The Greenway
10
Sora woke in the night, disoriented and sweaty. Riku was half on top of him and Roxas had his hands and arms shoved underneath him. Wiggling free, he stumbled to the bathroom. The harsh light against white tile made him wince and he took care of his business while peeking through the crack of one eyelid. Turning the light back off, he was completely blind as he stumbled back to the bed…the bed…maybe I'll go to the sofa, he pondered.
Eyes adjusting to the darkness he began to focus on the lightest thing in the room, Riku's hair. He couldn't help but smile as the face under the hair came into focus. He had always been so pretty. Looking over to Roxas, he noticed that he had shoved his hands underneath Riku during Sora's brief absence from the bed. Going around to the other side, he crawled back into bed. Riku would always be in the middle, he thought, no matter what the situation between him and Roxas. Apparently sleeping would be no different. Smiling, he lay his cheek on his priest's bare shoulder and dozed off.
Riku wiggled…he was wedged between Sora and Roxas and one of them was molesting him in his sleep. Shifting his hips and raising a knee, he intended to roll to his side, but the hand that held the jewels wasn't letting go. Sliding his own hand down in order to remove it, he hissed as the hand squeezed gently and Sora moaned in his sleep. Riku covered the hand that clearly belonged to the lacrosse player with his own and cut his eyes to the side to look at his sleeping face. He looked peaceful except for the occasional crease that formed on his brow, then faded away to flawless, tanned skin. That was his Sora.
After a few more minutes of fondling, Sora rolled away from his priest mumbling "…fuck your foul…you're foul…foul this motherfucker…fuck you…" Riku snickered and rolled with his back to Sora's and collected Roxas into his arms, the blonde's grunting and whining completely ignored.
At roughly six a.m. the three had early morning, half-blind, bedhead, morning breath, still sticky from the night before sex, and then they all dragged out of bed and showered. Sora made his way back to St. Eraqus with Riku, and Roxas went to Radiant to study before a final.
In the library, he kept nodding off and after the third attempt at reading the boring notes, his head hit the table and he left it there. The library was entirely too bland in color and décor to inspire any kind of wakeful state in the blonde's opinion. He was soon dreaming of the Greenway and the crispness of the breeze that carried the smell of dying leaves. His power nap was interrupted by a familiar rapping on the table top. S.O.S. It was the lecherous scientist and his pet fiend.
"Hey Axel, hey Vani." Roxas raised his head and began to wipe the drool from his jaw where it had only just begun to puddle.
"Hello sunshine. How was your night? Ven had his study group so we're assuming you and the priest had the usual…each other." Vanitas grinned and Axel waggled his eyebrows.
"Why do you guys care?" Roxas grumbled.
"We don't we just want to know one tiny piece of info." Axel said while Vanitas smirked. "Whatever did you do with Soraaah?"
"What do you mean…do with him? I'm not feeding you guys. Forget it. Use your imaginations…I know those are healthy…well active anyway, healthy was the wrong adjective." Roxas said quietly.
They chuckled like the monsters they were. "We know Ventus was awfully happy when he came home…but he didn't want to play with us. We miss you Roxas."
The two sat down on either side of him and smiled as they leaned toward his face, each with a hand on his thigh, and began to whisper. "We miss those nights in knotted sheets…"
"And mornings of skipping class because we couldn't get enough of each other…"
"Dropping everything just to shower together…"
Roxas' eyes were going from side to side as he sat stiffly between them being reminded of his past affair while he pressed his hands into his lap. Dropping their eyes to his hands they continued.
"I miss hearing you cry sometimes Roxaaaas…" Axel sighed, his lips lightly brushing Roxas' ear.
"When I hurt all over and I'm still not satisfied…" Vanitas almost whined.
Roxas hissed. "Stop it."
"You really never think about it…about us?" Vanitas asked and flicked out his tongue to touch Roxas' ear.
"N-no…I don't. I have the priest." Roxas said with a little less confidence that he would have liked.
"Or does the priest have you?" Axel purred.
"What do you guys want right now? I need to study and now I need to jerk off too…thanks for that." Roxas grumbled.
