Twelve Days 'til Christmas
Day Four: Blush
By S.J. Kohl

Author's Note: Okay, I lied. I managed to get another chapter done before time to go home this morning. But shift's over in less than 2 hours, and I have a lot of shit to do before I can go home, so I suppose I won't get anymore done until I come back on uh…Tuesday night. Yeah, you can expect an update probably reeealllly early Wednesday morning.

"You are!"

Cloud blushed. He hated that about himself. He wasn't that shy, or that easily embarrassed. Not really. But every time someone even looked at him sideways his face lit up like a lantern at midnight, pointing him out for all the world to stare at. He glared at Zack, his hands curling into fists at his sides. "I am not!"

"Don't lie to me, Spike." Zack had that menacing growl in his voice, the one he only got when something was really bothering him. "I can tell you are!"

"Oh, you can, can you? Well…" Cloud growled right back, taking one step forward, putting himself firmly into Zack's space and not at all worried about pissing off a 2nd Class Soldier. "Who's the one who's been making him little paper bunny rabbits?"

"Hey!" It was Zack's turn to blush. "That was purely a friendship thing!"

"You. Kissed. Him." Anger spaced the words out and out and out.

"On the cheek!"

"Doesn't matter, Zack. A kiss is a kiss, and you definitely kissed him!"

"How do you know? You weren't even there!"

"And who was it that showed me how to get to the vent in the ceiling?"

Zack gasped. "You were spying on him?"

"No!" Cloud was indignant. "I was spying on you!"

"I can't believe you were spying on him—"

"I can't believe you were kissing him—"

"—when I'm the one who…" They both finished at the same time. They trailed off at the same time as well, staring at one another, faces flushed and sheepish.

Zack cleared his throat, running a hand through his unruly hair. "So you…"

Cloud bit his lip. "Yeah. And you?"

"Yeah." Zack nodded. They stared at one another warily for a few minutes, neither one of them exactly sure what to do or say. They couldn't really battle it out, after all. It was no contest who would win in a brawl or a duel, and what else was there besides a basic 'every man for himself' kind of attitude? Zack coughed. "So…what should we do?"

Cloud gave a helpless shrug. "Set up present number four?"

"Yeah…okay," Zack nodded, his face still red.

Sephiroth popped a bubble and leaned back against the wall that had kept him safely hidden from the view of Zack Fair and Cloud Strife. This was his last piece of gum, and he definitely needed it right now. He'd only learned three things from that entire conversation. One: he needed to have Brody have the ventilation shafts on his side of the building proofed against intrusion. Two: Cloud Strife had been spending far too much time with Lieutenant Fair. And three: both Fair and Strife seemed to have developed some sort of…infatuation…for him.

What in all possible hells was he supposed to do about that?

Fair…and Strife?

Oh, they were both interesting persons in and of themselves, of course, but…no. First of all, they were both the type of person likely to be looking for some type of relationship, which was nothing Sephiroth was prepared to offer. A night of pleasure, sure. Even a brief fling, or a long term understanding in the way of physical companionship. Sephiroth had entertained a number of relationships along those lines over the years. And why not? He wanted and needed sex as much as the next man, and he'd crossed paths with quite a few men who felt the same. Not women, though. No, Sephiroth had never wanted to chance that a child might result and the Shin-Ra scientists find out about it. As it was, they were under the mistaken impression that Sephiroth was deficient, that he couldn't perform with women. He would have it remain that way. As for Strife and Fair, however, there was just too much in the way of complication. He had no time or desire for the demands of an actual relationship; his job required him to work closely with Fair, and Cloud was both underage and a cadet, and, therefore, quite off-limits in any case.

Sephiroth grimaced and blew another bubble. Was it possible he could just ignore the whole thing? After all, he hadn't meant to overhear the conversation. He'd just happened to be on the grounds, walking past one of the walled off Soldier practice arenas on his way to the stables to saddle Kaedryn. Zack and Cloud had apparently been out on the practice field, for whatever reason, and he'd caught the tail end of their conversation. No, it hadn't been intentional, but it had certainly been interesting. Not to mention confusing. And he didn't feel toobad. After all, Cloud had been spying on him. The rest of it had been a trick to figure out, since he wasn't entirely sure they knew what they were talking about, as roundabout as that conversation had been, and as vague. But it seemed fairly clear, after a bit of thought.

