Interaction with Infantry!Cloudy and a lovers spat.
In the case of vinstrife, there will be some however it will not be the same way as AGSZC or cleris. What does that mean? Well, your just gonna have to keep reading to find out.
P.s. You are all lovely readers and reviewers. Thank you for you support!
"Cloud, you can go home you know." Zack said, eyes wandering. They had to make a detour from their original plan. Now they were walking aimlessly around the slums. Although the two SOLDIERs did take note of the girl entering some kind of run down building that looked strangely like it may have once been a church.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Cloud asked, shifting his helmet.
"Well, Umm...no..." Was the hesitant response. Sephiroth nearly face palmed at the blatant lie.
"Then what's the matter with me tagging along. You're not on a mission are you? You don't look like you are." The blond haired youth questioned, looking incredulously at the casually dressed men through narrowed eyes.
"Spi-"
"You know Angeal and Genesis are looking for you. I saw them earlier."
"Why woul-" Zack began.
"Maybe because you've been avoiding us." Accusation was evident in the blond's tone.
"We haven't." Zack tried to defend.
"You have too." Cloud snapped. The blond huffed in agitation as both he and Zack stopped in their tracks.
"Oh..." Zack replied, voice soft as he looked down solemnly.
The silence between them made the infantryman's skin shiver in displeasure.
"Sorry" The smaller of the three finally whispered.
Zack shook his head. "No, i'm sorry. We've just been...busy. Look...Cloud...thi-this is just something that's really important that we have to do and it could get really, really dangerous."
"We simply didn't want you to get hurt." Sephiroth added, worry was written into his features.
"You could have just said that from the beginning, you know." The soft response was.
"You're right. I know. I'm sorry. Really, I am Cloudy." Zack replied, trying to convey his feelings to the blond who stubbornly refused to make eye contact with him.
"Cloud please, if nothing else but to give us peace of mind. Can you please go home. We'll meet you back home later." Zack practically begged.
Pale lips opened, a protest on them before closing quickly. Cloud nodded, he would just have to be satisfied with their answers...for now anyway.
However, others would not be so quick to satisfy.
"How dangerous of a thing are we talking about here? Especially one that seems to not have left the slums...and for weeks now. Don't think we haven't noticed." Genesis's smooth voice reached their ears.
Angeal stood beside him, arms crossed over his chest.
"Geal, Gen, Hey!-" Zack tried.
"Zack." Angeal's gruff voice took on a disapproving tone. Look's likewise.
If there was ever a moment Zack looked more like a kicked puppy, it was now.
Sephiroth sucked his teeth. This situation was staring to go down hill and fast.
"Sephiroth, do you have anything to say about it?" Genesis asked, eyes blazed in anger despite his lax position.
The silverette had to bite back his response. He couldn't let them find out. They would only wind up hurt. He had already made the plan to ditch Zack when they finally came across the sword wielding blond. He had run the situation across his mind dozens of times. Escapes and actions, hundreds. If there was going to be a fight, he would be the only one that had to pick up his blade. But, if they were all here...that would be impossible to do. He could only hope they didn't come across the man today or that he had mercy at least.
"Well?..." Genesis barked.
"Gen, you don't-" Zack tried to reason.
"Save it. What do you think your're doing? Avoiding us, sneaking about and doing questionable things. Hmm?" The rust haired commander accused.
"Like you're one to talk! You've been doing just that."Zack yelled back.
Genesis was speechless and any other time, Zack would have been proud of that but not now. Now he was just angry and all he wanted to do was vent his anger.
Unlucky for him, so was Genesis.
...and perhaps unfortunately or perhaps fortunately neither would be able to relieve their anger on one for the moment.
Squealing of fans reached their ears, quickly diffusing the situation. Sephiroth let out a silent sigh of relief, never has he been more happy to see a group of swarming fangirls...
...Well, until they opened their mouths.
"Oh! GAIA!"
"It's really them-"
"Sephiroth!"
"Would you read LOV-"
Sephiroth really just wanted to call it a day at this point. However, it did not escape his notice the way a trio of girls in the back were fawning and whispering to each other. Of course there was nothing out of the ordinary there.
Unless, you counted the fact that their gaze was transfixed solely to a certain blond haired infantryman and were looking excitably at something on their PHS's.
Cloud was undeniably an attractive person and had a certain...charm about him that the silverette couldn't quite describe. He couldn't count the times he or the others had to chase off wondering eyes and just a tad bit too frisky hands from defiling their blond. That however didn't explain why now of all times, this trio of girls sight was only for the Nibel native.
Call in arrogance or paranoia but it was definitely strange.
