Title: There and Back Again

Pairing: Genesis/Cloud

Time Travel

A/N: So this chapter's just a tiiiny bit late, but that doesn't matter! Its just in time for Halloween~~ Today's my favourite, and to make everything better, Assassin's Creed 3 came out yesterday! I'm so excited to pick up my copy haha. Anyway, if any of you are roleplayers out there, I have two roleplaying accounts! A Genesis and an Arc (from Final Fantasy III) One is thecruelfateofrhapsodos (they're both at tumblr) and the other is arcisis, so if you ever want to stop by and roleplay with me, feel free!

Also, thanks to both of my lovely betas for going through the trouble of editing/looking over my stuff, I hope you enjoy!

Also a reminder that I don't own, like always haha.

"Another Saturday, another careless move

Tells the world that you're thinking of what to do

A window opens up, and someone calls your name

But I can tell you don't know how to play this game"

-Two Door Cinema Club "Come Back Home"

Was Scarlet serious?! The woman had practically forced a 'young thing like him' to get her coffee. Not just any coffee though, oh no, Scarlet wanted the coffee from Sephiroth's office because apparently it tasted better.

Cloud would have gone to the infantryman cafeteria and gotten her that nasty coffee if he hadn't thought she'd know and punish him by cutting his pay. Grumbling to himself, Cloud climbed into the elevator, ready to rise up into the SOLDIER offices floor. His eye twitched when he noticed that he'd probably be sharing the whole ride with a Turk, and Reno no less. This, or course, made him feel cautious though, he reigned in his angry grumbling for now. He didn't want to mistakenly give something away.

Pressing the button for the floor he needed, he noticed that yes, he would indeed be riding with the Turk the whole entire way. Reno seemed to be going to the sixty-second floor, while he was going to the fifty-third. Shifting in his borrowed mechanic's outfit, he wondered if the redhead would say anything to him. It wasn't usual for mechanics to go up to the floor with the offices on it; in fact, mechanics weren't even allowed up there without supervision.

Although… Cloud wasn't really a mechanic. He'd just been helping out with some struggling new workers for ShinRa and hadn't wanted to get stains on his clothes. It was too late to take it off now though; they were probably already a quarter of the way there. Damn elevators were slow.

It seemed Reno couldn't take the silence for very long. He started chatting away about things Cloud had no idea about (or things he just didn't care about, he couldn't decide which), and pretty soon, Reno started asking questions. Cloud did his best to answer them as shortly and obscurely as possible, because personally, he had no desire for a Turk to be curious about him. He already had the General and the two Commanders on his back about several things.

He briefly wondered if they'd looked deeper into his file and what the teachers had been saying about him. He barely remembered if he had been smart the last time around, and if he hadn't… well, he'd be in a bit of trouble then. He'd have a very difficult time explaining everything or making up lies.

"So where ya from?" Cloud twitched. Reno's voice had disrupted his thoughts once again.

"Nibelheim."

"Where ya going?"

"Sephiroth's office."

"Why?"

"Scarlet wants his coffee machine."

Well that was a lie. She just wanted a cup of his coffee. If he could spread a rumour about her being a coffee machine stealer though… maybe the president would get rid of her. She was brilliant at creating weapons, but to be frank, her personality was horrible. Cloud was glad he only had to deal with her on Tuesdays, when it was his turn to be her cater boy.

He had no idea how he'd even gotten pulled into that. One Tuesday he had just been shoved into her office, and she had purred at him to get her some 'healthy' snacks. Cloud was disgusted by her in more ways than one.

Reno let out a low whistle at that, "She's still making you grunts get her coffee, yo?" Cloud would have given anything to point out that he wasn't a grunt anymore. Damn this stupid mechanic's outfit… although, Cloud preferred it to any suit he would have had to wear. Cloud hated suits more than anything; they were just so stiff and stuffy. Cloud only nodded to Reno before going quiet. He wasn't in the mood to talk to someone from his past. He didn't even like the Reno of the future anyway.