"We just wanted to know what you did with Soraaah…we want to discuss it later while we're alone…without you." Vanitas hissed.
"Ugh…then will you go away?"
"Yes" they said in unison, smiling.
"He stayed with us last night." Roxas said not looking up because he knew they were sitting there looking at him like a couple of vultures. "He fucked the shit out of me- not literally Vanitas- and I loved it. The priest loved it. He held me down this morning and let Sora plow my ass again. Are you happy now? Go away."
"One more thing…"
"How is Soraaah?" Axel asked moving his thumb and index finger apart as if to indicate size.
"My intestines are in my esophagus, now fuck off." Roxas growled.
The two smiled at one another with sparkling eyes and slithered away from the table and back out into the corridor. Roxas sighed as he collected his books and hobbled off to the bathroom cursing.
Riku sat nodding at lunch in the caf. He hadn't intended to nap over his food but between Sora's nighttime groping and Roxas' shoveling hands, he hadn't slept well. Sora plopped down beside him and laid his forehead on the table top with a soft thud. Riku waited for him to speak but all he heard was the soft buzz of a snore. Smiling he folded his arms and dozed.
"Father Riku?" a feminine voice said. "Father Riku?"
Rubbing his eyes he sat up and looked into the face of one Kairi Connor. For some reason he was reminded of Sora's comment about kissing men with facial hair and he grinned a little bit too broadly, making the redhead's eyes get big. "Sorry Miss Connor. I was dreaming. What can I do for you?"
"I just thought I should wake you…I was the last person here besides you and Sora." She said relaxing at the soothing tone of the priest's voice.
"Thank you sweetheart. I probably would have slept the afternoon away." He turned to see that Sora had gone into full REM sleep and had a puddle of drool on the table under his face, hands still folded in his lap. He hadn't moved at all. "Sor…wake up. It's time to go."
Sora sat up to reveal a large red spot on his forehead and looked at Riku then to Kairi with only one eye open. She giggled and stood to leave. "Thanks Kairi." Sora said and she waved over her shoulder.
The game that weekend was a tough win and Riku and Roxas watched from home but Ventus watched from the stands. The charity game was to benefit a children's home and Sora was going all out. He loved playing in the cooler weather, but championships were always in late spring when it was usually hot. He ate the other team alive since he didn't have the usual heat fatigue sapping his energy…and a win was a win.
As hard as he played, Sora kept his fouls to a minimum but was wound tight after the game ended, as usual. He showered and changed quickly so he could meet up with Ventus and go out for dinner.
He soon realized that they had a lot in common. They talked about lacrosse and music and their plans for winter break. They talked about his upcoming graduation and moving on to the majors as well as Ventus' three more years at Radiant. Dinner was comfortable and fun as there were a few gawkers whispering about Sora Fair. After dinner they went to the cinema where they talked the entire time, ignoring the movie completely.
Walking back to Sora's car, they held hands and were approached by a stuffy looking man holding a camera. "Hey you're Sora Fair!" The man immediately began snapping photos as he walked along with them, scrambling to get shots with their clasped hands.
Sora growled at the man who whooped with delight to have that famous scowl aimed at him. Ventus began to laugh at that, making Sora giggle. Turning to the paparazzo and snatching his camera, Sora deleted all the photos and held it to his chest. "I will let you take pics, but you will take good ones. Those were shit. Who do your work for?"
"The Midgar Times. Please don't break my camera." The man begged, no longer happy about his run-in with the lacrosse star.
"I won't break your camera, but you gotta get a decent pic yeah?" Sora said smiling as Ventus watched, truly amused at the athlete's odd behavior. Granted he didn't know Sora that well, he felt he was getting to know him a lot better at this moment.
"Ok…I'll take whatever shots you approve." The man said nicely. "My ass is on the line and I been waitin outside here in the cold for you to come out, just going on a rumor that you had gone in."
"Ok, ok. We pose, you shoot. You have until we get to my car." Sora said and Ventus noted the car was only a few feet away. He quirked a brow at Sora who winked at him and handed the man his camera.
"Are you shy?" Sora asked Ventus as he took his hand and looked into his eyes.
