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CHAPTER 9

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~This has got to be it~

Angeal thought to himself when he came to one of the clubs in his mind-list. He had checked three, by now, and Zack was nowhere to be found. The fourth club he was visiting was the last, and he really hoped to find the other dark head inside.

~La Rosa~

After stepping inside the club, the aroma of drinks from inside hit Angeal's nose, but he didn't mind it one bit. He also had to look for a certain spiked head, so he walked over to the bar to ask.

But on his way, he spotted a very familiar hedgehog head moving wildly in the dance floor. The Dark General stood there, waiting for some people to move out of his sight so he could get a better glimpse.

~That puppy…making me worry over nothing~

Angeal thought as he watched the younger black haired man dance incredibly close to a small blonde, which he recognized to be Cloud, the infantryman.

He raised his brow when he noticed that Zack had managed to sneak an arm around the blonde's waist and pushed him against his chest without resistance. Shaking his head, Angeal decided to grab himself a drink, while he waited for the music to die down so he could talk to Zack.

But when Angeal got himself comfortable by the bar, he pondered if he should.

~Well, that little brat got you hurt and worry for nothing. So he deserves an earful~

With his mind set, Angeal got up when the music stopped before starting a new one. The Dark General made his way to the dancing floor, and followed the little spike head like a predator, trying to discover where Zack and Cloud were sitting, exactly.

"Ow."

"Hey."

Angeal stopped abruptly after bumping into someone, looking down on someone smaller than him. His eyes widened when he recognized the person.

"Watch where ye goin'."

"You…"

"Huh? Wait, yer the one who took that red menace out of the theater, right?"

Angeal blinked dumbfounded. He was not expecting to see that blonde again.

~I can't believe he's here~

Angeal quickly recomposed himself, and answered.

"I am. My name is Angeal."

He added the last part quickly, holding his hand out to the blonde, who took it with a grin and a firm shake.

~Such a sexy grin~

"The name's Cid. Nice to meet ya."

Angeal felt his head race a million thoughts. He had forced himself to stop thinking about the blonde man, because he did not know anything about him.

But now he knew something.

"Well, I'm going to get me some drinks, now."

Angeal blinked when he saw Cid make his way into the crowd and disappear into the bar. He cursed mentally, when he realized that he had been spacing out and the blonde decided to make his own way.

~Don't stress, he's just going to get drinks. You can catch up to Cid~

Angeal reassured himself, his student completely forgotten.

Because he was unsure of what to say back in the theater, he lost a chance of talking with the blonde man. But somehow, fate was giving him a second chance.

~I can't blow this over. If I want to ask him out, I have to do it right~

Feeling courage like he never felt before, Angeal made his way to the bar, ready to say the words.

~Hey, I know we just met and this is crazy, but, do you want to go out with me?~

~Hey, Cid. Want to go out with me?~

Angeal frowned, unsure of his choice of words, but stopped in his way when he couldn't spot a bright yellow head among the many heads by the bar.

~Where did he go?~

Angeal didn't want to act desperate or anything, so he calmed himself down and walked around the club, looking at each of the occupied booths.

Mako blue eyes widened when he spotted a very familiar silver head.

~Why is he-?~

His thoughts trailed off when he spotted that yellow head he was looking for, sitting dangerously close to the taller man.

~No way~

The Dark General watched how close both men were. Cid was talking and smiling, and he was receiving smiles from the Silver General as well.

~No way!~

Sephiroth said something, to which Angeal couldn't hear from where he was standing, and watched the taller man lean down to steal a kiss from the blonde.

~Sephiroth, you son of a b-~

"Hey! Angeal!"

A loud hyper shout snapped the Dark General out of his massive line of cursing thoughts.

"Huh? Zack?"

"Hey! I can't believe I'm seeing you here! Did you come to relax and have fun?"

Zack kept talking excitedly, happy to see his mentor, but Angeal didn't hear any of it.

"Angeal? Hello?"

The taller man blinked, looking down at his pupil who was staring at him with visible concern. Angeal just sighed and brought a hand up to mess with Zack's spikes.

"Hey! I did my hair just the way I liked it. Now you ruined it."