However, he couldn't wonder about it for long with thoughts of escaping the group of hopefuls and avoiding the heated glare of his red haired lover.
It was just after dusk. They all had finally been able to evade fans by slipping into the first building they could.
Genesis had calmed down enough for them to attempt a more calm and civilized conversation, attempted being the key word.
The rust haired commander currently sat quietly fuming in the corner of their booth. Angeal had his arms crossed, glancing slowly between a certain silverette and ravenette and then back again to his red headed lover. Cloud sat quietly between him and the fiery commander. Sephiroth and Zack on the other side of the table.
There was an undeniable bubble of tense silence surrounding them, impervious to outside forces. Despite the rowdy drunkenness found in the rest of the building.
A run down bar in the middle of sector 7 was perhaps not the best place to discuss their problems but in the end, Sephiroth supposed it was better than to so much as even whispering what was going on in the halls of ShinRa. Which had more than enough ears and eyes that would love to soak up any and all gossip and unknown happenings, regardless if intentional or not.
Still he keep his lips sealed on the real matter and lucky so had Zack. They had been able to convince their other lovers that the so called 'mission' that had them scouting the slums was due to AVALANCHE. He could see understanding in the eyes of his three unaware lovers. It didn't stop the sliver of guilt biting at him for lying.
Now he could only hope they would let it go and return back to the safety of ShinRa. If only he could be so lucky.
It was then the red commander decided to voice his opinion. Sephiroth had to hold back the spike of anger and the want to hit something in aggravation.
"I don't see why they couldn't just send some Turks." Genesis arms were still crossed as he glared heatedly at the two secret holders. Disregarding at the moment his own dark one.
Well...'cause y'know-" Zack began.
"-And why weren't Angeal or I informed on this. This is a very important matter and no offense but I don't see why a second class would get leeway over veterans and superiors at that, on something such as this." The red haired commander snipped.
No offense taken." Zack gritted, gripping the table perhaps a little to much. " In case you forgotten Gen, i'm gonna be a 1st soon enough." Zack defended while Genesis snorted at the proclamation.
"It would be cause for concern if all three of ShinRa's top were seen constantly under the plate. We'd stand out too much." Sephiroth cut in, attempting to stop the ticking time bomb in front of him from exploding.
He was used to Zack and Genesis butting heads from their own different yet equally brash personalities but lately it had been getting worse and worse and not just between the two. Sometimes the General thought he could see the thread holding all of them together slowly but surely coming undone.
"Like seeing even just you under there constantly isn't concerning what-so-ever." Genesis grumbled, finally looking away. The anger was still there but underneath it, Sephiroth could feel rather than see the hurt.
He sighed, nothing was going right lately. Just one thing after another. Maybe some Wutian had placed a curse on him, he was having trouble doubting it.
Silence once again reigned over their table.
He was glad when Cloud surprisingly piped up, helping to lighten the situation...even if only a little.
"Do you think they have any food?" I haven't eaten since this morning." That was a lie. Cloud couldn't admit it to himself. But, the intensity and frequency of the fighting in their quintet was starting to get to him. He knew couples fought but this was more than a simple lover's spat.
He knew there had to be a reason.
Of course the other's wouldn't tell him the real reason, the root of their problems.
Sometimes, he worried it was him.
He knew he was probably just over thinking these things. The real reason was more along the lines that they didn't want to worry him, didn't want him to get involved, didn't want him to get hurt.
That did nothing to stop it though.
Perhaps it did physically but, mentally...it hurt. More...he thought, than a sword through a chest ever could or foot or...well you get his point. At least he would know then. Could be apart, could be with them entirely. Help bare their pain instead of watching from the sidelines. He was their lover too, dammit! So why couldn't he...
He couldn't remember the amount of times he could hear them whispering to one another in the dead of night over a particularly dangerous mission or a harsh wound. Only to brush it off. Try to convince him it was nothing in the morning.
He wasn't stupid. He knew the truth.
SOLDIERs healed fast, that was true but it didn't mean they couldn't get hurt, didn't feel pain. He knew their was something wrong with Genesis and now with Zack and Sephiroth as well. They were holding secrets and despite his fruitless attempt to convince otherwise he couldn't help the knowledge that Angeal was soon to follow.
The night Sephiroth had gotten hurt, he had only been able to be near Sephiroth side because the others were too in shock to shoo him away. That hurt too. Sometimes, he felt like they truly didn't trust him enough.
"Probably..." Angeal cut into everyone's thoughts, looking mildly disgusted as he watched a group a table a way from them scarf down what looked vaguely like nachos...drenched in...well, everything.