The blonde shook his head and smiled as Sora pulled him close for a kiss under the street light and the man began taking photos quietly. Sora still held hands with Ventus while they kissed but his free hand went under the back of his shirt, raising it enough for the photographer to get good shots showing off some of his extensive body art.
Ventus had put his free hand into Sora's hair but then slipped it down to his neck. Sora broke the kiss and hugged Ventus with both arms, laying his head against his hair lovingly and then his face split in a huge maniacal grin, very characteristic of his game face and he gave the photographer the finger before they walked to the car and got in. The photographer was laughing on the street as he tucked his camera away and hurried off in the opposite direction.
Sora pulled over at the first available lot and text his parents. Mom, Dad- I'm dating a guy. He's great but it'll be all over the news tomorrow. This is your heads up. Love ya.
Sora had let Ventus read over his shoulder and he snickered. "We'll be a thing now."
"We are a thing now." Sora stated confidently and then turned to the blonde. "Aren't we?"
Ventus did mental cartwheels. "Yes!"
The next morning Cloud was reading the paper with his morning coffee. "Wow…Sora's face and…that's Ventus! That's Ventus!"
Roxas phone rang and he freaked out. He rarely got calls so he grabbed it and seeing Cloud's name he panicked, not even saying hello. "What's wrong?"
"Why didn't you tell me that Ventus was dating Sora?" Cloud asked tapping his foot on the floor.
"Jeez Dad, I'm doin great. Can't wait to come visit. Riku says hi…or he will when he wakes up…and for the record, I didn't know that Sora and Ventus were official. How did you come by this intel? Who is your informer?" Roxas loved to get his dad wound up.
"My informer is the Midgar Times, jackass." Cloud snapped.
Roxas bellowed "Riikuuuuu! Guess what?!"
Riku pulled a pillow off his head. "You won the lottery?"
"No…"
"Then all of that was unnecessary." Riku grumbled and pulled the pillow back over his face.
Having heard Riku over the call, Cloud smirked but Roxas ignored him and went to turn on the television and see if it had made the gossip news yet. Sure enough, there it was: a pic of Sora Kissing Ventus with his hand up his shirt and the copy read- Who's that Tattooed Blonde?
"Dad, I need to call Ven!" Roxas blurted.
"I need to call him first!" Cloud screeched, but Roxas had already hung up on him.
Roxas called Ventus screeching into the phone at his voice mail (apparently Cloud had beat him to it) and then called Sora who didn't answer either because he was out jogging.
In Midgar, amidst the excitement about Sora and Ventus, Cloud was preparing to have Riku and Roxas for a week of winter break. He knew his apartment wasn't much but it was home. His phone rang and he expected it to be Roxas calling back so he hit the screen without looking at the ID and said, "Look you little shit…don't hang up on me. I don't care how many boygasms you have about your little friend dating your brother…don't hang up on me Roxas."
He heard silence and then someone cleared their throat. He stared at the phone and a voice from his distant past said, "Strife, this is not your offspring calling, this is your general. How are you?"
Cloud continued to stare at his phone and hit the speaker button as he sank into his favorite chair and tried to catch his breath. "I'm um…General Valentine Sir, I'm doing well. How-how-how are you?"
"I am old, Strife." Sephiroth stated bluntly making Cloud relax at once and giggle. "And from the sound of that you haven't changed much at all. Still giggling like a school girl."
Cloud smirked at his phone but then Sephiroth continued. "If I recall that was the same giggle that got you stabbed once, am I correct?"
"Yes sir…good times, good times." Cloud said a little less cheerily.
"The reason I am calling is because my son and your son will be splitting their Christmas break between our two homes. I will be in town to do some shopping for the holiday and thought you might join me…if you're feeling festive, that is." Sephiroth cleared his throat again and sniffed.
"Yes…I'm really looking forward to seeing our boys." Cloud said, clearly over the initial shock.
"I'm looking forward to meeting Roxas. I dare say I have dozens of pictures of him already, sent to me by Riku, and there isn't a single one where his mouth is closed…reminds me of you in our youth." Sephiroth chuckled and Cloud snickered.
