For better or for worse Cloud was the first one to wake up the next morning. He'd neglected to turn on the air conditioner the night before leaving his room to the mercy of the hot sun streaming in his windows; he lay tangled in his blankets hot, sweaty, and miserable.

Irritably he kicked the blankets down to his feet and rolled onto his stomach, flipping the pillow over to the cool side (which he was disgruntled to find was only semi-cool). All that movement further twisted his too-small pants around his legs. Thoroughly uncomfortable and growing uneasy as he remembered the previous night's events Cloud lasted only a few minutes longer in bed before getting up while muttering, "Gaia damn it."

After peeling Genesis' borrowed sweatpants off and donning a better-fitting pair of his own Cloud hesitantly moved out of his room and into the shared area of his apartment, not sure what he'd find.

His roommate wasn't present but had left his mark behind. With a tired sigh the blond eyed their mess of a living room before sticking his head into Zack's room. Zack was curled under his blankets and looked alive, so that was something. Apparently after throwing up on the floor in the next room over he'd been well enough to get himself to bed.

The manual labor involved with cleaning up Zack's mess thankfully occupied enough of his brainspace that he couldn't really focus too much on the disastrous tail-end of his date with Genesis. He cleaned up the puke and the spilt ounce or two of whiskey Zack evidently hadn't been able to finish, opening the windows and spraying something lavender scented to chase out the smell and feel of crushed dreams and disappointment.

…Okay, so in all honesty it wasn't that bad. Towards the end of the night Cloud had comforted Zack as his friend seemed to finally get out all the frustrations he'd had this entire time. Zack was a unique guy, optimistic to the point of seeming inhuman. All the financial frustrations Cloud had dealt with since moving to Midgar (and more since his accident for sure) visibly and tangibly dragged Cloud Strife down sometimes—he just wasn't wired to bounce back with a grin every time life suckerpunched him.

Occasionally he moped and got angsty and unreasonable, just like anybody else. Zack, however, always seemed chipper and never got discouraged. Yesterday's audition seemed like it was going to be it though—his big break—and, truthfully, while it sucked that it hadn't gone well maybe it was good that Zack got to finally express his negative emotions in a healthy way.

Or maybe not so healthy, Cloud thought as he dropped a plastic bag full of soiled paper towels down the trash chute in the hallway.

It was something at least. Everybody had to crack sometime.

The smell of burnt bacon and runny eggs successfully managed to draw Zack out of his room a half hour later. He looked absolutely terrible but Cloud chose not to comment, instead mumbling a small apology about the state of his homemade breakfast and handing him an aspirin to have with his water.

Both men were quiet for a time; Zack tried to force himself to eat, looking pathetic as he pouted at his plate while wishing the food would suddenly appear in his stomach. Cloud watched him while trying not to get caught watching him.

"Thanks for cleaning," Zack muttered eventually.

"No problem," Cloud answered, pulling out his phone and making a show of burying himself in it. No messages from Genesis. "How are you feeling?"

"Shitty." Zack scowled at the food but then shook his head and let out a chuckle. "Man, what a mess."

"Pretty much."

They finished their food with some chatter about light stuff that carried no real weight. Zack called in sick for work that he had later in the afternoon, then went to shower and Cloud did the dishes from breakfast. The usual sounds present in the apartment sounded weird in his ears: running water, the ticking of the ugly cat clock by the microwave, rush of mid-morning traffic outside drifting in the open windows—he felt empty, removed, like he was listening to it all through a speaker somewhere in a room filled otherwise in complete silence.

Zack, while no longer actively trying to get alcohol poisoning and crying into Cloud's shirt, still didn't seem at 100 percent a short time later. He was quiet and had stuffed all the highlighted, dog-eared and well-loved pages of his audition script deep into the trashcan when Cloud wasn't looking.

There was something very wrong with his roommate's sunny smile missing but it was highly likely he'd bounce back soon. "All the best actors say that they got rejected over and over again at first," he offered.

"Thanks, buddy," Zack said sourly—he didn't seem very thankful, however, so Cloud let him be after that.

