Chapter 11
Sephiroth looked up at the sound of the scream. "What was that?" he asked. Yawning, he noticed his leg was still elevated, and his father was checking it over.
"That would have been Genesis." Hojo replied. "I heard about your accident."
"It wasn't Kadaj's fault." Sephiroth replied. "It was mine. I wasn't looking where I was going."
"What were you doing at the house?"
"Mom asked me to water the plants. She was under the impression Kadaj was going to be late coming home."
Hojo nodded. "Well, it's not broken." he stated. He looked over at Cloud. "He seems to be doing better."
"Really?" Sephiroth asked.
Cloud shifted some, and another soft whisper, calling for his beloved mate.
"How did he end up like this?" Sephiroth asked.
"Tseng looked for his wings. The two fainted, but while Tseng woke, Cloud hasn't."
The silverette gently brushed his fingers through Cloud's hair.
"You look like you're thinking about something."
"I am."
"What about?"
"Cloud."
"Anything in particular about him?" Hojo asked.
"His wings." Sephiroth replied. He paused his caresses through Cloud's hair and instead just gently caressed his lover's cheek.
"What about his wings?"
"Well, the reason Tseng can't seem to ever find them, for one."
"You have a theory?"
"Yeah. He already has them."
"We would have seen them by now." Hojo stated. "He's been born and raised here in the lab. The emergence of his wings would have been noticed and documented."
"Unless it was a time when you couldn't see him."
"Inside his mother? That's impossible. It would have killed him."
"Dad, I read the file. The man who was Cloud's mother, Cid. He had a miscarriage early on. You and mom kept him under heavy surveillance to make sure the remaining baby wasn't lost as well. And he birthed Cloud eight weeks early. Cid died of infection six weeks later, and his two mates died mere months after that, leaving Cloud alone and in your care. You've never seen his wings, but every time Tseng looks, it's all darkness and unconsciousness. Cloud's been through a lot of traumas lately, things most Angels would have had their wings emerge from, but nothing."
"You think that at 14 weeks, he got his wings, and killed his sibling?" Hojo asked.
"No. I'm saying that the sudden loss of his sibling at 14 weeks is when he got his wings." Sephiroth replied.
"Why have we never seen them?" Hojo asked.
"He's most likely unaware of them." Sephiroth replied, still caressing Cloud's face. "I'll see what I can do once he's awake."
Cloud fidgeted. "Sephiroth." he gasped out, almost like he was scared.
"Shh." Sephiroth soothed. "I'm here, Cloud. I'm here."
The patient kept fidgeting, almost like he was struggling to wake.
Sephiroth did the only thing he could think of; he leaned over and kissed Cloud.
The struggles stopped, and instead two pale hands gripped the front of Sephiroth's black duster and pulled him closer. "Sephiroth." came the relived whisper as their lips parted.
"Hey, Cloud." Sephiroth smiled. "Feeling better?"
"I . . . I'm not sure." Cloud replied. "But I would like to sit up."
"You look troubled." said Hojo, even as Cloud was helped to sit up.
"I . . . white." Cloud said. "Something white, but also shiny." He rubbed his temples. "Where are the kids?" he suddenly asked.
Hojo smiled. "Angeal has been taking care of them."
"Ok. As long as Tifa didn't touch them."
"She did once." Hojo replied. "Your son Ryan had a dirty diaper. She said herself, what was she to do, leave him in it and give him a rash? She changed his diaper, cuddled him some, and put him back to bed."
Cloud nodded. "Well, I wasn't there, and I do agree with changing the diaper to avoid a rash. She did the right thing." He sighed. "When is Axel going to make her stop hurting?"
Hojo shrugged. "I have no idea. But if his goal was to wait until Genesis birthed, she should be getting some relief now."
Cloud looked startled. "Genesis had his baby?"
"He what?" Sephiroth asked.
"That scream that woke you, Sephiroth? That was Genesis. I told you that when you woke."
"Sorry." Sephiroth looked at Cloud. "Can you do something for me?"
"What?" Cloud asked. "I mean, yeah, I can try, but what is it?"
"This." Sephiroth let his wings show.
"But I . . " Cloud bit his lip. "You sure?"
"We need to know why you and Tseng keep having problems when he looks." Hojo replied.
Cloud sighed. "I keep hoping he can tell me when they came." he said. He closed his eyes, and Hojo got a face-full of white feathers.
"They're bigger than mine." Sephiroth gasped. "And Mom said mine were big."
"I've always had them, as long as I can remember." Cloud said, pulling the one wing over with his hand to get it out of Hojo's face. "Because my parents died when I was really little, I thought they were cause of it. That my wings had killed them." He ran his fingers through the shimmering plumage.
"No, they didn't cause it." Hojo assured him. "But a traumatic event probably did bring them. It also explains their size."
"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.
"Sephiorth pointed out that you were supposed to have a twin, but at 14 weeks, Cid lost your twin. You were suddenly without the second heartbeat you'd known all your tiny life, and that was probably when you sprouted wings. Because you were so tiny, no-one knew, and so you were born having already experienced the trauma needed, but having pulled your wings back in before you were big enough to do any damage." Hojo replied. "They grew with you."
"But, why are Sephiroth's so big?" Cloud asked. "His didn't come until the babies came."
"I have a tendency to over-compensate." Sephiroth replied, scratching the back of his head.
"Hey, is everything ok in there?" called Lucretia.
"Yeah, we're good." Sephiroth winced as he tried to stand. "Well, most of us."
"Here." Hojo handed him a crutch. "We'll find you a brace for that once some of the swelling is down."
The trio came out of the room, immediately noticing the pair of red-heads sitting in the lounge, each with a tiny bundle in their arms.
"So?" Cloud asked, coming over to take a peek.
"Cissnei." said Reno. "She's already got curls."
"And?" asked Sephiroth, coming to sit on the bench next to Angeal's pile of kids. There was an extra one, seeing as how little Sayoran had fallen asleep on Angeal's chest.
Genesis looked down at the tiny child in his arms. "Light." he said. "After his Grandfather." He looked around. "I honestly thought there would be at least one person from my family here."
Just then, Loz walked in, bringing with him Himura Rhapsodos, who looked like someone had fluffed Reno before tying his hair down. "Here you go." he said. He stood back with his parents while the red-head walked over.
"Hey, Reno." Himura said.
"Hey, Himura."
"So, um . . ."
Genesis sighed. "Light has a birthmark." he replied. "A butterfly, like mine."
Himura nodded and dropped to one knee. "You have an heir to the family leadership." He looked up. "Can I see?"
Reno and Genesis laughed. "Sure, you can be the first of the Rhapsodos to see them."