Zack tackled Cloud when he got back to the harem's wing. Not anticipating the attack, Cloud went over backwards with a yell. Evyn and Reno started laughing.

"Welcome back!" Zack crowed, rolling over and catching Cloud in a headlock. While the blonde struggled, he thoroughly ruffled his hair.

"I don't think he can breathe, Zack," Vincent observed. Zack let go at once. Cloud stayed where he was, laughing.

"I'm fine," he managed.

"So…what happened?"

"Happened?"

"Don't play dumb. You ended up in Tseng's rooms. What'd he want you for?" Reno asked, making his way across the room to pull Cloud to his feet. "Hoping for a little action when you're defenseless?"

"No," Cloud huffed.

"You're sure?" Reno prodded.

"I'm sure. And I think I'd know."

Reno shook his head and helped Cloud up.

"Bummer. You haven't lived 'til you've been with Tseng."

"Reno," Vincent hissed.

"It's true!"

"Be that as it may, there is no need to portray yourself as a crazed idiot. Let go of Cloud, please." Reluctantly, Reno did so. Free, Cloud went straight to Vincent.

"Tseng wants us to clean up the Library," he said. Vincent nodded.

"I thought he might. Have you eaten?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then. I want everyone in the library in fifteen minutes. We've got work to do." The group dispersed, leaving Cloud alone with Vincent.

"Why are they all okay with this?" Cloud asked.

"We've been expecting it. Sephiroth is and always has been a loose cannon."

"So you all knew Sephiroth was going to-" Cloud began. Vincent shook his head.

"We knew he was going to lose it at some point. We didn't know he was going to take it out on you. I should've realized when he tried to split your skull in the ring, but he has always been an aggressive fighter; it's what made him such a good SOLDIER." Vincent seemed surprised when Cloud didn't react to this statement. "Tseng told you, didn't he?"

"That Zack and Sephiroth were SOLDIER? Yeah."

"I wondered if he would. At any rate, you're safe and mostly unharmed, which is more than can usually be hoped for when dealing with Sephiroth in a rage. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"'s okay. I survived."

Vincent laughed, nudging Cloud towards their room.

"That you did. And I'm glad. We like having you around. Come on, you need to get out of those clothes."

By noon, most of the mess in the library had been cleaned up. As it turned out, between the actual fall and Sephiroth's attempts to free himself, portions of the bookshelf had broken, leaving a mess of splintered wood to be removed. The books were sorted into piles labeled 'Intact', 'Damaged', and 'Destroyed'. After a lunch break, they finished up and assigned Reno and Cloud to splinter-pulling duty before going back to the books.

"What did you do with Tseng?" Zack asked. Cloud shrugged and didn't bother to look up from Zack's palm. "C'mon, you can tell me. Ow!"

"We just talked about last night. What I might have done to make Sephiroth do what he did. What I may be able to do to avoid that happening again. That sort of stuff. Other hand, please."

Zack switched hands and put one of his fingers in his mouth, sucking thoughtfully. Cloud shook his head and began checking for splinters.

"He tell you about Seph?"

"What about him?"

"And about me?"

"What about you?"

"He did, didn't he?"

"Did what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Spike. Blonde or not, you're still smart enough to know what Tseng told you. He told you about Seph an' me being in SOLDIER together, and what got us here, didn't he?"

Cloud pulled a splinter out from under Zack's thumbnail. Zack yelped, jerked his hand out of Cloud's grip and tried to put the digit into his mouth, but Cloud grabbed it and returned to his task,

"Yeah, he did. Why?"

"What'd he say? OW!"

"Quit being such a baby. He said that you came with Sephiroth when he was forced out of SOLDIER, because Sephiroth would go anywhere if you went with him. Is that true?"

"Yeah. Every bit of it. Seph was my best bud in SOLDIER, and we helped each other through stuff…I really looked up to him, and I said I'd follow him anywhere, once or twice. He took that to heart, and here I am."

"So you didn't want to leave SOLDIER?" Zack shook his head, trying successfully to jerk his hand out of Cloud's grip.

"Course I didn't! SOLDIER was one of the best things to happen to me! By the time I knew what was going on, we were in a truck on our way to the auction house and a couple weeks of hell. Someone figured that I hadn't literally meant 'anywhere' and didn't tell me, so I wouldn't object until after I was signed away. OW! Leviathan bless, Cloud, you're not supposed to kill me with those damn tweezers!"

"I'm not killing you with the tweezers. I'm using a needle."

Zack balked, trying again to free himself. Cloud tightened his grip.

"Why the hell are you using a needle on my hand?" he complained.

"Because there's a splinter stuck under the skin that I have to dig out. Quit squirming," Cloud retorted, digging some more. Zack winced and made a point of looking the other way.

"That is so nasty," he complained.

"Mmmm…what did you mean by 'signed away'?"

"Because I came to ShinRa as a runaway instead of as a standard recruit, I practically belonged to them. Everything I needed was bought for me and the price put on my tab, to be paid off when I joined the ranks of the soldiers. As such, they had the authority to sign me away, body and soul, to anyone they wanted."

"I didn't know they could do that," Cloud breathed. Zack nodded.

"They can. And they did."

"So…you regret all this? The harem and all of us?"

"No…not really, I mean…you guys are great, and I still get to work out and work with SOLDIERs, but people treat me differently. I don't get any respect. People think of me a sex toy, and nothing more than that. I miss being treated properly, and, as one of the harem who sees a lot of publicity, I get reminded all the time."