And on Cloud's part he wasn't nearly as devastated as he'd been the night previous. Sure, he was still in the doghouse so to speak and he hadn't been in contact with Genesis since the man had kicked him out, but sometimes seeing your roommate a hot mess with his own problems put your own into perspective.

Seeing your roommate, usually a ball of sunshine, dark and gloomy while shut up in his room and playing loud music like an angsty teenager put them into perspective further. Cloud thought about it a bit, calmed down, and made a decision.

He'd been the one to fuck this whole too-good thing up, so he had to be the one to fix it.

Around one-thirty he finally cracked and could take it no longer; Zack's uselessness (though warranted) made him antsy. He sent Genesis a text: Hey. We need to talk about last night.

A few seconds after he sent another: This is my fault. I'm sorry.

"You've got to give him time to respond," Zack said later, irritated when he realized that Cloud, who was attempting to watch television while he waited, was checking his phone for an answer every other minute.

With a sigh Cloud reluctantly let it go; it wedged itself in the couch cushions soon like small devices tended to do. Zack shooed him away and with a roll of his eyes Cloud pulled on his sneakers and left. There were some errands to do, and the distraction would do him some good.

Secretly he was pretty sure that Genesis wouldn't have responded by the time he got back about two hours later, but when he eventually finished lugging in bags groceries and some last parts for his bike he'd had to buy at a place downtown he was still disappointed to find his phone void of new messages and his last one sitting there staring at him. This is my fault. I'm sorry.

Zack retold the story of his own misfortune, as he'd gotten too drunk the night before to really explain well. He seemed bitter about it, and it didn't fit him at all. Cloud remained quiet though and let Zack get it out. The walk out of that place after messing up as badly as he had would've been awful. But, like Cloud said, many actors got rejected at first, right? Zack knew it too, even if he didn't want to hear it at the moment.

They played some video games together for a while and walked a few blocks away to get dinner outside, a treat to themselves they thought they both deserved. Cloud went to bed that night frustrated and forbidden from sending more messages until the next day and Zack went to sleep disappointed and ignoring all the ones from his friends that asked, How did it go? Bet you did great!

"You're coming to work with me," Cloud told a cocoon of blankets early the next morning.

"No way," Zack groaned from somewhere deep inside.

The only response was, "You've got five minutes to get up."

When five minutes came and went Cloud returned to his roommate's room, grabbed his bare feet underneath his blankets and unceremoniously pulled him onto the floor.

"Fuck!" Zack tried to kick out but Cloud hauled him up to his feet and cupped his cheeks, getting in close and giving him a stern look.

"I won't let you mope for more than a day. C'mon—you don't have work today. You'd just lie here and eat all our food." He gently smacked one of Zack's cheeks and started rooting through his dresser.

Zack hastily elbowed him away. "I got it, I got it," he muttered. "I'll be right out."

When both men were ready they left and took Cloud's car. Zack was tired and grumpy but perked up a bit as they neared the shop. "I've never been to your garage," he said, sounding surprised. "Will there be something for me to do?"

Cloud shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Just don't piss off my boss."

When they arrived Cloud gave a quick tour, did introductions, said no one was to crush Zack with the lift or make him sniff too many paint fumes, then stuck him on a chair behind the front desk where he was stationed for the day.

"Anything from Genesis?" Zack asked quietly, playing a pre-programmed game on the computer where Cloud did some of the recordkeeping.

"No."

"Maybe you should call him."

He gave him a meaningful look when Cloud hesitated. Nodding, the blond ducked out and moved into the break room, where he stood in the quietest corner and dialed his boyfriend.

It rang a few times—Cloud holding his breath throughout—and to either his dismay or relief it went to voicemail. He quickly hung up, not having planned what to say, and returned to his station.

"No?" Zack asked with a sympathetic frown.

"No."

As customers began to show up with their hundreds-of-thousands-of-Gil cars in tow Zack grew bored and began to walk around the outside of the main entrance room, inspecting the framed pictures on the walls. Highwind Auto, despite being run by an old bastard, was a tight-knit place.