Cloud waited for the elevator to get to his desired floor, and his mind went back to why Scarlet would want coffee from Sephiroth's office. Did she even realize what kind of position she was putting Cloud in? Well, obviously not, Scarlet didn't know he was from the future, but if he had to associate with Sephiroth, than that opened up a chance for questions. In all honesty, Clouds had been avoiding the firsts for all he was worth. They had questions that he couldn't answer; for example, why had the mako come with him? When his eyes didn't glow he could pass it off as their natural colour, but it was just so hard to explain. Aerith hadn't even mentioned that it was going to come with him!

Hadn't she said something about physical things not being able to travel in time? Cloud didn't know what that meant for him. It was even harder now because he didn't have Aerith in the lifestream to clear things up for him. What had Hojo done to him that could have caused all this? Cloud had absolutely no clue.

Cloud sighed and the elevator made a 'ding' sound, alerting him to his floor. Before the elevator doors closed behind him, he could hear Reno saying, "Seeya around, blondie!" It made Cloud's eye twitch as he made his way to Sephiroth's office. Gaia, he hoped the man wasn't in.

Getting to Sephiroth's office door, Cloud paused briefly before knocking on the door. He hoped and prayed that Sephiroth wouldn't call him into his office, but as luck would have it, Sephiroth's smooth tone reached his ears through the door, and Cloud felt his heart sink into his shoes.

The reason Cloud was so nervous to interact with Sephiroth was an event that happened only a few days ago. Cloud had been doing his usual thing, looking over some plans and directing some new mechanics when he wasn't busy. Surprisingly, being a weapon's designer wasn't all that hard. The thing was, something happened that he really would rather not talk, or even think about.

Exactly three days ago, Sephiroth had come into Cloud's little mini office, where Cloud was casually standing by the window and watching the cadets do their training. To think, not a month ago he would have been down there as well, doing those sweaty workouts and being pushed around by the others. It was during these not so important musings that Sephiroth had snuck up on him. Of course, it obviously hadn't been on purpose, but that hadn't stopped Cloud from, well, 'casually' attacking the General.

At least Cloud hadn't broken anything. The worst he had done was bruise Sephiroth's body just slightly, and as he recalled, he also left a light cut on his left cheek from where Cloud had pulled a knife out of his sleeve. It had alarmed Sephiroth enough, and Cloud thanked everything he could think to thank that Sephiroth was fast enough to dodge what might have been a killing blow. The knife had been aimed for the General's eye.

So it stands to reason that Sephiroth was extremely suspicious of his existence now, and currently, Cloud was being forced to wait for coffee while in a small area with the man he was trying to avoid. Things weren't looking up for Cloud. In fact, he could practically see his death beyond the door he had just opened.

Alas, death did not greet him. Instead, he got a raised eyebrow from Sephiroth as he watched Cloud practically slink over to the coffee machine and turn it on. Sephiroth didn't like coffee; it tasted bad and it wasn't like he needed it anyway.

"What are you doing, Strife?" Sephiroth watched as the former cadet stiffened a bit and turned to look at him blankly. With a funny feeling in his chest, Sephiroth found himself amused more than anything else. This always happened once a day, no matter who it was, but they could never give him a straight answer, and they always seemed to be mechanics or from the weapon's department. He hoped that day he'd get an answer.

Cloud didn't like the look in Sephiroth's eyes one bit. It told him of curiosity and horrible, horrible amusement. The only time Cloud could ever remember Sephiroth being amused was when Cloud was fighting for his life against him. It half frightened Cloud, making him almost convinced that Sephiroth had come back from the lifestream of the future to haunt him. "I'm, uh, getting coffee for Scarlet. She… likes your coffee machine, I guess."

Sephiroth almost, almost chuckled at that answer. Of course it was Scarlet, why hadn't he thought of that? The woman was strangely obsessed with him, after all. It must have been what Genesis referred to as his 'dashing good looks', whatever that meant. He motioned for Cloud to sit in the chair across from his desk. The coffee would take a while to drip and the blond was looking a bit too exhausted to be on his feet. From what he knew, Cloud had been doing everything available to keep himself occupied.