Or perhaps a bit of drink…

Shaking his head, Sephiroth finally pushed away from the wall and continued walking, blowing another bubble as he wound his way to the stables in which the chocobos were kept. He took his time, checking the groups of Soldiers and troopers on the various practice grounds, making notes on the progress, or lack of it, of certain individuals. It didn't really matter. He would deal with the situation if he needed to, but it would likely work itself out if he left it long enough. These sorts of infatuations tended not to last if they weren't encouraged. Sephiroth should know. He'd certainly dealt with enough lovesick cadets mooning over his pictures and posters over the years, after all. Traffic on the grounds was lighter than usual, for which the General was grateful. Most of the trainees and cadets were off on overnight expeditions and the remaining classes—except for Cloud's class, evidently—were studying indoors for the day. There wasn't much going on outside away from the army practice grounds. There were a few sentries, and a couple of off duty Soldiers prowling around, but for the most part Sephiroth was alone, which meant the stables would be...

Sephiroth scowled as he drew close to the open stable doors.

There were people inside.

He could hear them talking. It was a pity, really. He would rather they'd been empty. The chocobos didn't need constant tending, after all, so there wasn't an attendant on hand every moment of the day, especially since all Soldiers were imminently capable of saddling their own mounts, and a lot of the chocobos were out right now anyway, patrolling with their riders.

Sephiroth sighed. This was obviously not his day. But as he stepped into the shadowed doorway of the stable, his scowl shifted to curiosity.

He knew those voices—Cloud and Zack…again.

Sephiroth felt, upon reflection, that he should have expected that. He poked his head through the doorway at the sound of Kaedryn's indignant squawk.

"Whose bright idea was this, anyway?" Zack grumbled, standing at the door to Kaedryn's stall, the back of which had a waist high door out into a grassy paddock, which Kaedryn was perfectly capable of opening as an escape, should he desire it.

Sephiroth tensed as Zack stuck his arm into the stall for Kaedryn's inspection, putting his hand within reach of the chocobo's wicked beak. Kaedryn was a glorious black bird, temperamental and deadly, and he had never been willing to accept any rider other than Sephiroth. That he didn't escape out into the paddock meant only that he was more interested in having a taste of Fair's flesh than in getting out of his sight.

Cloud winced as Kaedryn moved, his beak snapping closed on air just as Zack jerked his arm back out of the stall. "Uh…" Cloud bit his lip. "It was your idea."

"Yeah, well…how was I supposed to know he was a demon?!" Zack muttered, rubbing his hand, apparently aching at the close call.

Cloud laughed. "Come on, Zack. Kaedryn is General Sephiroth's chocobo. Did you really expect him to act like a lamb?"

"Well…no…but Jaena's no princess, and she likes me just fine!"

"That's because she's your chocobo!"

Sephiroth resisted the urge to stalk forward and come to Kaedryn's defense. Kaedryn was perfectly capable of defending himself. Besides, he was more likely to find out exactly what these two were up to, and why they were interfering with the life and peace of his friend and mount, by watching from a distance. He couldn't quite decide whether to feel angry, confused, or intrigued. On the one hand, they had no right to interfere with Kaedryn. On the other hand, he was fairly certain they meant no harm, and thus must have some sort of beneficial plan in mind. Not that Sephiroth had any notion what that plan might be, or what might go wrong besides the both of them suffering grisly and painful deaths.

Have mercy.

Sephiroth gritted his teeth. Those words again. Who had written that damn note anyway? …mercy… Fine. He wouldn't let Kaedryn kill them.

Or maim them, more than a little.

"Even so…" Zack valiantly extended his arm into the stall again, wishing fervently that Kaedryn would come closer, get his scent, and decide he wasn't so bad after all. But the chocobo only snapped at him, his beak closing viciously just as Zack pulled his hand back, again, glaring ruefully at the bird and muttering to himself, again.

Cloud cleared his throat. "Zack…are you sure this is such a good idea? I mean, Sephiroth might not even want us messing with Kaedryn."

Zack scoffed. "Like anyone can mess with a chocobo. They're too damn smart for that kind of shit. We're just…taking care of a few details."