There were a few group pictures with everyone at the yearly Christmas parties and ones of various people deep in concentration as they worked. There was one of Cloud soon after being hired—his hair was longer and in a ponytail back then. One from half a year ago showed the blond in his wheelchair, brightly smiling with a wrench in his hand and the gutted frame of a car in front of him. Cid had his arm around Cloud's shoulder, stooping a little, and was for once all smiles.

So much of Cloud's life centered around this place. It was fitting that he had met Genesis here—and gone through this argument, too. And, hey, he'd rather it be here than anywhere else anyway.

Zack seemed sufficiently charmed and managed to occupy himself until the early afternoon chatting with the other employees. Quickly he became friends with them, sociable asshole. He was lazily reading one of the magazines they had lying around while Cloud filed paperwork from a recent customer when the door opened, bells chiming, and Aerith Gainsborough came in, sweaty and distressed.

"You okay, Aerith?" Cloud asked, frowning at her. He felt Zack shift and peer over his shoulder at her.

Aerith explained that her car had broken down three blocks away. She'd gotten it to the side of the road and hurried over since Highwind Auto was so close.

"Hey, no problem," the blond soothed. "We've got it. Here—meet my friend Zack. I'll be right back." He waved a hand between the two of them, gave Zack a be kind to her look and left to grab Cid.

Grace and Benny were sent out to tow her car a few minutes later and Cloud returned to the desk to find Zack and Aerith drinking cups of crappy coffee from the break room, huddled together on chairs in the corner of the room.

From a short distance away Cloud could tell Zack was flustered. He kept rubbing the back of his neck and rolling his cup between his hands. From the desk Cloud smiled to himself.

Aerith's car was soon brought in. She and Zack kept talking as Grace checked it over and identified the problems. Letting them be, Cloud continued to do his own thing for half an hour or so, when the door opened for another customer.

"Uh oh," Cloud grunted, "What's wrong now?"

Lazard Deusericus had that CV boot replacement a few months ago and while Cloud was happy to see him he hoped it wasn't their fault he was back. It was never good to give a customer a crappy repair to land them back in the shop.

"Nothing," Lazard said with a smile as he greeted the other blond, "Yearly inspection."

Relieved, Cloud said, "Oh. That's good." As he rolled his chair back to get a certain binder with the form he wanted he asked, "So how's your movie deal going? Materia for Two, right?"

"Poorly, actually," Lazard said, leaning his elbow on the counter but then thinking better of it, inspecting his elbow for dirt. Cloud resisted the urge to snort. "Along with all sorts of legal issues they're still attempting to cast the main leads. I haven't been fond of any of the possible choices so far."

Plopping two sheets of paper in front of the author Cloud made a sympathetic noise and let him be. He realized, a minute or two later, that Lazard had stopped writing.

"You alright?"

"Is that Aerith Gainsborough?"

"Yeah. She's a regular."

Lazard pushed his glasses higher up on his nose and stared at Aerith for a moment, eyes narrowed. He raked a hand through his long blond hair and murmured softly, "And who's the boy?"

"Zack Fair," Cloud answered distractedly as he filed some things for the next day's appointments. "He's my roommate, actually. I told you a bit about him once."

"The actor?"

"Yeah." Cloud crouched to pull a notebook off a shelf and when he resurfaced Lazard was gone, half-finished paperwork sitting there. He was over by Zack and Aerith, standing calmly and confidently in his weird blue pinstriped suit like only bestselling authors can.

Cloud let out a stressed puff of breath but gave them their space, busying himself with logging the tow of Aerith's car and the two other customers that came in before her.

At four Cloud's shift ended. Aerith and Zack were still talking, sitting all close and gesturing at each other, so he waved goodbye to both after checking to make sure Zack had money to get the subway home on his own. Lazard had finally left them alone to deal with the reason for his visit and was in the back discussing his inspection with Cid, who always personally dealt with the most famous customers.

There were an awful lot of 'matchmaking' that happened at their garage as far as the popular culture biz was concerned, as he and Cid had discussed many a time before…Cloud crossed his fingers as he left, hoping for everyone's sake the shop worked its magic yet again.