"That's Roxas alright…he has two speeds: on top of the world, and I want to die. Neither of those speeds is quiet…ever." Cloud snorted and Sephiroth laughed. He still had that booming laugh that Cloud remembered echoing through the halls of the hospital when he would visit, and rumbling through his chest when…but that was so long ago…
"Opposites must attract as Riku is the quiet brooding type…being a priest was perfect for him. It allowed him the perfect excuse to be constantly, quietly miserable if so chose." Sephiroth pondered and again Cloud giggled as he envisioned a toddler-sized Riku brooding and dressed as a priest.
"So when should I expect you?"
There was a short silence, then Sephiroth said, "In about two hours."
Cloud almost pissed himself. "Yes sir! Do you need to be picked up a-at the airport sir?"
"No, but thank you. I'll be landing soon and going to my hotel before I head your way…I assume it's still your way, and drop the sir. Where are you living now?"
"Same place, just quieter."
"Understood. See you soon, Cloud."
He stared at the phone and then hit his feet and began cleaning. When Sephiroth said 'drop the sir' and called him Cloud, he knew for sure this was more of a catch up on our lives visit than a we used to be military buddies dur-hur visit. He never thought this visit would happen…there had been years' worth of water under that bridge and what the fuck was he supposed to do with this? Where did this conversation even fit into his life?! This had been over for over two decades…hadn't it?
One hour and forty seven minutes after Cloud hung up the phone he opened the door to welcome Sephiroth. Stepping inside, the general looked him up and down then hugged him and clapped him on the back. "You look well!"
Cloud smiled, "Well I quit drinking a few years ago and got my shit together...like you used to tell me I needed to do."
"Better late than never yes?" Sephiroth said still smiling.
Cloud had looked his general over as said, "You haven't changed at all...even the hair!" Cloud laughed, immediately at ease and falling back into their old rapport. "Come have a seat, or did you want to leave right away?"
Sephiroth walked to the humble sofa after giving Cloud his coat, and sat. "We have reservations but I never miss a chance to make Rufus squirm."
Cloud giggled in spite of himself as Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow at the sound but continued, "Have you seen his decrepit ass lately?"
"I only see him on the news and that's usually a promo photo that's probably fifteen years old or better." Cloud said sitting on the other end of the sofa, bending a knee so he could face Sephiroth. "Would you like something to drink? I'm afraid all I have is tea and water."
"Tea would be wonderful…even though saying so shows my age." Sephiroth grumbled.
"You drank tea even when you were young and would you please stop calling us old?" Cloud called out as he walked into the kitchen to start the tea.
"I'm older than you, Cloud!" Sephiroth called back.
"Not by enough to make a difference." As the words left his mouth he could hear an echo from his past-self saying those words to the same man, in a different living room, in a different time. Shaking it off, he continued. "Besides, I feel old enough as it is when I think about our kids graduating college." Cloud looked through his tea and opened his mouth to ask the general what tea he favored and then he remembered...
"Tell the nurse to bring you some tea and stop whining. You're aggravating my condition." Cloud complained from his hospital bed, then coughed.
Sephiroth looked at him and chuckled as he sat gingerly on the bedside and took the blonde's hand into his. "I caused your condition...and you are recovering...and the tea here is piss."
"You don't have to hang around you know." Cloud said. "I'm getting better."
"Shut up Cloud. I'm here because here is better than there…and I will make sure you are ok before I fuck off back to the war...stupid bureaucratic bullshit...greedy fucking bastards...senseless Goddamn war." He began to pace.
Cloud watched him pace back and forth a few times and then stop abruptly to whip out his phone and make a call. "I want tea. Now. I'm at Midgar Medical. Yes that is correct. I know what your duties are and I don't care. Turks deliver tea if I tell them to." Sephiroth snapped, then quieted. "That would be lovely. Thank you."
Fifteen minutes later a dark-haired Turk with a ponytail came into the room and sat down a thermos and a teacup, bowed to Sephiroth and left. "You must try this tea Cloud. It's from Wutai and you can only find the authentic stuff is in the slums in sector six...unless of course you go back to Wutai."
