Kesskay's prompt for this installment: "genesis organizes a small get together, just asgz and z's infamous friend that he hasnt met yet but ANGEAL HAS HOW THE FUCK DID THAT HAPPEN. then g and c spend the whole time making veiled game jokes"

Although, this did turn out more in the vein of 'Cloud makes one veiled game joke and then Genesis scoops him up to go play', but shh.


Cloud hadn't thought anything of it when Zack invited him over for the evening. It was a pretty common thing they did, after all; him and Zack and Angeal, just hanging out. It was even somehow not awkward, despite having ended up with his ass in Commander Hewley's face that one time.

(Zack liked to remind them about it often. Apparently Cloud's embarrassed scowl was too adorable not to, and he only laughed when Cloud threatened him with pillow assault in retaliation.)

So, Cloud hadn't bothered to listen to the exact details of this invitation. Which as something he now deeply regretted.

Zack had dragged him to a different apartment. One that was not his, nor Angeal's.

Cloud was not prepared, mentally or emotionally, to walk in and find himself face to face with General Sephiroth and Commander Rhapsodos.

Zack was as exuberant as ever and seemingly oblivious to how quiet Cloud had fallen behind him. He exchanged greetings and pleasantries with the two powerful, intimidating, gorgeous SOLDIERs like they were old friends. Then he turned to introduce Cloud.

"So. Guys, this is Cloud Strife," Zack said. "Cloud, I'm sure you know Seph and Gen." He added a wink to the end of this statement, as if Cloud wasn't already horrified enough.

Cloud took a breath. "It's nice to meet you, sirs." He was calm. He was professional. He was wearing an unwashed, crumpled shirt that he'd picked up off his bedroom floor, which he attempted to smooth down. Unsuccessfully. Damn it.

"The pleasure is all ours," Genesis replied, his lips quirked into a smile. "It's good to finally meet you in person."

Oh, Gaia. That was definitely a purr in Genesis' words. Cloud had spent years listening to Genesis in the game — or, at least, a very good voice actor for him. He always had that teasing note to his voice, especially when things got heated, and the fact he actually sounded like that in person left Cloud absolutely stricken.

Cloud pretended he couldn't feel the heat creeping up into his cheeks. "Um. Meet me in person?"

"Zack and Angeal both talk about you often," Sephiroth said.

"And Sephiroth sometimes stalks your unit's training exercises so he can stare at your ass," Genesis added.

Cloud spluttered and turned bright red. He heard Zack snort beside him.

Sephiroth looked unimpressed. "That is not true."

"Oh, please. You're always down on the field."

He folded his arms. "I believe it is beneficial to evaluate the skills of all of ShinRa's ranks, especially as many of those in the infantry will later apply or be considered for entry into the SOLDIER program."

"And yet somehow it's only Strife's classes you end up observing…"

Cloud stared at the bickering First Classes. In some odd way, he felt like he knew them. He'd spent so many hours talking to them in the game, going on dates, and… being intimate. It was all just scripts and programming, Cloud knew that, but they didn't feel like strangers to him.

That he understood. The fact that he was apparently a known entity to Sephiroth and Genesis was something else entirely.

It was slightly overwhelming to think about. So Cloud decided not to. "Is Angeal around?" he asked instead.

Zack was the one to answer him. "Not yet. Should be on his way though. He went round to the store to stock up on snacks and popcorn last I heard. Five SOLDIERs plus a movie marathon requires a lotta sustenance!"

Cloud was technically not a SOLDIER yet, but he didn't bother correcting Zack's counting ability.

"Cool. What are we watching?"

Zack shrugged. "Dunno. Genesis' apartment, Genesis' pick, I guess." He leaned over to Cloud and continued in a very ineffectual stage whisper. "Ten gil on Loveless. Twenty gil you fall asleep."

"Excuse you, you uncultured swine, Loveless is a classic."

Sephiroth remained unblinking. "Forty gil that Zack is the one to fall asleep first."

Genesis sighed heavily.

Cloud grinned, then spoke without thinking. "As long as it's not Dead Zone, I'm good."

Dead Zone did not actually exist, and it immediately occurred to Cloud that he really shouldn't have mentioned it. Not in front of Sephiroth and Genesis, of all people.