Which was strange, because Sephiroth had looked into his file not too long ago, and it had shown that Cloud was prone to sleeping through his classes and not working very hard when it came to physical training. When Sephiroth had first seen the blond in the infirmary that first day, he hadn't looked very deeply, but now that he had, his interest was piqued. Not only by that, but by the fact that Cloud had almost taken him out with a simple knife. Sephiroth almost felt it would be in the best interest of his curiosity to tell Genesis and Angeal these things and recruit their help on investigating the blond.

Cloud scrambled a bit to do as Sephiroth said, and as he sat their awkwardly, he watched Sephiroth think with that weird look in his eyes. Cloud just hoped the coffee would drip faster. Why were all the machines so slow in this building? First the elevator had stuck him with Reno for more than a few minutes, and now he was forced to wait in Sephiroth's office for some coffee (for a woman he didn't even like, at that). This really didn't seem to be Cloud's day. If this kept up, Cloud felt as if he would start hating Tuesdays.

As they sat together in relative silence, Sephiroth watched Cloud sweat a tiny bit, and as they sat there, he realized that Cloud was probably waiting for him to say something. Sephiroth, at the last minute, decided that today would be the perfect day to question Cloud a little bit and perhaps get some answers to his questions about the spiky-haired blond. Sitting in his chair with a straight back (as always), Sephiroth turned his full attention to Cloud and opened his mouth to ask his questions.

"So, Cloud, I've been looking at your files recently, and I have some questions." He saw Cloud's eyes widened fractionally, and he seemed kind of scared? Sephiroth filed that away for later examination as he leaned forward and brought his hands together to rest on his desk.

Cloud truly was frightened. Here he was, sitting in front of Sephiroth, and about to be questioned about the exact things he had wished not to be looked into. Feeling tense, Cloud tried to relax himself in Sephiroth's presence, but failed. Sephiroth was using that tone of voice. The one he had used to say his name in battle. It put Cloud on edge, and he waited for Sephiroth to ask his questions. It was at this time that his senses were telling him to get the hell out of there.

"It has come to my attention that you are a very… inconsistent person. May I ask what brought about this change in attitude?" Sephiroth was staring intently at Cloud, making him even more nervous. Shifting a bit restlessly, Cloud looked everywhere but Sephiroth while he thought of an answer to appease him. Cloud felt he was digging his own grave though. Whatever his answer was would hurt him in the long run when the truth came out.

Because the truth would come out, eventually. Cloud wasn't as naïve to think that it would stay hidden forever. He just liked to postpone the inevitable; he always had. Still not looking at Sephiroth, and instead looking at a cheesy desk ornament that was likely from Zack, Cloud answered, "I… felt that I needed a change in pace. You gave me the opportunity to do something I truly liked, so I've been applying myself to what I do. Is that not alright?" When he ended the sentence, he finally looked towards Sephiroth to see his reaction. He answered, and it hadn't actually been too big of a lie. In fact, that was kind of the truth, in a way.

Sephiroth shook his head, wondering why he had not thought that was the case. Still, he was suspicious. "Your records show you were abysmal at combat. Our confrontation a few days ago says otherwise, so what's your answer to that, Cloud?"

Cloud twitched when Sephiroth said his name. He could feel his nerves in his chest. It was making his heart beat fast and his stomach flip, and internally, Cloud was cursing himself. What was he supposed to say? Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Cloud let it out slowly and soundlessly. He tried to clear his mind of the thoughts that were racing there, to no avail. He would have to wing it.

"Sorry about that, sir. It's just, you startled me, and I just reacted. I didn't mean to hurt you." Taking another breath, Cloud continued. "My records aren't the truth, sir. Like I said, I've been applying myself now. I've also been practicing in the privacy of my apartment." His living room was certainly big enough for that, if one were to move the couches and tables against the walls they would be able to practice simple katas.

