you're finished, alright?"

Cloud watched her head off, almost seeming to float even though she still carried the heavy flour bag. Cloud let out a breath, shifting where he stood. NIce enough town so far, he supposed. He ran his good hand through his hair to straighten it out a little, fixed the bandages on his palm, and turned back to the gym.

Cloud stepped inside past the 'wet paint' signs slowly. The gym echoed with his footsteps. Wherever the workers were, they were away for the moment. He felt like a trespasser in the half-finished entry.

A few feet further inside, the battle arena came into view. It was a sunken battle area, carved down into the gym floor to give the pokémon an enclosed fighting look of the arena brought to mind anxieties long-past. Looking down into the arena, all he could think of was watching his friend and confidant Bulbasaur fainting in their first and only try at a gym… He hovered on the edge, his heartbeat thundering at the very memory. But there were no pokemon fighting there. Not just yet.

Cloud sighed away his stress, shaking his head and looking around the empty building. It wasn't finished just yet, but once it was done, it was obvious it would be a beautiful structure. One of the best he'd seen, in fact. It wasn't often someone built a new gym...

"Hello?" He called into the empty building, turning in a slow circle.

"Yes?" asked a low voice, closer than he'd expected. He whirled to watch a figure step out from one of the side rooms. "Can I help—"

The man speaking trailed off. Cloud stared at him, lips parted, eyes wide. Silver hair winked in the light, falling around a tall frame in an elegant waterfall. Pale lips were parted in shock, mirrored by wide green eyes.

"It's you." The man whispered, his voice filled with a quiet, rapturous awe. There was no question in the statement, nor was any echoed in Cloud's mind. He knew that face—that hair—that voice. He'd heard and seen it in his dreams since he was still a child.

His knees gave out, and he felt a moment of fear, remembering the sunken battle arena behind him.

He never fully fell. A hand caught in his lapel, dragging him back to solid ground before being echoed by a hand around his back The touches were as gentle as if Cloud were something delicate, to be protected.

He sagged as he was lowered carefully to sit on the floor, and tried to force his eyes to focus.

The look on the face before him was one of a shock that perfectly echoed his own. He swallowed hard. The man crouched before him was no longer small or screaming, but he was unmistakable. And he was undeniably beautiful.

"Breathe." The man instructed after a moment, lifting his hand to touch Cloud's chest lightly.

Cloud sucked in a breath, and blurted the first thing that came to his mind.

"Your name." He gasped, in more demand than question.

"Sephiroth." The man responded, his voice low, his reply freely given. "Yours?"

"Cloud."

"Cloud…" Sephiroth repeated his name as though savoring it, all the while staring at him fixedly. "I looked for you."

"They said you were gone. That they could help you somewhere else."

"When I returned, you were nowhere to be found."

"I was a pokémon trainer, I moved around a lot."

"I thought that might be the case. You are shaking."

"You're here."

They stayed frozen like that for a moment, then Sephiroth slowly shifted to sit before Cloud, one arm propped on his bent knee. "Yes. I am."

Cloud hesitated a moment, then reached out to touch the bare skin of Sephiroth's hand, halfway expecting the same jolt that had passed through him all those years ago. But Sephiroth's skin was soft and smooth and human. He stroked it with his fingertips, lightly, knowing it was strange, but awed by being able to touch the vision of his childhood.

"You own this gym?" He asked softly.

"I do." Sephiroth agreed quietly. "I thought… Since you were a pokémon trainer, I decided that if I built a gym, eventually you would…"

"You built this?" Cloud rasped, his throat clogged with shock. "To meet me?"

"Well, yes, I—"

"I'm no one." Cloud interrupted, shaking his head quietly. "You shouldn't have gone to all that trouble, I'm—"

"You saved my life." Sephiroth's voice was low when he spoke, and his eyes serious. Cloud thought, for a moment, that he saw the same glow that had been there all those years before. "I have no doubt you have become someone incredible in these past years."

Cloud swallowed hard. The truth burned on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't let it escape. He just gave a small smile to the man and carefully shifted his fingers to hold Sephiroth's hand, just for a moment.

"I'm so glad to know that you're alright after all that." He whispered.

"And you." Sephiroth agreed. "I wasn't certain that all of that hadn't… Hadn't left you harmed." His fingers squeezed around Cloud's slowly.

