Monday morning hit him hard. He'd had the weekend off, but it wasn't enough rest for him.

Feeling grumpy, Cloud showered, got dressed, and had a quick breakfast before packing his lunch and setting off for work. When he arrived at the Shinra building, he stepped into the elevator and made his way to the 61st floor and bought himself a can of coffee. The blond chugged it, hoping its effects would kick in quickly. He silently prayed the shits wouldn't hit him at a bad time later in the day.

Drink finished, he tossed the can into the trash and rubbed his eyes. They were still burning, and he sighed. However, he didn't dwell on his tiredness and merely tried to push it out of him as he walked to the elevator and made a stop on the floor which held Sephiroth's office. He stifled a yawn and let himself into the room, finding stacks of folders which were filled to the brim with papers. The blond read the labels on the folders, finding words such as "Archive Room", "SOLDIER Floor", and a few other places which he assumed the folders had to be delivered to.

Cloud checked his watch: 7:23AM. He had a small amount of time to kill, but what surprised him most was the fact that Sephiroth wasn't here yet. Shaking his head, the blond took a small stack of folders into his arms and headed towards the elevator, cursing under his breath at the heavy weight he had to carry.

He was even more tired when he returned to Sephiroth's office to deliver the rest of the folders, and it did not make him feel very good. Hardly any time had passed, and to be exhausted now was ridiculous.

The blond opened the door and stopped in his tracks when he saw Sephiroth at his desk. He quietly walked in, and the other man ignored him, which was unsurprising. Without saying a word, Cloud took more of the folders and set off to deliver them.

The cycle continued one more time before all the deliverable papers were gone. By this point, Cloud's job had changed from being a sort of delivery boy to fetching things for Sephiroth. Something to drink. More important papers from other floors. An energy drink.

Cloud had just returned to hand Sephiroth the protein bar he had asked for when the silver-haired man finally spoke to him properly.

"You're a little slow today, Strife."

"It's Monday, sir," Cloud said lamely for the sake of saying something. He put the bar down on the desk.

"I didn't ask you what day of the week it is, Strife."

"I know you didn't, sir. But Mondays tend to be days where an employee – in this case, me – is more likely to be slow and tired. I can assure you I'll be moving faster after lunch."

Sephiroth snorted. "It also seems to be a day in which you demonstrate more formal speaking abilities."

The conversation was taking a slightly dangerous, albeit wonderfully sarcastic turn. Cloud liked it and decided to have fun with it by taking a risk.

"Why, yes, sir," the blond said in the most polite voice he could muster. "Today seems to be a day where things are switched around and I am the one being more productive in my work."

Sephiroth looked up at him, and it was then that Cloud noticed the dark circles under his eyes. "Do you dare to challenge me, Strife?"

Cloud swallowed, but he refused to back down. His stubborn nature wouldn't let him. "Of course I do. Boss."

Sephiroth huffed, sounding a little surprised. "Enjoy your stay here over the weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday." He ripped the protein bar's wrapper open. "You may leave for your lunch break."

Wordlessly, Cloud turned around and grabbed his lunch bag, strolling away to the break room. He sat down at the table, pulled his Tupperware out, and started eating.

Fuck his damn life.

Sephiroth rubbed at his eyes and took a bite out of the protein bar. He downed it with more of the energy drink, feeling a headache coming on. He looked at the papers again.

Nowhere near done yet, but he had made a lot of progress with the all-nighters he had pulled over the weekend. However, as a consequence, his head refused to stop bothering him. The piercing ache was only growing stronger as the day went on.

The silver-haired man finished his snack and rubbed at his temples. He took another sip of the drink and picked up a pen, getting back to the paperwork.

He could barely see the words on the pages. He was feeling nauseous and dizzy, and that only contributed to his frustration. It was taking him longer to finish now, but rest was out of the question. It was time for him to work, not time to slack off.

Cloud finished his lunch and made a quick detour to take a dump. He washed his hands and got a good look at himself in the mirror.

He didn't look bad at all, considering his sleepiness and tiredness earlier. Unconsciously, he messed with his hair a little, unable to do anything to tame the spiky mess, as usual.

He gave his face a quick rinse to better wake him up and then left for the office again. He found a stack of papers ready to be delivered and automatically took them away and dropped them off at their destination. When he returned, Sephiroth was quiet again, save for the quick scribbles he made with his pen.

The silence dragged on for the next few hours. Not wanting to get himself into even more trouble, Cloud let it be. Until it was nearly time for him to leave for the day.

"Sephiroth, sir?" Cloud said to get his boss's attention.

The silver-haired man said nothing, but the blond understood that he was listening.

"I just wanted to thank you for Saturday night."

"I had little to nothing to do with it, Strife."

"Of course you did. You didn't leave after Zack had to go."

Sephiroth said nothing to that.

"I want to repay the favor. To Zack and to you."

"It's unnecessary."

"Please, sir, just let me—"

"I think it's time for you to go," Sephiroth said after looking up and at the clock. Cloud noticed the dark circles under his eyes again, but he saw a wan paleness on his face.

"Are you alright, sir?" Cloud asked with concern.

"Your shift is over, Strife. I suggest you go home."

The stress Sephiroth put on the last two words of his sentence was strong. Cloud almost felt hurt by the other man's attempts to get him to go away. Almost.

"Next Saturday, sir. I'd like to invite you and Zack out."

"Fine," Sephiroth snapped, giving in. "Just leave."

Cloud nodded and walked to the door, stopping in front of it.

"Please take care of yourself, sir. You don't look so good."

Then he left.

Notes:

Started: 2015年6月2日（火）

Finished: 2015年6月4日（木）

Oops, meant to update this in March but shit happened.

Still on hiatus!