Lesson four: Joy in simple things.
General Sephiroth had seen many strange things in his time.
Living with Zack did not really cut down on the number of strange things that occurred around him.
But seeing Zack and Strife now doing something very strange was new.
Cloud was always the quiet, calm and sensible one. He was the one who, in Sephiroth's experience, was the one who looked on, biting his lip nervously, while Zack did very odd things.
This time, however, Cloud seemed to be quite happily partaking of this strange behaviour.
The blond was sitting cross legged on the grass opposite the parade ground, and was laughing quietly, but most definitely wildly, his shoulders shaking with the effort to keep the hysteria inside.
Of course, there was no Cloud without Zack, and sure enough, the brunette was sitting directly behind the boy, looking far too pleased with the giggles that he was eliciting from the blond.
He seemed to be trailing his fingers across Cloud's back lightly, in what Sephiroth could only imagine was a random pattern; however, Zack seemed to be going to great pains to draw certain lines at certain points, and had a look of devious concentration on his face.
Cloud, who had shoved his hand in front of his mouth, seemed to be going a rather unhealthy red colour, and just as Sephiroth was about to intervene, to tell Zack to stop his antics, Cloud burst out laughing hysterically.
"A-a circle! A smiley face! A…a sun! I don't know!" He shrieked, tears of laughter rolling down his face as he writhed.
Zack simply grinned.
"Nope! And I think that you already guessed at least two of those already. Try again!"
Cloud groaned, but it turned into a yelp halfway through when Zack began trailing his fingers across his back again.
"But it tickles! I don't know what it is, I give up!"
Zack made a mock shocked face.
"But you can't give up! Giving up is not an option. You have to know what it is! You of all people should get this one!"
He then lifted his hands, and Cloud barely had time to choke out a laughter filled -"Please!"- before Zack was back to trailing those patterns over Cloud's back, except this time he pressed extra hard, and made his dots extra forceful, as though trying to explain something in writing, but to a very stupid person.
Cloud was ominously still and silent for a moment, but Zack's grin was unholy, and his gleaming eyes were watching Cloud expectantly, not in the least put off by Cloud's lack of response, as if knowing that something good was coming.
Very gradually, the boy began to shake and tremble slightly, and Sephiroth could hear some very strange, muffled noises coming from the blond. He shifted to get a look at his face; ready to say something if Cloud's cheeks were again an unhealthy red that spoke of impending loss of consciousness.
As it turned out, he didn't need to intervene, because apparently his shuffling had alerted Zack to the fact that he and Cloud weren't alone.
For a very brief moment when Zack turned to face whoever was interrupting them, his eyes held a fierce look in them.
The gaze seemed to contain a number of different emotions that were all equally determined and slightly ferocious.
There was irritation and resentment for whoever had interrupted one of the rare times that Zack could spend truly alone with Cloud. Sephiroth suddenly felt guilty as soon as this thought occurred to him. Zack and Cloud were almost always with other troopers and SOLDIERS during the daylight hours, even if they were on a break or a day off, and the evenings, although usually spent together, tended to be fairly short given the early hour that they both had to rise at.
The rest of the time, Sephiroth realised with a start, if they were not with other soldiers, they (though more often it was just Zack, which only meant that even then he was separating them when they could be together) were with him.
Zack's eyes also spoke of sadness and protectiveness. Sad that Cloud was not often as happy as he was now, and sad that he could only relax enough to become this happy when it was no one but Zack and himself. And protective of this rare joy. He did not want it to drain from Cloud simply because another person had walked in on their activities. He didn't want to see the rosy-cheeked joy flee from Cloud's face, did not want for him to suddenly become uncomfortable and curl up into that protective little metaphorical ball that shielded the boy from the rest of the world.
However, as soon as he registered that it was Sephiroth who was watching, all the animosity disappeared from his face, and he lit up with a genuinely delighted grin, mouthing the word 'listen' and pointing to Cloud.
Zack continued painting his invisible and seemingly random patterns onto a shaking canvas. All of a sudden though, the trembling stopped, and instead of being put out, Zack simply grinned, raised his finger slowly, placing it at the top of Cloud's back.
He ran a quick, light line straight down Cloud's back, and whooped at the rather spectacular reaction he got.
Cloud's breath whooshed out of him in helpless laughter that was like nothing Sephiroth had ever heard from the boy. Well, he didn't think he had heard anything like it from anybody before. But it was so rare to hear a proper, full-bellied laugh from Cloud that it made the sound even stranger.