The kettle made Cloud jump and he quickly got a tin down with the special tea that he saved for his bad days. Making a tray he took it to the den where Sephiroth was wandering around the room looking at photos.
"He's just like you Cloud...look at that face." Sephiroth chuckled again "I bet he has a temper! Does he? All Riku ever says is 'he's sweet he's beautiful, he's so good to me.' Not that he isn't all of those things, but he is your child."
"Rox pretty much raised himself, Sephiroth. I drank a lot and was a terrible father. So terrible in fact that I recently discovered that I had another son I didn't even know about…he's eighteen." Cloud admitted, pouring their tea.
"I'm truly sorry...why did you never call me?" Sephiroth asked as he put the teacup to his lips. As soon as he smelled it, his green eyes darted to Cloud's face and he sipped then smiled.
"You were busy with your own family...and I really was not in a mind set to ask for help." Cloud said. "Tifa brought Roxas to me before he was barely a month old and never came back. It was hard...we struggled. The worst of it was he didn't even have me...not really. He's amazing and I don't for the life of me know how he managed it. He had everything in the world against him."
"He's your son, Cloud. That is how he managed it." Sephiroth sniffed as if to say that it was quite obvious that Cloud was great and it was hereditary…without saying it, and then he redirected. "I can't believe you remembered this tea."
Cloud smiled. "I liked it too...I keep it around."
Checking his watch again the general finished his tea. "I think we've kept Rufus waiting long enough."
Cloud chuckled. "Alright. Wanna take the bike?"
Sephiroth barked out a laugh. "I'm old Cloud, I'm not senile."
They ate at the restaurant on the roof of ShinRa tower with Rufus ShinRa himself. He had undergone so much cosmetic surgery that Sephiroth called him Joan Rivers, effectively pissing him off. But that was how they were, so it was just like old times…except in old times, Cloud wasn't allowed to be there. Back then, Cloud was a secret. Now they were viewed as old friends whose kids were dating and that's exactly what they were, not like back then.
"You seem to have recovered nicely Strife. As I recall you had a life-threatening injury and there was a time we thought you would be a casualty of war like so many others." Rufus said. In truth he had no idea who Cloud was but when Sephiroth informed him that he would be joining them for dinner, he had one of his people do some research and brief him before he went up.
"Yes sir. I recovered nicely." Cloud repeated Rufus' own words and Sephiroth turned his head away smiling.
Dinner was casual and friendly and there was no more talk of ShinRa business or war and Cloud was happy to listen and share as they discussed children and being older.
"It still amazes me Sephiroth, that your son became a priest…it just seems ironic…my best general and most efficient killer fathers a priest." Rufus chuckled.
"Make no mistake Rufus, he got his love of all things Catholic from his mother. Once a killer… always a killer." Sephiroth mumbled and Cloud saw a familiar sparkle in his eye.
"I was sorry to hear of Cissnei's passing." Cloud said.
"Thank you Cloud. I am grateful every day for the gift you sent to us…the tree. Riku and I planted it…let me show you." Sephiroth scooted closer to Cloud and showed him a picture on his phone. "I took this right before I left because I wanted you to see how big it has gotten."
Cloud looked at the willow tree covered with different colored pieces of cloth, tied in bows. "It's really big…what are these?"
"Riku has his God and I have mine. These represent special occasions that have come and gone since she passed away. There are also some for prayers…Riku still adds a ribbon when he is home for summer on her birthday and since he has been away at school, I add one for him every year on mother's day." Sephiroth sighed. "I attend mass at the behest of my child but I find my God and my peace there, under that tree."
"That's beautiful, Seph." Cloud said quietly. Sephiroth smiled at hearing the old nickname resurface and for a moment they were sitting under a different willow tree, hidden away from the world.
"I want to see!" Rufus squawked and the two laughed. After sharing photos of their children, all boys, they discussed their college years and career paths.
Riku of course was a priest, Roxas still deciding but had offers from different laboratories and research centers. Rufus' sons were going to take over his businesses of course and Cloud spoke up to add, "I recently found out that I have another son."