Cloud bit his lip. "Yeah, but…what if the General doesn't want us taking care of any details? I mean…this isn't exactly the same as dropping off silly little gifts in his office. This is personal."

"Well shit, Spike," Zack muttered angrily. "Of course it's personal. It's Christmas. It's supposed to be personal!"

"That's not what I meant, Zack," Cloud's voice was quiet, insistent. "The whole point of this is to make him happy, not to make him mad, and this…" He gestured at a stack of…of something Sephiroth couldn't quite see. "It could be seen as an insult."

Zack glared. "How?"

"Well," Cloud licked his lips. "What if he thinks we're saying that what he has right now isn't good enough? Or…what if he thinks we think his ego's so puffed up that he thinks the stuff everyone else has isn't good enough for him? Or…what if he thinks we're trying to suck up?"

Zack continued to glare as he spoke through gritted teeth. "Why didn't you mention any of this before?"

"I didn't think about it before. The whole thing seemed like a great idea, but…" Cloud bit his lip. "We can't even get Kaedryn to let us through the door and…I don't know. I…I just want him to be happy."

"Yeah." Zack ran a hand through his hair. "Me too."

"Here," Cloud slid down from the stack of crates he'd been perching on. "Let me try."

Sephiroth slipped further into the room, though he continued to watch from the shadows, intrigued, as Cloud batted Zack out of the way and slid his hand over the edge of the rather low stall door. Kaedryn didn't squawk this time, and he—amazingly—didn't snap. No, instead he snorted slightly and scratched savagely at the ground by the sound of it, but Cloud didn't get intimidated as most people would have. Kaedryn seemed to like the innocent calm that hung around Cloud better than he liked Zack's brash confidence. He probably thought Zack needed to be taken down a rung or two.

Sephiroth practically held his breath as Cloud and Kaedryn faced off against one another. He knew better than anyone just how intelligent the beast was and how vicious he could be. Cloud could get seriously hurt, but… No.

Kaedryn snorted and stepped forward to sniff at Cloud's outstretched hand.

Cloud smiled. "See, Kaedryn. I'm not so bad. I'm definitely not the General, but I'm not stupid enough to try riding you. I just want to give you a gift. You'll like it, I think. Will you let me in for a minute?"

Kaedryn snorted again and stepped back from the door.

Flipping the latch back, Cloud pulled the door open and stepped inside, stretching his arm out once again.

Kaedryn sniffed, and Sephiroth smiled. The boy was a natural with chocobos. Had to be, as Kaedryn was the most headstrong, short-tempered, and particular chocobo in the flock.

Cloud was running his hand along Kaedryn's neck now, and the chocobo had his eyes half-closed, leaning into the caress. Cloud cleared his throat. "All right, Zack. Hand me the equipment."

Zack passed over a saddle blanket, a soft black with silver trim around the edges, and, when Cloud had settled it into place over Kaedryn's back, he handed over a saddle, a deep, glistening black saddle of tough, expensive leather. It had silver tooling and buckles, and it was an incredible piece of work, obviously designed with Kaedryn in mind.

Sephiroth swallowed down the lump that threatened to rise in his throat, wondering how long ago Zack had commissioned it. It was beautiful, and it suited the two of them much better than the drab, Shinra-issue equipment they'd been using. Sephiroth walked silently through the stable, making his way past the other stalls and over to Kaedryn's as Cloud cinched the saddle and halter into place. He stopped just behind Zack and cleared his throat. "Thank you," he murmured. "I do like it."

Cloud jumped, his eyes wide and a hot blush sweeping across his cheeks.

Zack spun around to face the General, coughing a little. "Uh…hey, Seph. We didn't expect you to get here quite so soon."

Sephiroth nodded. He examined the impeccable cut of the halter's leather before casting a glance at Cloud. "No. I don't feel insulted in the least, cadet."

Zack scuffed his feet in the dirt, and Cloud's blush deepened from red to a furious scarlet, but it was Cloud who finally looked up, a muted gleam in his eyes. "I'm glad you like it, General." He swallowed, and licked his lips in a way that Sephiroth found utterly fascinating. Then he whispered, "Just, uh…eight more days…'til Christmas."