Cloud's laugh came out in short little stutters, proper little 'ha ha' sounds that followed each other in quick successions, but when Cloud drew desperate breath beneath Zack's hands that continued to skate over his trembling back, the boy squeaked. It was a rather surprising sound, and Sephiroth blinked, wondering how any human could make a sound like that.
On they went, becoming more and more rapid, the high pitched squeals making Cloud's chest move up and down swiftly. Zack took obvious glee in the sound, tickling Strife persistently, wanting to yield more of the delighted squeaks from the boy.
It was as though he was laughing so hysterically that his throat was closing up, and at this thought, Sephiroth began to fret. What if the boy really was choking? What if he couldn't draw breath, and was in actual fact, terrified? What if Zack's continued tickling made him unable to tell him to stop? What if the laughter was in fact now panicked squeals, but being misinterpreted by Zack, so that –
"Hey. You. Sit down. And stop with the frowny face."
Sephiroth was startled out of his worry by Zack's voice, and the realisation that the squeaks had stopped.
"I'm sorry, I -"
"No. I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to sit down and relax." Zack said exasperatedly, but with a gentle smile on his face. "He's fine. In case you hadn't noticed."
The brunette nodded towards Cloud, who was now resting his head in Zack's lap, seemingly exhausted by his hysterical laughing fit. However, he looked nothing less than content, with his eyes closed, his cheeks slightly flushed, and a small, sleepy smile on his face.
Zack tugged on the hem of Sephiroth's coat, and the older man slowly sat down, all the while keeping his eyes on Cloud, as though he were some kind of rare animal that might be scared off by his presence.
Although this was far from the truth, it was at this moment that Cloud saw fit to wake from his daze; curious as to whom Zack was speaking to.
Big blue eyes gazed up until they met intense green, and Sephiroth watched as they widened with realisation and something else.
He was not quite sure what that 'something else' was. The first few encounters he had had with Cloud, he had been convinced that it was fear. But Zack had assured him, and now he could see it for himself, that it was not fear. It was nervousness, it was hero-worship, it was almost painful self-consciousness, it was...something, but it was certainly not fear.
"S-sir!" Cloud squeaked, for the umpteenth time that day. He suddenly turned and began to pry at Zack's hands for a moment, struggling to sit up, to salute, to do something to acknowledge the General's presence.
"Relax, kid." Zack ordered, his voice, although light and cheerful, containing a little strain. As though the thought of Cloud clamming up now and undoing all his hard work at getting him to relax was a little more than he could stand.
He batted away Cloud's prying hands, and pushed down on his shoulders a little forcefully, settling the boy back into his lap.
"Please." Sephiroth said quietly, beginning to regret that he had ever interrupted, but Zack was giving him a look again, as if to say, I know what you're thinking, and I don't like it. Stop thinking.
"Listen to Zack. I don't want to make you…uncomfortable."
Cloud's huge eyes peered over Zack's lap towards him, and Zack began running soothing hands through Cloud's hair.
"Come on you guys. Quit trying to out-polite each other. Nobody's going to court martial anybody, and nobody is going to evaporate into a terrified and blushing puddle, much as Spike's hue might suggest that," Zack mock-sighed, ruffling Cloud's hair, and nudging Sephiroth with his toe. "We're all friends here, just chill yeah? Gods, I swear sometimes I would have an easier job trying to get a practice dummy to relax with me."
Cloud chuckled slightly, his eyelids drooping from Zack's stroking of his hair. He gave Sephiroth another glance, and, as though to prove to all of them that he trusted him, he closed his eyes again, and the small, sleepy smile returned to his face.
Zack's grin went almost from ear to ear, and Sephiroth felt his own lips stretch a little in a small smile.
As he watched Cloud's contented face, a thought occurred to him. Zack was rich. Being a First Class SOLDIER paid well. Being the General's Second paid even better. He knew for a fact that Zack could, and sometimes did, present Cloud with gifts. And although these undoubtedly made Cloud happy – Sephiroth suspected the mere thought that someone considered him worth spending money on delighted the boy – the sheer joy on the boy's face now was unrivalled by any expression he had ever seen on him. Intriguing, how it was the joy in simple things…
AN: Okay, so that was 'Joy in simple things' for Jenrr. I'm really sorry this took so long, and I hope you like it! The next chapter is 'Dreams' for Yuleen75. And a new prompt – making the fifth prompt - is 'Arrogance' for gg.
And a message for Yodel now, who has dibs on prompt three. Yodel darling, would you like the object of this crush to be male or female?