In the hours after leaving work Cloud sent Genesis another text and called once more—null on both. It was incredibly frustrating; Genesis was usually the in your face one out of the two of them but he also had a mighty temper and could out-sass Cloud even on his tamer days.

Still, there was no reason they couldn't be adults about it. Cloud was growing impatient.

Zack came in late that night looking like a zombie. He kept blinking too long and too hard; he looked surprised every time they opened like he couldn't believe he was standing in their apartment.

"What's up?" Cloud asked cautiously from the kitchen, eating microwave ravioli with their last clean spoon. Zack wandered in and leant against the counter.

"Lazard Deusericus bought us dinner," he said finally, swallowing thickly. "Me n' Aerith, I mean. Aerith Gainsborough."

Nodding, keeping his smile hidden, Cloud prompted, "What did he want?"

"He said he's got a book that's being made into a movie. Materia for Two, have you read it? Anyway, he said that Aerith and I are—" He shook his head and whispered the next words, "'just perfect' for the two leads. He said we—he said we—"

Cloud waited patiently as Zack collected himself.

"He said we have great chemistry." He pulled out his phone. Aerith's number was in there with a smiley face after her name. It was easy to imagine her devious self giggling as she typed it in.

Zack elaborated, saying that because he was unknown and had no past acting experience they needed an interview and small audition, but Aerith would be there. "It's tomorrow at lunchtime," he said, sounding overwhelmed. "Lazard said we're the ones."

The roommates stared at each other for a long moment, and then Cloud jumped off his stool and they collided, throwing their arms around each other.

"Zack! This is awesome!"

"Don't get too excited yet. It's not in the bag."

The taller man started tearing up and Cloud jokingly pushed him out the front door, saying that there wasn't enough room for a little girl in the house. Eventually Zack recovered and came back inside, and they celebrated. It was definitely something, seeing Zack's gloomy mood of the past few days disappear.

"What about Genesis?" Zack asked later.

"What about him?"

Zack didn't him dodge. "Have you contacted him at all?"

"No…he's still not responding."

"You've got to find a way to make him listen, man. I'm not the only one allowed to be happy here."

Cloud brushed it off at the time but later, in bed and staring at the ceiling, he knew Zack was right—he couldn't let Genesis hide from him if he wanted this to work out.

The next morning was hectic. Zack had to get ready for his important interview, which meant Cloud had to run around cleaning up after Zack cycloned through the place and made a mess of everything in an attempt to make himself look perfect.

"Seriously," the blond grumbled, "how do you have so many clothes?"

"Is this tie okay?" Zack turned around, standing on his bed for some reason, and held out his arms.

"I don't know…"

With a growl Zack whined, "You're totally useless."

They managed to get Zack ready for his big day, though, and they both wished each other luck as the dark-haired man left. Cloud waited a beat, catching his breath, then did his own preparations.

He donned his work uniform (which was just a goofy hat with his logo and his nametag, really). He filled an empty cardboard box with some old noodle packages lying around, slapped on some stamps and scribbled on a name, and headed into town.

Nerves almost did him in a few times on the train, which was hot in the late summer weather and made his clothes stick to his body. He emerged into the sunlight, squinting, at the base of Shin-Ra tower.

Luckily he'd been on enough deliveries here that they let him up with little to no trouble. A quick, "This is for Vincent Valentine," and a flash of his I.D. was enough to get him in.

He rode the elevator up to the 74th floor and pushed past a group of undoubtedly famous people to reach Vincent's office. He opened the door after a quick knock and held out his box.

"Hey," he said breathlessly to the man, who was in the middle of eating an apple on his computer, "Mind if I keep this here for a sec?"

Vincent nodded, clearly confused but choosing not to comment. Cloud dropped the box, his hat and nametag onto an armchair in the corner and left as quickly as he came.

There was a chance Genesis wasn't in but Cloud knew him well enough—he tended to work more than usual when stressed. Without letting himself hesitate, Cloud took the stairs to the 70th floor and knocked firmly on the door.

