I do not own FFVII or any of its characters. SquareEnix does.
Genesis Rhapsodos, the greatly feared Red General, is completely at the mercy of a recently minted 2 yr old. Kadaj, on holiday from daycare, has been staying home with a very complacent Zack. However, duty called and the man was forced to leave his beloved child in another's care. Aerith, though she is the boy's mother is out of the question, not only because of the questionable events that occurred nearly a year ago but also by the fact that her attendance was required at a science conference. The quiet bruises on Kadaj's body rule her out even more. Usually, that would leave the stoically eager Sephiroth to play babysitter but alas, he too was called out on duty. That left Angeal as the only reliable caretaker and since Genesis lived with the man that included him as well.
Secretly, Genesis was thrilled. That was in the beginning though. In the beginning before Kadaj ran away from bath times, before Kadaj decided that eating vegetables was tantamount to physical torture and used his lungs to show as much, that was also before Kadaj thought a very prized copy of Loveless was a coloring book. Granted the boy did seem to adore hearing Loveless and, well, Genesis was never one to begrudge a fellow fan but in the beginning, Genesis had been very thrilled. Now, he was simply tired; very,very, tired. In fact, a nap sounded good right about now. Kadaj was already snuggled up to his chest so maybe he could just close his eyes for a bit.
Angeal is standing in front of him when he wakes, a gentle and readable expression on his face. Genesis knows that expression well because he shares it equally with his lover.
"How did today go?" questions the burly man while combing his fingers through auburn locks.
Genesis' tired glare is enough to give Angeal a hearty chuckle.
"He ran away when I tried to put his scar ointment on and met a hasty end at the cruelty of the living room wall. So, after 30 minutes of inconsolable tears, we settled down to a reading of Loveless and a bribe of pudding and that's where you find us now."
"Do you want me to take him?" Angeal asks but he is already reaching for the child, picking him up as if he were made of glass.
"That'd be great." Genesis stretches and watches Angeal handle the boy with careful gentleness.
Angeal hums a low tune, a Banoran lullaby, as he rocks the child side to side. It makes Genesis wish for things he cannot have and will probably never have. Makes him wish he could steal away the silver babe in Angeal's arms and keep him safe from the monster-mother that would hurt him. A moment of red fury flashes through his veins at Angeal's stance on the matter and he quells it with productivity.
"Shall I make dinner?"
Angeal smiles in return.
"I wonder if it'll please his lordship here?"
Genesis smiles before gently slapping the man. "I'll be sure to put no poison in it, my good sir."
He totters off laughing, trying to extinguish his coal–ember seething for Aerith.
The dinner is a simple, easy affair. Kadaj only protests once over being fed a carrot and Genesis breathes in quiet relief. Things are over soon enough and bath time comes and goes without event. Genesis chalks it up to Angeal's sheer bulk. The man catches the running boy with such ease that Genesis is only mildly jealous. Then, it is time for bed and after a quick reading of A Child's Book of Loveless (much to Angeal's chagrin); Kadaj is fast asleep.
"Don't ever knock me up!" Genesis warns as he plunks face down on the bed for a well-deserved rest.
Tomorrow, the redhaired 1st has cadet training and he cannot wait to take his frustrations out on the 'new meat'. Angeal chuckles at the absurdity of his lover's comment and pulls the redhead closer.
"I'll be sure to be careful," he murmurs and the pair descends into a much-needed slumber.
It is short lived. They are awakened hours later by banshee wails. Genesis is up and out the bed faster than Angeal can register. Angeal follows close behind, praying that it is nothing serious. As he closes in on the bedroom, he can see Genesis trying to soothe Kadaj but something is off. Kadaj is rigid in Genesis' arms and Angeal is afraid of the worst.
"Is he seizing?" he asks frantically.
Genesis can barely hold on to Kadaj so he settles for the bed. Laying down the twitching, screaming boy, he takes a closer look and frets.
"He's not seizing," Genesis replies with no relief, "I think it's a night terror."
Kadaj whimpers out a terrified "Mama" and Genesis' mouth becomes a thin line.
"What should we do?" Angeal whispers, looking nothing like the heroes on TV.
"I think it would be best to soothe him out of it." Genesis begins to act upon his words by caressing cool hands over the boy's brow.
"Why don't you sing that lullaby you were singing earlier?"
Genesis pats a spot near himself. Angeal sits down and quietly the pair tries to calm the child. It takes nearly 5 hours.
By the time Kadaj's whimpers have died down, it is nearly five in the morning and Genesis is grumpily struggling into his uniform.
"Oh the cadets are gonna hate me today. Gonna wish they weren't born. If I can't take it out on the bitch that deserves it, someone's gonna have to pay," he mumbles while holding a steadily accusing glare in Angeal's direction.