Zack whined, but didn't appear to be bothered in the slightest, his eyes studying his mentor.

"Have I not told you to rest after your irresponsible actions?"

Angeal lectured with an annoyed tone, watching Zack hung his head down like a beaten puppy.

"But I wasn't tired. And I'm all fine, now!"

Zack defended, looking up cautiously.

"I can see that. You got your hands full."

Angeal nodded towards Zack, watching the younger man blush at the meaning of those words.

"You know, I was working on it, until he said yes!"

Zack grinned with a victorious grin. The Dark General rolled out his eyes at his student's antics.

"I am happy for you, but remember, if you sleep in late, you will have a hard time in tomorrow's training."

Angeal lectured, and received a wave from Zack, who started to move away, as if to escape yet another lecture.

"Yeah, I know. See ya, Angeal!"

The older man watched his young pupil disappear into the crowds of people, obviously back to his blonde.

~His blonde~

Angeal grimaced at the thought. He did not dare to look back and witness Sephiroth with Cid. He decided to take his leave, before he did something unholy and drastic.

~Punch that pretty face of his~

Angeal stopped that line of hateful thoughts from continuing.

~Now I know why Sephiroth 'disappeared' that night~

Angeal breathed in the cold air, and took a stack of his secret cigarettes out of his pocket. He always kept those for extreme situations.

~Fate is being cruel on me~

The Dark General walked around the half empty streets of Midgar, taking deep breaths out of his cigarette. He decided to push all of those feelings down deep into the pits of his stomach, and never consider them again.

That plan sounded brilliant, but there was nothing he could do to stop that annoying ache in his heart. He felt everything crush when he saw his silver haired friend speaking with Cid in such a familiar and friendly way.

~More than just friendly, judging from that kiss~

The sides of his lips twisted into a scowl. For once he seemed to understand what Genesis complained about sometimes.

Sephiroth always seemed to be one step ahead of them, no matter what the subject.

The dark haired man scratched his head, sighing in defeat. There was nothing he could do now. Cid was out of his reach.

Crushing his finished cigarette with his boot, Angeal decided to head back to his room and sleep it all away.

~!~

"Hey, Zack. Where did you ran off to all of the sudden?"

Cloud inquired when he saw the taller man walk over to their booth. Zack had a thoughtful look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"I saw Angeal here."

"Oh? Did he come to get you?"

Zack could hear a slight disappointment in the blonde's voice, and smiled at him.

"No, but he did give me a lecture."

The dark head took a seat next to Cloud as he spoke, allowing the shorter man to lean closer to him.

Zack had managed to confirm the blonde's feelings when he convinced him to join in for a dance. At first he would nudge and bounce himself against Cloud to see how the other man reacted.

Cloud didn't say anything, so Zack pushed his luck by patting the blonde's butt. Cloud blushed, but kept quiet, which made Zack frustrated.

On last resource, he wrapped both his arms around Cloud and pulled him into a tight embrace when the music switched to something calmer. They remained like that for what seemed like an eternity, but then the music switched back to a rhythmic beating. Zack released Cloud, and resumed to bump, pat and pinch the blonde all over again.

Out of annoyance, the blonde turned to the taller man, wrapped both his arms around his neck, and pushed their faces very close.

"Gosh, just ask me out! It's less annoying."

Zack blinked for several seconds, registering what was said to him. Cloud was then forced to release Zack, because he began bouncing up and down in pure joy.

And just like that they became boyfriends.

~Lovers sounds better~

Zack grinned to himself as he wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist. The night was working on him, after all.

But he couldn't help but feel uneasy at the sad look he saw on his mentor's face.

~He looked like he just lost something really important~

"Is that all that happened, Zack?"

Cloud asked, looking over to see that thoughtful look on the taller man's face again. Zack shook his head.

"I'm sure it's nothing. Angeal seemed to be out of it, but I'll talk with him during training."

The dark head spoke, but Cloud could tell that he was actually reassuring himself.

"Don't worry much Zack."

Cloud said, and blinked when he felt the other man's arms wrap around him.

"Still can't believe that I'm dating you!"

The blonde chuckled at his new boyfriend's antics, returning the hug with a warm and firm one.

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TBC