Sure enough it opened after a minute. Genesis looked incredibly surprised for a moment, and then his expression soured.

"Oh look," he said, "It's the Mideelian orphan I'm sponsoring," and ouch that hurt, but Cloud deserved it and let it roll off.

"Genesis," Cloud said. He stuck his foot in the doorway in case Genesis tried to slam it on him. "I need to talk to you."

Genesis did indeed try to slam the door; it hurt like a bitch but Cloud didn't move it, merely winced. "Well, what?" the redhead said bluntly after a second.

"I came to apologize."

The older man remained quiet. He looked pissed, but also a little sad—his hair was without product and just down flat against his head. He looked as bad as Cloud felt, with dark bags under his eyes, clogged pores and chapped lips.

"…I didn't mean it, any of it," Cloud said softly. He was still mostly out in the hallway and he'd prefer to not be in public for this, but fuck it, if that's how it had to happen that's damn well how it would happen.

"Well, no," Cloud hedged, floundering, and Genesis' eyes narrowed.

"I did mean what I said about not being able to accept your money, but none of the other stuff. It's—I work hard, you know, and I've been surrounded by people like you for years—it's just how I am, Gen. It was kind of you to offer, and I really appreciate it, I do, but I can't accept it. Thank you though."

Genesis had eased up on the door and Cloud surged into his space, shutting the door and leaning back against it from the inside.

"But that doesn't excuse what I said. I got scared." Cloud thought back to some of the stuff Zack had told him earlier that morning. "You, uh, you scared me and I panicked so I said things I didn't mean to try to push you away." He shrugged and gave Genesis the most apologetic look he could.

"I know you don't treat me like a charity case. You've been nothing but nice and understanding and, fuck, wonderful this whole time, and you were just being nice again with the loan thing. I shouldn't have said any of that. Please, it's my fault, not yours. You were just trying to help. I'm sorry, Genesis."

The redhead seemed unmoved. "…Really," Cloud said feebly.

Genesis stood in silence for so long Cloud was nearly out of his mind with anticipation and awkwardness. He was just about to step back and run for it when he spoke.

"I figured as much," he said, crossing his arms and leaning back against his desk, long legs folded in front of him. "that you were just reacting out of fright."

Cloud smiled, but it faded when Genesis said, "That doesn't excuse it though, you're correct.

"You know I could give less of a shit about your job or whatever, Cloud. You know that. I am sorry for asking, though—that was inappropriate of me. I shouldn't have."

He glanced up and their eyes met for a moment before Genesis' pretty blues slid away down to the carpet. "Still. To imply I'd been treating you like that, like I'm some kind of… old rich pervert, how dare you?"

Cloud shrunk back against the door. The man before him was a fiery one; his arguments were loud and angry and passionate most of the time—he'd witnessed a few, though never been in one himself. Now Genesis talked quietly and seemed so damn disappointed; it had to be worse than feeling his usual wrath.

Genesis turned his back on Cloud and walked around his desk, dropping into his chair. The tiny framed picture of Cloud on the desk was turned face-down, the blond noticed.

"I need more time to think," Genesis said.

"…Okay," Cloud said uneasily. Genesis returned to the script on his desk, saying nothing else.

Cloud turned and fled.

Like a true friend Tifa had come over as soon as Cloud had called her and informed her of the news. She even brought the stuff to make Cloud's favorite drinks. They sat squished together on the couch with Wutaian food and lime Mako sours, watching mind-numbing television about people sexually attracted to inanimate objects. Cloud had been upset earlier but Tifa's presence and voice of reason really was invaluable to him.

It was as good an evening that could be obtained, really.

Zack came home during a special about a woman who had attempted to marry her cactuar fountain beaming and shaking, grin wide enough to split the kitchen.

Tifa didn't know—Cloud had been too wrapped up in his own problems to remember to tell her Zack's recent developments.

"No way!" Cloud exclaimed, standing and dropping his container of noodles as he wobbled a bit.

"Yes way! I got the part!"

Understandably Tifa looked confused as she watched the two men embrace, jump up and down and carry on. "What part?" she asked.