"Zack come on. Let's find something...edible." The bearded first stated. Leaving no room for argument from the reluctant 2nd.
With the removal of the ravenettes the tension seemed to suddenly double. Cloud felt suffocated, he needed to breath.
"I need to use the bathroom!" He suddenly blurted out.
Genesis couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle and Sephiroth grew a small smile even as the blond practically bolted from the table. Face red in embarrassment.
He. Was. Lost. Damn his curiosity. He was supposed to be using the bathroom or..err..pretending too at least. He was pretty sure he was somewhere on the second floor. Surrounded by nothing but cobwebs and dust. He could just barely here the rumble of voices from the bar below through the dangerously old looking floors.
But he had though he had seen...something. Curiosity getting the better of him, he had gone after it.
He was always a curious child, maybe that was why he liked exploring so much.
That might explain why than more than one point in his life he wished he had became an adventure or treasure hunter. He chuckled, he even thought about being a delivery boy just so he could travel to other places.
But...He thought, then he may have never met his lovers. Let alone fell in love with them...
...Even if he was destined to be nothing but an infantryman for the rest of his life...he was happy and that was all that mattered, right?
It didn't stop the feeling that it just wasn't enough.
They were all SOLDIERs, some if not ShinRa's best, the top and what was he?
It felt sometimes that despite being welcome'd into their arms...there was still...a...barrier.
He sighed, maybe it truly was because of him. He was a scrawny looking infantry man. One if not the smallest in his year- More like all of ShinRa. Sure he had great book smarts and was pretty good with materia if Genesis and Zack's praising was anything to go by but still...
That stuff didn't really matter to a SOLDIER whose main job was practically just stabbing things, Zack had joked.
Why did he have to be so wea-
His train of thought was immediately halted as he let out a squeak, falling through the floor...or would have if not for the arm around his waist.
"It's easy to get lost ones thoughts. You should still be careful of your surroundings however. These floors haven't been taken care of in years. " The voice said, Cloud wasn't entirely sure if his beating heart was from his previous imminent fall or from the velvety voice. It was deep and dark yet soothing despite the slight roughness to it. All he knew it sounded like heaven similiar to Sephiroth's silky tone.
"Uh...th-thank you." He replied, before panic set in. Oh Gaia! This was the owner wasn't it? He was in so much trouble. He was going to have to pay for this wasn't he? Way to screw up Strife.
He wasn't sure when he was pulled away from the hole in the floor or was released but he was.
He sighed, silently trying to figure out how much this was going to cost him.
"If you are looking to get back down stairs, go out that door and take a right and keep going until you reach the stairs then take a left."
"Oh! Umm...thank you ag-." Cloud's breath caught in his throat. A part of him wanted to scream but it was stuck in his throat. Refusing to leave.
The man sighed.
"Right. You're not..." The man looked away, voice trailing off and leaving what was said inaudible to the infantryman.
The blond was paralyzed. This man didn't look human and sure he was used to glowing eyes but they were blue. Never red, ever.
Cloud couldn't help the small gasp leave him when those the pale fingers, even paler than Sephiroth's touch his cheek. He held back his flinch, surprised by the...tenderness of the touch. He closed his eyes suddenly when the man leaned in. Oh no, oh no no no. But nothing that the blond had expected had been done instead the mysterious man had whispered to him.
'Be safe, Cloud'
Be safe? From who? What? And how did he know his name?
Then touch was gone before he could open his eyes or reply. When he looked around, the man was no where to be found.
Nothing besides the hole in the floor and the disturbed dust in the air could tell that anyone had been there.
His heart was beating in an unfamiliar rhythm and he wasn't sure why. He shook his head, he felt light. Like any moment he would just float away or disappear.
He was terrified. Yet, a part of the blond was curious. The man certainly didn't appear to be human but the blond had seen...something in those eyes.
They were haunting. Red like fresh blood. Yet, instead of blood lust as the infantryman had expected he had seen something else.
His heart ached but he couldn't figure out why. There was something about the man that called out to him.
Who was that guy? He couldn't possibly be real, could he? What if he was a demon or, Gaia! He was a vampire wasn't he? He just had to be. No no, get a hold of yourself Strife. Your talking crazy.
Cloud sighed.
He could still feel the haunting caress of those fingers against his skin. It left him with an unexplained feeling.
End for now. I am so done with this chapter. You will not believe how many time I wrote this chapter, had it perfect than hit one wrong button and no more. Woke my family up one night screaming NO NO NO NO! when I lost the last chapter after I had just came over my minor writer block.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter.
P.s. BC!Cloud is not in love with Vincent. Just to clear up any impending confusion. He's more curious if anything.