He was all Cloud could see. The building, the memories, the stress, they were forgotten. There was only the man—The boy in the tank—Sephiroth. Only the feel of his hand, and the look like awe and joy in his eyes. And Cloud could have stared at his eyes for hours. In fact, Cloud realized, he was definitely staring at him. A lot.

"Will you show me around?" Cloud blurted, standing up quickly and dropping the hold on Sephiroth's hand. His legs were still shaky, but he was moments away from falling into Sephiroth's arms, and he couldn't let that happen. He wanted at least this one person to think he was worthy. He wanted to be the person Sephiroth had hoped for.

"I would love to." Sephiroth replied, standing in an elegant motion. "Are you well? You look like you've seen some hard travels."

"It got a little exciting the last couple days." Cloud laughed, eager to bring a smile to Sephiroth's solemn face. "Sorry if I'm getting your floor dirty."

"The floor does not mind, and neither do I." The flicker of a smile that accompanied Sephiroth's words was only enough to make Cloud hungry for more. "Come. I will give you the tour. What brought you here?"

"Just… Rumors." Cloud replied after a moment. "I, uh… Had to leave my team a couple towns over after some hard fights. For recovery time. So I thought I'd swing by and check out the new gym someone was talking about at the Pokémon Center."

"I see." Sephiroth said, turning his clever green eyes to Cloud. Cloud tried not to cringe, but kept his head high, and his eyes on the interior. "Then I suppose I shall have to wait a while to face you and your team. I would be lying if I said I wasn't pleased."

"Pleased?" Cloud asked.

"You'll have to come by at least once more." Sephiroth clarified with that same flicker of a smile.

Cloud felt his face heat up, and cleared his throat softly. He fought the urge to rub the back of his neck, where his hair had suddenly stood on end at the low rumble of Sephiroth's voice.

"I'll be sticking around a while, actually." He confessed. "I've uh… Got a place in town for a day or two. Gotta do a couple of odd jobs while I'm here, but if you'd maybe like to… Hang out while I'm around?"

"Yes." Sephiroth said, even as he stepped forward to open a door for Cloud. "Gladly. Let me take you out for dinner."

Cloud blinked, lifting his hands to wave him off. He didn't get through the motion before Sephiroth was abruptly in front of him again, his hand wrapped around Cloud's wrist, staring at his bandaged hand.

"You're hurt." He frowned, gently guiding Cloud's hand forward, turning it so he could look at it palm up. "And not professionally looked after."

"It's just a scratch," Cloud argued, shaking his head. He tugged at his hand, but relented when Sephiroth didn't release his grip right away. "Nothing to worry about."

"May I see?" Sephiroth asked, his head still tilted down in inspection, but his eyes flicking up to gaze at Cloud through his dark eyelashes.

"I…" Cloud stared into his eyes, then swallowed hard. "If you want to? But it's really just a scratch."

"Hmm." Sephiroth unwrapped the edge of Cloud's hasty, clumsy bandage, looking over the raw red marks underneath.

"Come with me," He said, keeping hold of Cloud's wrist to lead him away. "I have some supplies. And this could use washing."

"You don't have to." Cloud objected. "I was just about to, um, go get it looked after. I just wanted to stop and check this place out first."

He stumbled over the lie, but not too badly. Sephiroth cut a glance back at him, but only hummed.

"Let me?" He asked, as though it were a favor to him.

"Okay," Cloud breathed.

Anything to stay near him a little longer. To satisfy that ache in his chest of a mystery never solved. Of an old pain and fear never healed.

"You're really alright?" He asked, even as Sephiroth finally released his hand, moving across the pale blue room they had entered.

Sephiroth glanced back at him. 'Sephiroth' he thought to himself. Such a perfect name. So strange, and beautiful, like him.

Sephiroth turned away almost sharply and cleared his throat.

"Yes." He said. "It was, what… Four years ago now? I had recovered from the incident within one. And by the next I had begun a new life for myself."

"As a trainer?" Cloud asked, scratching at the slightly-scabbed marks on his palm.

"Yes," Sephiroth replied. "Don't scratch, Cloud, you'll aggravate them."

Cloud looked over to watch Sephiroth move. His eyes trailed down the black and green ofh is clothes—distinctive enough for any trainer. His eyes paused at Sephiroth's trim waist, where the coat cinched in before flaring at the base. He couldn't help thinking something was missing.