Zack explained and soon Tifa was screaming too, saying repeatedly that she had "read that book!" The world was kind of fuzzy and Cloud latched onto his roommate in a strong hug, letting go only when Zack began to squirm and complain that he was hurting him.

"I always knew you'd make it," he said sincerely, grabbing Zack's shirt roughly and making the man look him in the eye.

"I want whatever you've been having," was Zack's only response, and they all moved into the kitchen so Tifa could fix Zack a drink.

Aerith was great, as far as Zack was concerned. She soothed him when he was nervous about the audition earlier that day. It hadn't even mattered that he had been half-panicked and was practically improvising his audition; he'd delivered a kickass performance in front of the movie's casting director, Lazard, and the producer and directors themselves. The co-lead of the film was his.

They put on music and used up the rest of Tifa's booze. Zack laughed louder and smiled more than he had in a long time, and if an extra few shots secretly went towards the sting in Cloud's belly from a second rejection from Genesis, well, his roommate didn't have to know.

At eight Tifa had to leave to get ready for her shift at the bar. She was pulling on her sneakers when someone knocked at the door. She opened it and Cloud curiously strolled by with a bowl of popcorn for the movie he and Zack were preparing to watch.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, because no one else had a reason to visit, it was Genesis. He was showered and his familiar flirty smile flashed at Cloud from the hallway.

"I've thought enough," he said simply. He then turned the charm on Tifa: "And you are?"

"Tifa Lockhart," she said, looking back and forth between their visitor and her best friend.

"I've heard a lot about you," he said pleasantly. "May I come in?"

"Uh, yeah," Cloud said. He took a step back and bumped into Zack on his way to introduce himself to Genesis, spilling a third of the popcorn all over the floor.

"He's a little drunk," Tifa warned as he grabbed her purse and took a step outside. "Sorry, but I've got to go to work—nice to meet you Genesis." She sent Cloud a sharp look over the redhead's shoulder.

Genesis tsked and his eyes raked over Cloud critically. "Can you consent? Can you get an erection?"

"I'm not that drunk," Cloud said, shakily putting the bowl down and almost spilling a little more, "So yes, I can. And, uh," he glanced at Tifa and Zack's horrified faces at the mention of his dick, "yeah—I can do that too."

"Well then." Genesis sidestepped Zack, who was suddenly in a hurry to jam on his shoes and leave with Tifa. It took Cloud a second to realize why.

"Are we going to have make up sex?" he asked far too loudly.

He heard Zack laugh as he tumbled out into the hallway, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Only if you want, of course," Genesis said. He quickly located Cloud's bedroom and unceremoniously pulled off his shirt.

As he watched Genesis strip and fall back, naked, onto his bed, Cloud asked the important question, "How did you find my apartment?" He eagerly moved forward and pressed his full weight onto the other man, smiling while pressing his wrists down onto the mattress. He pressed an apologetic kiss to Genesis' jaw and nuzzled him a bit with his nose.

"That doorman downstairs—the redhead—is in my fanclub. Thank him later."

"Will do. And hey, uh, Gen?"

"Mm…what?"

"Thanks. For forgiving me and all. I won't make that mistake again."

Genesis gave him a fond look, hair a mess on Cloud's pillow and looking nothing less than lovely. "I don't care who you are," he said, grabbing the back of Cloud's neck and pulling him down into a tender kiss, "You're not getting special treatment because you're cute."

The words sounded like something Cloud had said a long time ago, and he figured Genesis was trying to make some kind of joke, but Cloud's tipsy brain didn't quite grasp it. "You're still such an asshole," he answered vaguely, smiling. He used his hand to mess up the redhead's hair. Like this he looked like less of the arrogant rich man he'd met a few months back and more like a random guy. He could get used to that.

The cheeky look Genesis shot him then reassured him more than anything else that it was okay. Not just for him, or them, or Zack—all of it was okay. Everything, somehow, in Cloud's usually bleak existence in this sad city was okay for once, and he could definitely get used to that.

Just the epilogue left! Have a super day :)