He explained to their surprise how Ventus had ended up at the same college as Roxas and was actually currently dating Roxas' best friend…Zack Fair's kid. "I saw that in the paper!" Rufus crowed.
"Ventus was adopted as a baby by Aqua and Terra Xehanort. His brother Vanitas is a friend of Roxas' from college as well. They didn't see the resemblance as clearly until the two were side by side. It's disturbing." Cloud said as he showed them the first photo he got of the two blondes. They both gasped and Sephiroth laughed and patted Cloud's shoulder. "Nice genes."
Dinner continued with discussion of Zack and Aerith and many others. When they parted ways with Rufus, Cloud asked Sephiroth if he would like to come back for a cup of tea before going to his hotel. "I don't want to put you out but…you could come to the hotel with me to have tea."
Cloud smiled. "That sounds nice…I'd like that." He felt like a kid again and thanks to years of mako injections that Rufus never bothered subjecting himself to, Cloud and his general appeared much the same as they had decades earlier.
Riku and Roxas were all packed to go as they said goodbye to Sora and Ventus, then headed to Midgar. "I'm excited to see Dad." Roxas said and Riku nodded. "Me too. When I told my dad we were coming here first I thought he might bitch about it, but he didn't."
"That's a good thing I guess." Roxas mumbled.
"That's an unusual thing." Riku snorted. He picked up a newspaper and flipped through it while Roxas drove. "Oh for fuck's sake."
"What's wrong?" Roxas asked.
"Dad must have been planning to surprise me...by being in Midgar when we get there…guess he'll be staying at ShinRa Tower…" Riku said as he read the short article in the social section of the paper, accompanied by a photo of the two having dinner with Rufus ShinRa.
"Lemme see." Roxas craned his neck to see but then pulled in at a service station to get gas. Looking at the picture before getting out of the car he hummed and mumbled. As soon as he returned to the car and his ass touched the seat Riku said, "What was that about?"
Roxas giggled. "I said…you definitely got your hotness from your dad."
"Yeah? Well…ditto you." Riku chuckled. Roxas laughed and they carried on to meet their fathers for the holidays.
Sora walked into his parents' house, dropped his laundry and went to the kitchen where he knew they would be. Aerith was cooking and Zack was sitting at the island drinking coffee. "Sora!"
They both hugged him and then Aerith pointed to the newspaper. "Really Sora!"
"It was just a kiss for the paper dude…well, it wasn't just for him, but we staged some pics for him so he would look good at work. I wanted to show off Ven's tattoos too because they're beautiful and everyone should know that I'm taken." Sora blurted as he sat down beside Zack who had stopped, mid-coffee-sip.
"I thought you were kidding…about…" Zack stuttered and Sora turned to Aerith who was frozen in place.
"Why would I kid about that?" Sora asked as if he didn't know these people posing as his parents and they apparently didn't know him either. "Seriously…why would I?"
Zack couldn't close his mouth to make words, but Aerith had no problem with it at all. "Because our biggest worry since you hit puberty was you getting some girl pregnant because you couldn't keep it in your pants!"
Zack held up a finger, but she continued waving her spatula. "Every time you go to the doctor for your physical they test you for STD's…at OUR REQUEST! I DON'T think you realize how many girls you have HAD SEX WITH! AND NOW…WHAT HAPPENED SORA?"
Sora rubbed his face and Zack said, "It's just a shock son…you have always had girls follow you around and never minded, well…I'm just saying…help us understand."
"Help you understand…" Sora repeated and Aerith went off on another tangent.
"YES SORA! TELL US HOW YOU CAN GO FROM CHASING GIRLS TO CHASING BOYS?! WHAT WILL I TELL PEOPLE? I HAVE BEEN DODGING PHONE CALLS FOR DAYS BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. WE THOUGHT YOU WERE JOKING, BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW FOR SURE! WHAT DO I SAY TO PEOPLE SORA?!"
Sora stood up and started toward the door but then he paused and turned to look at both of them and sighed. "Say whatever you want, Mom. Say it's like reaching the end of the internet…Sora fucked ALL the girls and now he's STARTING ON THE BOYS!"