It was from the game; a movie night in was one of the 'date' options available. The selection of movie could alter the value of the social link with the date character, and influenced what kinks would be available during the sex scene if the evening progressed favourably. Dead Zone was a cheap zombie thriller which, for reasons Cloud didn't particularly care to examine, resulted in a strong bias towards medical kinks. Cloud wouldn't have minded that, except for the needles. He just wasn't a fan of needles.

Sephiroth and Zack only looked blank at this statement, but Genesis slowly raised his eyebrows. "No, I agree," he said, then waved a hand dismissively. "I've spent enough time in the labs to find any such thing unpleasant by association."

Cloud snapped his mouth shut. Genesis… had actually understood what Cloud meant? He must have done; there was no other reason for him to say what he had. Which meant Genesis played the game. Enough to be familiar with obscure references. And now he was watching Cloud closely, an interested gleam in his eyes.

Shit.

Genesis gave Cloud a calculating look, then straightened. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me," he said, and promptly turned on his heel.

Zack blinked at Genesis' retreating back. "Huh? What's his problem?"

Cloud got it, though. It was a direct line of dialogue. If you selected a movie your date didn't appreciate and only had a moderate value on their social link, they would wander off. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing. Following them could unlock yet another scene, and the perverted use of kitchen utensils in the resulting sex was ingenious.

Cloud waved away Zack's concerned look and followed after Genesis like a moth to a flame.

Zack glanced at Sephiroth, who was looking equally as bemused. "Okay, do you get the feeling we're missing something here?"

"Hmm."

Genesis was setting out serving bowls on the kitchen worktop, ready for the arrival of the various snacks they would hold. He glanced up as Cloud entered and gave him a knowing look.

"I had heard rumours," Genesis said breezily. He took a dumbapple from the fruit bowl and began to cut it into slices. "They say you are quite the expert at a certain game."

Cloud paused, biting his tongue. Was he really surprised that Genesis knew about that? He'd first met Angeal because Angeal had known Cloud had a copy of the game. Original copies were pretty rare now, so it did sort of make sense that people who owned them would end up the subject of gossip and envy. Among the fans who cared about that sort of thing, anyway.

So, fine. People knew he played it a lot. Genesis Rhapsodos knew he played it a lot.

He had no idea where this was going.

"Uh. Yeah. I guess. I mean, I wouldn't say I'm an expert or anything, but I know a lot…?"

"Enough to name drop references in casual conversation."

Cloud winced. "I didn't engage my brain before opening my mouth. Sorry."

Genesis gave a small laugh. "Please. Like I would hold that against you. Actually, I believe it may make you perfect."

"For… what?"

"Are you active in the Red Leather fanclub?"

Cloud shook his head. "I'm a member," he admitted, "but being in the infantry is so hectic I never get time to keep up with whatever they're doing."

"Mm. I imagine they would be keeping it quite hush-hush anyway." Genesis glanced over to Cloud, making sure he had the infantryman's rapt attention before making his dramatic reveal. "There are talks about re-releasing the game. With additional content, of course."

The expression on Cloud's face was pure gold. He was torn between complete disbelief and something that was almost euphoria. It was adorable.

"Are… are you serious, sir?"

"Of course. Although it is only in the early stages of development at the moment. There will be minor tweaks and improvements to the gameplay, but the majority of work will be going in to expanding the options."

Genesis sauntered across the kitchen, thoroughly enjoying Cloud's wide-eyed stare. He stood himself in front of the blond, brushing a strand of Cloud's unruly hair out of his face. He let his hand linger at the nape of Cloud's neck.

"And that is where you come in."

Cloud's heart was racing. He didn't even know if it was because Genesis was fucking flirting with him or from sheer excitement at the news. A sequel!

"Me?"

"They will require beta testers. They will require the input of an expert player as to what could be improved. Perhaps you could even offer some ideas with regards to the additional content included?"

Cloud's breathing stopped for a moment as he considered the weight of what he was being offered. Then he snapped into business mode. "Done. When do you need me?"

Genesis' smile widened. "Why not begin now? I have some mods for the original game that, if approved, will be included as standard for the new version."

He placed a hand on the small of Cloud's back, guiding him out of the kitchen and down a corridor. Based on the very similar layout of all the SOLDIER's apartments, Cloud guessed he was being led towards the bedroom.

Cloud was correct.

He lingered in the doorway while Genesis retrieved a laptop from the bedside table. He thought that would be it, and then Genesis would take them back to where Zack and Sephiroth were waiting, but instead Genesis settled cross-legged on top of the bed with the laptop resting on his knees. He beckoned Cloud over.