"Where are your pokémon?" He asked, staring at where the belt of pokeballs should have been resting above Sephiroth's hips. They were VERY nice hips. Cloud tore his gaze away to meet Sephiroth's eyes.

"Around," Sephiroth gave a one-shouldered shrug. "They have their own places within the building. I do not find that pokeballs greatly enhance their state of mind or my own. I am just as happy for them to come and go as they please."

"And they stay?" Cloud asked, thinking of his little eevees.

"If they wish to," Sephiroth rejoined Cloud, moving smoothly through the room. "So far they have. Take a seat, Cloud. There's no reason to be so tense."

Cloud swallowed and tried to relax as he sank into a seat across a small table from Sephiroth. They were in some sort of break room. There was even a vending machine in the corner, and a little TV set up nearby. It wasn't plugged into anything yet, but it was clear it would be a nice little place for trainers and gym workers to rest.

"I dreamed of you," Cloud blurted, before wincing. "Ah, geez, that's a weird thing to say…"

"I dreamed of you as well." Sephiroth held his hand out patiently, and Cloud eventually realized he was supposed to pass over his injury. He extended his hand, and tried not to blush when Sephiroth turned it back and forth, inspecting the cuts more closely.

"Good dreams?" Cloud asked after a moment as Sephiroth retrieved an alcohol swab.

Sephiroth paused mid motion, his eyes distant for a moment. Then he carefully began to clean Cloud's cuts. It stung, but Cloud didn't care. Sephiroth could have been breaking his fingers, and he'd still have been excited to be so close to him.

"The parts with you." Sephiroth said at last. "Are always the best."

Cloud thought of the horror on Sephiroth's face when he'd first seen him, and the pain, and winced.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to bring up—"

"Don't be," Sephiroth lifted his eyes, looking genuinely surprised, and a little pleased. "There's no need. After all…"

He trailed off for a moment, setting aside the alcohol swab and gazing down at Cloud's palm like it was easier to look at than his eyes.

"You are back," He said each word with care and hesitation. "Perhaps the dreams will be better now."

Cloud didn't speak again while Sephiroth wrapped his hand with care and attention—As good a job as any nurse could have done, and better than some, Cloud was sure. He flexed his fingers as Sephiroth put his supplies away.

"Where'd you learn how to do that?" He asked.

"The nurse Joy who attended me when I first awakened kept me as my guardian for quite some time." Sephiroth answered with ease, his voice calm and even. "I asked to help in her work, once my mind was functioning. She taught me a great many things."

"About pokémon?"

"More about humans than pokémon." Sephiroth turned away from the cabinet, looking suddenly very strange to Cloud, with his impossible green eyes and silver hair.

Cloud let a little smile cross his lips. "Humans are a little harder, huh."

"Significantly." Sephiroth agreed, and his lips curled up at the corner again. "Does it feel—"

"Much better," Cloud nodded, his hair bobbing with the enthusiastic motion. "Thank you."

"A pleasure," Sephiroth gave a small nod to him.

For a moment, they were still. Cloud watched Sephiroth watching him, and wondered what he might be thinking. He hoped Sephiroth didn't see what Cloud did. Patchy clothes and grimy hair and the overall air of failure. Sephiroth's lips twitched up into another little smile, and his brows twisted just a touch. He looked suddenly a little strained, and strangely alone. Cloud couldn't have that.

"Can I meet them?" He asked. "Your team? Or is that, like… Against the rules?"

"Come," Sephiroth said in response, gesturing to Cloud and walking to the doors again. "I would be glad for you to."

Cloud didn't know what he expected of Sephiroth's 'places within the building' for his pokémon. He wasn't expecting the veritable pokémon spa he walked into beside Sephiroth through a pair of swinging doors. And he definitely wasn't expecting the chorus of greetings from the creatures within.

A liepard stretched from where it was sunning on a rock. Cloud glanced up at the skylights above them letting in the sun. A crobat flickered through the sunlight above him, darting down to circle them. Cloud blinked the sun out of his eyes, looking back down to the startlingly big room. A dratini slid up out of a neat little pool with its own waterfall, calling a hello in its sweet voice. There was new turf lining the floor, the grass still cut in squares as it grew into place.

"It's still a work in progress," Sephiroth said mildly, reaching out a hand for his Crobat to nuzzle against.