Sephiroth nodded to Cloud's apology. He would accept that, for now. "Thank you for answering my questions." It still didn't explain the mako, he would have to look into that again. "If you're not opposed to the idea, I would like to test your skill, perhaps next week? I believe I'm free on Wednesday." He smirked at Cloud's wide eyes look. Sephiroth was sure it was because it was rare to see the General outside of his office, let alone spar. Cloud must have been surprised.

Cloud was pretty close to panicking at this point. Sephiroth wanted to fight him and he didn't even have First Tsurugi. Any other blade would pale in comparison, and perhaps even break. The dual weapon option would also be sorely missed. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't refuse, it was Sephiroth. "Alright, I'll be sure to clear my schedule for then… if you don't mind sir, I should be on my way. The coffee looks to be done."

Cloud made sure to get Sephiroth's approval before standing and moving over to the coffee machine once more. After accomplishing his mission of getting Scarlet coffee, he turned to Sephiroth once more to give him a weak salute. Before he left, he heard Sephiroth say, "Give Scarlet my regards."

Quickly, Cloud carefully made his way back to the elevator and to the floor he had previously been on. No one was in the elevator this time, and Cloud was thankful for that. He took the few minutes he had in the elevator to calm his racing heart. He felt sick to his stomach.

He would have to fight Sephiroth next week, on Wednesday. He would have to fight Sephiroth, the bane of his existence and the one who had killed Aerith and had attempted to take over the world. What if he messed up and let something slip! Closing his eyes tightly, Cloud heard the elevator ding. Composing himself quickly, Cloud exited the elevator and returned to Scarlet's office. He resolved that he would have to up his training a bit and perhaps ask Zack to spar with him. He would also either need to create an appropriate weapon, or find one that would suit his needs for the Wednesday battle.

Damn Scarlet, he officially despised the woman. She was the whole reason he had to involve himself briefly with Sephiroth. She was the reason he now had to 'test his skills' against the General, and all for a stupid cup of coffee! Cloud was now sure he hated Tuesdays the most.

Sephiroth sighed when the blond left his office, and he pressed the button on his office phone so he could contact his secretary. "Please put me through to Commander Hewley." Pinching the bridge of his nose, he waited for his friend's voice to come from the phone.

"Angeal, its Sephiroth." Leaning back into his chair and relaxing, he played with his pen as he spoke to his friend. "Is Genesis with you? …Good. Tell him I want to invite both you and him to watch a bit of a spar between myself and our new friend in the weapon's department." Sephiroth flinched a bit when Angeal raised his voice, demanding to know why he had challenged someone who hadn't even made it through a year of the cadets program.

"He almost took me out a few days ago, with a knife. Apparently he doesn't take well to people coming up to him from behind… I know, I was surprised too." Sephiroth looked around, observing the room and his organized paperwork. "I asked him a few questions today and he said he had started applying to himself. I'm still suspicious, and I wanted to test his skills."

Sephiroth sighed again as he heard Angeal go into lecture mode about how 'dishonourable' it was to challenge someone so under his skill level. It seemed Angeal had ignored what he'd said about Cloud almost taking him out with a knife. "Relax Angeal, everything will go fine. Our duel is on Wednesday, in the morning. I would like it if you were discrete about your presence… yes, you may bring Zack. Make sure you all stay in the observation room." He could hear the exhaustion in Angeal's tone as he confirmed that Zack, Genesis, and he would be there. Sephiroth felt lighter, and he knew that if his friends were there they would at least be able to step in if he went overboard. He didn't want to hurt the former cadet too badly.

"Yes, I will see you at dinner tonight; I don't have much paperwork left to do. Good bye." Sephiroth hang up after Angeal had said his farewells, and he got back to his paperwork. He was truthful when he said he didn't have much left, just a few more reports and he would be finished for the day. It was late afternoon anyway, and he was just about ready to call it a day.

He was looking forward to their usual Tuesday dinner at Angeal's apartment.