It was just to show him the game, of course. That was what Cloud needed to focus on. Not the fact that he was in Genesis Rhapsodos' bedroom, crawling onto his bed. He'd played the game enough times to know how that usually ended up.

Cloud grinned to himself a little.

"I didn't even know you could get mods for the game," Cloud said. He watched the screen intently as it booted up.

Genesis shrugged, entirely blase about the whole thing. "Usually, no, but I had these done by some of my contacts."

"What kind of contacts do you have?"

"Oh, I know a few people from the original development. Actually, I may have helped significantly in funding the enterprise. Entirely off record, of course, and using an alias. I also pointed them in the right direction on a few crucial elements." Genesis rolled his eyes for dramatic effect. "They had some ridiculous ideas about the characterisation of certain high-ranking SOLDIERs. It would have be tantamount to slander had I not stepped in."

Cloud remembered the rumours. People had always said that the game's designers had inside information from SOLDIER. And they were right. It was Genesis. It had been Genesis all along.

He wasn't even that surprised, really.

Cloud filed this information away to squeal over later, and for the moment simply nodded. "So, what did you get them to make?"

"Let's see. Two alternative - and, frankly, much more attractive - options for a suspension rig, a few more additions to the bed sets, chastity devices - I honestly don't know why that was overlooked in the first place, really, but I suppose they had a deadline and couldn't put everything in. A few general aesthetic changes. More character options. And assortment of making puppy play gear for Angeal to use on his game version of Zack, at his request. Et cetera."

"What?!" Cloud spluttered in regards to the last of these.

Genesis raised an eyebrow. "You were aware that Angeal is interested in Zack?"

Cloud spluttering turned into something more like laughter. "Yeah, it's kinda hard to miss, but I just… wasn't expecting that. So, uh, that whole puppy nickname thing…?"

Genesis only smirked. He clicked over to a pre-made save file. "But this is what I want your opinion on; one of the major changes to the game. Physiological variations. So far there are sample mods for wings and tentacles."

Cloud's breath caught. "Tentacles?"

"Tentacles."

"…pass me the laptop."

It was curiously easy to play the game with Genesis watching. Cloud forgot all about his awkwardness. The game wasn't just about the sex aspect for him; it was almost more like a hobby. A passion. He could have talked for days about the technical aspects of the set-ups used and the different positions and the mechanics of the character's social links.

His whole demeanour lit up with enthusiasm as he explored the new content.

Genesis was rather invested in the game himself, and found Cloud's reaction to be thoroughly endearing.

There was intense discussion over the source of lubrication in the new tentacle sex scenes. They debated what the most erogenous zone on a wing would be. Cloud expressed his doubts over the comfort of a particular bondage chair.

Conversation came easily with their common interest, much easier than Cloud had ever imagined conversation with The Genesis Rhapsodos possibly could.

By the time Zack came to find them, Cloud was practically sitting in Genesis' lap. (It was just that it was easier for the both of them to see the screen at the same time that way. That was all.)

"Is there a value in the programming for how masochistic each character is?" Cloud was saying. "You could choose how hard to tug on the feathers as you're stroking them, and that value would determine how receptive the partner is to it."

"Do you think that would change the outcome of the scene?"

"Well, what would you do if you had a wing and someone pulled on it when you didn't want them to?"

Genesis considered this for a moment. "Firaga them in the face, I imagine," he said archly.

Cloud laughed. "I guess that would make the game more interesting, at least."

Neither of them noticed the bedroom door was now open, with a thoroughly bemused Zack standing there watching them.

"Whaaaat are you two doing?"

Cloud started. Genesis removed his hand from Cloud's waist.

"Genesis has mods for the game," Cloud said seriously.

Zack covered his mouth with his hand, hiding a snort. "You guys have been playing that sex game? All this time?"

"It hasn't been that long…?"

"Uhh, yeah, it has. We've already finished a movie without you guys. And most of the snacks."

Genesis gently shifted Cloud off, then leveled a hard stare at Zack. "I hope that 'most' does not include my 90% dark cocoa-coated imported Brazil nuts."

"Not… all of them."

Genesis sighed and stood. He raised a hand. "Firaga to the face is a specialty of mine," he said to Cloud, as if continuing their previous conversation. His voice was dangerously light.

Zack bolted.