It occurred to Cloud for the first time that Sephiroth was rich. He suddenly felt very shabby in his old hard-worn trainer clothes.

An Inkay drifted over, twirling little circles in the air. It floated to Cloud, and Cloud reached out carefully to it. It twined a little tentacle around his hand and cooed a hello to him. The liepard was wandering over, but was overtaken by a charging Mightyena who bounded to Sephiroth enthusiastically, its tail wagging wildly and a wild grin on its face. The liepard hissed at its back.

"Most of them are still at home." Sephiroth said mildly. "I haven't finished the room yet. And this place will never have enough room for Dialga, for example. But a few of them have enjoyed trying it thus far. Inkay likes you."

"They're incredible," Cloud whispered, even as the Mightyena sniffed at his clothes curiously.

"This is Cloud." Sephiroth said aloud, addressing the pokémon before him as if they were a gathered group of business partners. "He is the man who saved me. You will all behave."

For a moment, Cloud felt every eye in the building turn towards him. The inkay flickered, its colors warbling up and down its body. Cloud had only ever heard of that move. The little thing got its excitement under control, and squeezed Cloud's hand a little tighter. The Crobat flickered over to inspect Cloud from every angle, hovering around him with interest. Even the Dratini lifted a little higher out of the water to watch him.

Only Liepard ignored him to rub against Sephiroth's leg affectionately, heedless of the little orange furs it left stuck to his black coat. Sephiroth just rubbed the great cat's head.

"This is…" Cloud turned slowly, taking in every inch of the place. "This is incredible… They're incredible!"

"They are very good companions." Sephiroth agreed, crouching to greet a Vulpix who had trotted over to greet him with a stately Absol.

Cloud gaped at him, so casually stroking his pokémon, as if he didn't have an impossible array of them, simply living with him in his little paradise on earth. Inkay floated over to cuddle against Sephiroth's silver hair.

"I have been working to ensure all of them have the best possible locations to spend their time with me," Sephiroth said in a mild voice as he straightened. "I am concerned Dratini will tire of its relatively small pond before it has the chance to evolve… Cloud? Are you well?"

"There's just…" Cloud was looking around at all of them. "So many. You have more?"

Sephiroth gave a low chuckle, and shrugged. "I am somewhat popular with pokémon." He said. "All of them are here because they wish to be. And because I am a good trainer. I will help each of them reach their potential. So long as they work with me."

He cast a significant glance to Liepard, but the great cat just purred at him and nudged his hand till Sephiroth relented and stroked its head once more.

Out of my league, Cloud thought bleakly, watching the small smile on Sephiroth's lips. Impossibly, unreachably out of my league. Beautiful, talented, rich, sweet…

"They like you." Sephiroth commented. "I'm sure your team does too."

"I wouldn't stand a chance." Cloud murmured, staring at Sephiroth. Even if he did have a team, it wouldn't measure up to the pokémon around him.

"I don't unleash my strongest on just anyone." Sephiroth said with a low chuckle. "How many badges do you have? I have ranked teams based around—"

"Don't worry!" Cloud interrupted, shaking his head. "I trust you. We'll figure something out."

Gym badges, he thought bitterly. Right. As if he and Ivysaur could have beaten any gyms alone.

"I've never even seen most of these pokémon in person." He admitted, walking over slowly to say hello to the Dratini. He'd thought it looked a little sad to be left out, and was happy to find it more than pleased to be carefully petted. It felt so smooth and strange and soft, despite how damp it was from the water.

"I had a great deal of freedom in where I went to find them." Sephiroth said with that same one-shouldered shrug he had given Cloud before.

"Your parents?" Cloud asked.

"Hah." Sephiroth said, and did not sound amused. "Sure."

Cloud blinked at the response, his brows furrowing. But Sephiroth only glanced to the side once before walking over to join him at Dratini's side.

"You say you haven't seen them," He said. "But you know them?"

"I had a lot of time to study." Cloud smiled as the Vulpix stood up against his knee, begging for attention. He bent to scratch behind her ears gently.

He didn't mention that though he'd surrendered his past life, he'd never given up the pokedex. Camping for the past years would have been awfully lonely without at least a little something to read.

When he stood up, he had to blink little shining dots out of his vision. He'd have to find work pretty soon, and get some dinner. For himself and his friends too. Fenrir, Sleipnir, and Ramuh could forage at least somewhat, but it would have been irresponsible of him to depend on them to feed themselves.