"That escalated quickly…" Zack said, finishing his coffee as he watched the back of his now famous son's head rounding the corner before giving the front door a slam.
Sephiroth had a nice room and he and Cloud chose to sit by the fireplace to have their tea. They were quiet for a time, neither knowing exactly what to say or not to say. Finally the general sighed and said, "I'm sorry that you had such a hard time raising Roxas. I had no idea. I should have at least come out to check on you from time to time."
Cloud was staring at his tea. "It wasn't your problem Seph. You had a wife and kid before I managed to wreck my life. I told you when you helped me move to Midgar that you should move on. The whole time I was in the army, you coddled me and took care of me when you didn't have to. You were a general, not a babysitter."
"I thought I made a rather good babysitter." Sephiroth snorted making Cloud laugh.
"I guess you did at that…but you didn't have to."
"I did what I wanted…still do…unless you count going to mass. I do that for Riku." Sephiroth stated and quirked a brow at the last statement.
"Did you not ever think of re-marrying?" Cloud asked in passing.
"No…never once. When Cissnei passed, that was it for me. I had given too much of myself away and when she was gone, the only other person I trusted who had a piece of my heart, aside from my son, was here in Midgar with a life of his own."
Cloud's heart dropped to his feet and he felt his eyes begin to sting. Biting his lip, he sat his tea aside because he didn't trust himself not to spill it. "How can you say that?" he asked softly, not meeting Sephiroth's eyes.
"I can say that because it is true." Sephiroth stated bluntly, then added, "But I was determined not to interfere with your life any more than I already had…"
"I was just a dumb kid…" Cloud said finally raising his eyes to see the placid face and slowly blinking cat-eyes staring at him.
"You were a kid…but you were smart, too smart for your own good. You saw right through me and gave me what I needed to be human." Sephiroth stood and approached Cloud's chair then reached for his hand. Cloud sighed but he knew exactly what he was going to do…fuck my life…
Taking Sephiroth's hand, he stood and allowed himself to be wrapped in a warm hug. Sighing against the general's chest, he closed his eyes as he felt a hand pressing his hair down and a kiss was placed on his head. Cloud giggled and Sephiroth chuckled as the blonde returned the hug and they stood by the fire enjoying the familiarity of each other and remembering days long passed.
Soon they said goodnight but planned to cook for their boys' homecoming and Cloud went back to his small apartment with a peace that he hadn't felt in a very long time; a peace that can only be felt when you are with a kindred spirit.
The next evening, Riku and Roxas walked in unannounced at the apartment to find their fathers cooking and chatting. They both turned around at the same time to see their boys standing with their mouths open. "Surprise." Sephiroth said smiling. Cloud giggled again and went back to stirring the bowl of whatthefuckever he was cooking. "Close your mouth Roxas…you look like a goldfish."
Roxas' jaw snapped shut and he elbowed Riku making him jump. As soon as he was out of his stupor, he almost skipped across the kitchen and hugged Sephiroth proclaiming, "Best surprise ever!"
Roxas laughed and went to Cloud. "What's cookin pop?" then kissed the side of his head.
Cloud grinned. "Sephiroth and I decided to make your dinner instead of taking you out."
"Cool." Roxas swiped his finger through the batter in the bowl and licked it and moaned. "Fuckin awesome."
Riku then dragged Sephiroth around and said. "Dad this is Roxas, Rox this is my dad Sephiroth."
"Nice to meet you sir." Roxas stuck out his hand which Sephiroth took after dusting his hands on his pants.
"Nice to finally meet you Roxas. You are the mirror image of your father when he was your age."
Riku stood behind Roxas and wrapped his arms around him propping his chin on top of his head as Cloud glanced back smiling. "Good to see you again Riku."
"Good to be back sir."
Cloud grunted. "Father Valentine…"
Riku laughed and Roxas giggled and Sephiroth gasped. "He sounds just like you!"
They all laughed and Cloud looked at Roxas and said, "I don't think he meant that in a good way Roxy." They all laughed harder. Christmas was going to be interesting this year.