Ignoring the burning, Angeal fixes a button on Genesis' uniform without speaking or permission. The other man brushes him off roughly before he can finish.
Once Genesis leaves and Kadaj is settled, Angeal begins the burden of calling Zack. Anger and apprehension curl in his chest as the phone rings once, twice, before being picked up by a sleepy voice. Angeal steels himself to make accusations and confront lies. Perhaps, Genesis is right and they should stop sitting on the sidelines.
"No more excuses," he thinks, as he grips the phone closer to his ear.
"Zack," he breathes, and the world becomes a whisper, "we need to talk."
He swallows slowly, sure, that the other man can hear every movement.
"Zack," he sighs, disappointed in so many things, "how long has Kadaj been having night terrors?"
The question hits the mark. Angeal can feel it sliding in and twisting in his mentee's gut. There is a pause, and it is too long for innocence, too long for ignorance. Angeal feels himself tense inside. Has he not told the boy repeatedly that honesty can only be an asset? He utters a single word and it demands veracity.
"Why?"
Zack stutters on the other line, excuses and nonsense. Angeal has had enough and snarls angrily into the phone.
"Enough bullshit, Zack! What are you hiding? "
The tone surprises the both of them and Angeal can imagine Zack trembling over such an uncharacteristic display of anger. Angeal hears what might be soft sobs but he will hold his ground, there are weaker people at stake here. It has always been Angeal's job to protect the weak.
"Tell me, Zack," he whispers and it is nothing but harshness."Tell me how long Kadaj's nightmares have been going on."
"Almost a year," comes the barely there reply. "They're infrequent so I never thought to mention them."
Angeal is silent for a beat.
"Is she hurting him, Zack?"
"Angeal," Zack warns, but Angeal cannot control his ire. Perhaps, Genesis' temper has rubbed off on him.
"Zack, if she is hurting him, you need to do something. You need to be a father and protect your son!"
"You don't understand, 'Geal," Zack tries to placate, but Angeal is too angry, too hurt over his own impotence.
"What I don't understand, is how the cadet I so carefully mentored has forgotten what it is to be a man. He has forgotten what it is to know and understand honor."
Angeal knows that he's gone too far and cut too deep, but he is angry. He is angry, and for once, he wants Zack to know it. There is a silence and Angeal can sense the heat in his veins, the red in his face.
"Zack," and no, his voice does not break, "please."
The quiet remains, twilight moments, stretching awkwardly in the pair's discomfort.
"I'm not there, 'Geal. I'm never there when things happen," Zack says quietly.
Zack sounds tired and defeated. He sounds so much like the 12 yr old that Angeal took under his wings so many decades ago. The boy who knew abuse like the back of his hand, and yet could not hurt a fly.
"I don't know what's going on. Sometimes, I want to ask but I'm afraid of the answer. She always explains. There's always a good reason. I don't want to think she's hurting him, not on purpose."
"The sins of the father," Angeal hisses, "he never did it on purpose either, did he, Zack?"
He knows he has crossed the line, but he wants to hurt, to hurt in order to heal. Zack is leading his son down the same path that Zack himself had once lived and Angeal wants to wake him up to that fact. He cannot allow the boy to live in his unsafe fantasy any longer. Zack needs to see the errors of his ways.
Zack's breath hitches.
"My old man, it's true, my old man was never good to me. But, I ain't like him and I am trying my best not to be. To say that I'm like him or that Aerith's like him…I don't know… Aerith, she's my wife, Angeal. She gave me my life, gave me my son. How can I just throw her away? Everyone keeps judging me, judging us. Everyone wants me to hate her, curse and spit her name."
Zack pauses. The air becomes thicker.
"Angeal, you're like family to me, but Aerith and Kadaj are all the blood I got. The blood I chose. You've done a lot for me and I'm grateful but if push comes to shove, I'm going to put my family first."
Angeal can read between the lines and he knows what Zack is trying to say. The threat is clear but Angeal does not feel like back down. He wants to scream and shout that sometimes the right things are not always the easiest things. He wants to argue and make his former charge listen and obey his words. He wants to save Kadaj with the only means he has. Still angry, Angeal utters a warning.
"Watch out, Zack," he growls, "otherwise, you will not have any family to come home to."
Zack merely hangs up the phone, the line going dead over the tension.
Zack comes to pick Kadaj up two days later and no pleasantries are exchanged. Nothing is light and Angeal regrets his anger as the door closes. Genesis does not make Angeal explain, for he knows all too well the price of open emotion. They hear nothing for weeks and every night Angeal lays his head upon a pillow of worry and self-doubt.
When Zack finally calls them, Angeal is relieved. He is even more relieved to see Kadaj safe and well. He so relieved that he will not push, because Zack is not bluffing and the consequences of getting angry are too scary. Angeal will just have to content himself with watching because even watching is better than the ugly truth of not knowing.