"Cloud?" Sephiroth asked, turning to look at him with a small frown.

"Sorry," Cloud said with a little smile. "Just… Missing my team."

"Of course." Sephiroth said with a slow nod. Cloud couldn't tell if the blankness on his face was suspicion or not.

"I should probably get going soon," He said slowly, letting his eyes trace over to Sephiroth's silver hair. "I'm staying in town... "

Liar, he thought to himself. But Sephiroth seemed to like him. Seemed interested and excited to see him. Cloud had wanted to see him so badly… He couldn't help but want to impress him now. His reality was hardly impressive.

"Do you know where a place called 7th Heaven is?" He asked, forcing his eyes back to Sephiroth's.

He could have sworn the man's eyes were glowing softly when they locked. Sephiroth looked away abruptly, fixing a scowl on Crobat, even though Cloud didn't think he was actually upset at the flying pokémon.

"I'm afraid I don't know many places in this town." Sephiroth said, his voice strangely flat. "They were looking for a gym to liven up the city's visitors, and I was looking to lead a gym."

"Oh," Cloud said slowly. "That's alright. I was just… Going to meet someone there later."

If he could get a little work with the woman from earlier there, maybe he could have an excuse to stay. At least for a little while. Something in his chest felt like he could have looked at Sephiroth for the rest of his life and not get tired of seeing his face so calm. Even if he did look strangely unhappy.

"Would it be okay if I come back?" He asked before he lost his nerve. "I'd like to talk to you more. I'd like to… See you more."

"Yes." Sephiroth said. He didn't elaborate. But he reached out to brush a bit of dust off of Cloud's shoulder. Cloud was pretty sure there hadn't actually been any dust there.

"I'm so happy you're okay." Cloud reached up to touch Sephiroth's hand.

The small smile that answered him was unspeakably beautiful to him. With a sinking feeling, Cloud wondered what exactly his own motivations were.

"Tomorrow?" Sephiroth asked.

"Tomorrow." Cloud agreed. "You'll be here?"

"Yes."

Cloud felt the inexplicable urge to kiss his cheek. Instead he said goodbye to the pokémon, and let Sephiroth lead him out of the building.

"It's a beautiful gym." He said as they stepped outside.

Sephiroth nodded a little, either in agreement or thanks. He looked distracted, and a little anxious.

"Cloud," He started.

"Tomorrow," Cloud interrupted. He needed to go to his tent. To get his story straight. To decide what he was going to tell Sephiroth… And how long he could keep lying to him before he had to leave again.

"I hope your meeting goes well." Sephiroth said, extending his hand.

Cloud shook it, but both of them hesitated at the motion. They glanced at each other, and Sephiroth's lips flicked up in a mirrored, awkward smile of Cloud's own. It felt strange, to be shaking hands…

"See you in the morning."

Cloud waved as he walked away. He glanced back once, and saw Sephiroth standing in front of the gym still, his coat waving in the wind, his hair rippling like water behind him. He looked so lonely, somehow…

It wasn't until Cloud was quite some ways away that he realized what a still, windless day it was.

/The force of the power knocked Cloud back against the wall, and sent Pooka flying. The Sylveon's ribbons darted forward, slip-streaming through the psychic power to latch onto the inside of the broken glass. Cloud pried himself off the wall, feeling as though gravity had reversed and redoubled, pressing outwards from Sephiroth.

His whole body ached. His teeth gritted together. He reached out, taking hold of one of Sylveon's ribbons, and looked back to Pooka.

The little Sylveon gave a quick nod of encouragement, opening its mouth as if to reply. Cloud couldn't hear the call. There was only Sephiroth screaming and the blood pounding in his ears.

"I'm coming" He tried to say, though the screams covered his words. "I'm coming."

They weren't alone. Not anymore. He wasn't going to let them be alone again. He stepped forward, dragging himself up Pooka's ribbons as the pokémon held stubbornly in place for him. Sephiroth sobbed, the mental screaming arching upwards in agony and sorrow. He curled in the air, trying to hold in the power as he had when he was a child. Cloud saw when he failed from the rip that opened up in the flesh of his arms, spraying blood outwards with the force of the psychic power inside him.

"Hold on, hold on, hold on."/