"I'm sorry."

Zack grinned at Cloud, obviously trying to do something about the depressing mood that had fallen on the conversation.

"'s okay. If I hadn't ended up here, I'd've never met you, an' that's something I wouldn't want to have missed."

Cloud smiled.

"Thanks."

"Sure. OW!"

Dinner was subdued. Everyone was tired. They ate and bathed without talking much, and retired to their separate rooms.

Cloud lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. After the threats Sephiroth had been screaming this morning, regardless of whether or not they were directed at him, he was almost afraid to close his eyes.

"Are you still awake, Cloud?" Vincent murmured.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's something Sephiroth said, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh."

"And you can't sleep because of it?"

"Uh-huh."

"Afraid he's going to come and get you while you're asleep?"

"Yeah," Cloud admitted.

"Want to share my bed?"

Cloud paused, considering the offer.

"Yeah."

"Come on, then. Hop in."

Cloud slid out of bed and tried to get to Vincent's bed with as few steps on the cold floor as possible. He made it in three hops and an ungainly scramble and burrowed under the blankets. Vincent laughed and shifted to make room.

"What will it take to wear you out, Cloud? Even Reno can't go as long as you can; what's the secret?"

"No secret," Cloud mumbled, curling against Vincent's chest. This was nice, all warm and incredibly safe. "I just have to keep moving so I don't stop and think about how crazy this is."

"Understandable," Vincent agreed, draping one arm over Cloud. "I'd probably do the same in your position…mmm, you're so warm."

"You're one of those people with perpetually cold feet, aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged. Go to sleep."

"Good night."

"Mmhm."

"Awww, ain't you two just the cutest!"

"Get. Out." Vincent hissed. He tightened his grip on Cloud and pulled the blankets over his head.

"C'mon, I let you sleep this long!"

"Zack, I need more sleep than you've allowed me. Get out of the room before I help you leave."

"That's just mean, y'know that? Mean."

"And you waking me up is also mean. Now go."

Zack didn't. He leaned over Vincent, trying to find an edge of the top blanket that he could peek under.

"I haven't heard Cloud. Did you roll over and crush him in your sleep?"

"I'm not that small," Cloud grumbled.

"He lives!" Zack cheered.

"Go away," Cloud moaned, poking his head out of the blanket-cocoon to see if Zack had brought reinforcements. He hadn't.

"What are you doing in there, anyway? I didn't think Vincent was your type."

"I'm not," Vincent yawned. "But I do a good impression of a security blanket."

"Oookaaayyyy…you two aren't getting up, are you?"

"No," Cloud and Vincent said together.

"Right. I'll let Evyn know."

"Why Evyn?" Vincent asked. He traded places with Cloud and peered over the edge of the blanket.

"You didn't expect us to put Reno in charge while you're in bed, did you?"

"No. Good bye, Zack."

"I do not understand you," Zack sniffed, and left.

"What time is it, anyway?" Cloud asked. Vincent scooted further out form under the blankets to check.

"Too early," he announced. "Go back to sleep."

Some indeterminate length of time later, a weight made the mattress shift under Cloud and Vincent.

"Now what?" Vincent groaned.

"I heard you two wouldn't get out of bed, so I thought I'd join you."

Cloud flinched against Vincent. He didn't want to see Rufus right now. Vincent apparently spoke fluent flinch, because he pulled Cloud closer to his body.

"It might be better if you didn't. Cloud's not feeling well," Vincent said softly. The weight on the mattress eased, and Rufus' hand slid down from Vincent's shoulder, feeling for Cloud.

"I see. What's wrong?"

"Last I checked, he was just feeling generally sick. Nothing in particular."

"When did you check?"

"Last night," Vincent said. Cloud pressed closer to him.

"Would you ask him again? Just so I know?" Rufus' hand found Cloud's hip, and he patted it sympathetically.

Vincent ducked back under the blankets.

"Well?" he whispered.

"Um…upset stomach?" Cloud offered.

"That'll work." Vincent poked his head back out into the open air. "His stomach's bothering him."

Rufus was quiet for a moment, then smiled slightly and headed for the door.

"Then I'll leave you two alone. Take care of him, Vincent."

"I will."

As soon as the door closed, Vincent relaxed.

"I'm assuming you don't want to see him because his making you his favorite is what got you in trouble, right?"

"Yeah."

"And your stomach's fine?"

"Pretty much. Just butterflies. He makes me nervous."

"He does that to all of us."

Vincent stretched and curled back around Cloud.

"Do you want to stay in here, or get up? Once Rufus leaves, you're free to wander."

"I'll get up, I guess," Cloud murmured. "I should. I'm getting behind on my sword lessons."

"Then I will too. No point in staying in bed if my heat source is gone."

"Vincent?"

"Mmhm?"

"Thanks."

Vincent smiled as he kicked the blankets off.

"Any time, Cloud."

"Yo! Breakfast is over in ten minutes! Get up if you're gonna eat!" Reno yelled from somewhere outside.

The thought of food was enough to get Cloud moving at a speed that surprised Vincent, who was calmly dressing.

"You are going to trip yourself," he said. "And I will laugh, because you brought it on yourself."

"I am not," Cloud retorted. He headed for the door while pulling his shirt over his head, tripped over the shoes he'd left near the door the night before, and fell flat on his face. Behind him, Vincent had to hang onto the edge of his desk because he was laughing to hard to stand up straight.