Warning: Contains blatant Cloud worship.

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Chapter fourteen

"Zack, wake up."

SOLDIER Zack Fair was being shaken hard enough to make him fall off the couch and onto the floor with a thump …but not hard enough to wake him. Contrary to any conventional reason, he was still snoozing away in this new position mumbling sleepily.

"…I don't want to go to Wutai…"

His persecutor had relatively little human sympathy and took the next logical step to wake him, which was of course kicking him in the ribs with his heavy yet elegant boot.

"Ugh, Seph…?" Zack grunted, consider whether or not he really needed to open his eyes; he was sure only the General would be so mean to an innocent sleeping person.

"Zackary, wake up now."

"Yes, Sir…whatever…" Zack pushed himself up and tried looking around. "Why are you always so mean?"

"I don't believe that question is sufficiently intelligent to be justified by a response." Sephiroth was standing calmly near the First Class with his arms crossed.

"My point exactly…" Zack moped exquisitely and pried himself completely off the floor.

"Wake Cloud. It's about damn time we got out of here. The janitorial service will be coming within an hour." The graceful silver haired man ordered.

Zack glanced at the dozing cadet and frowned. "Why do I have to do it?"

Sephiroth considered this for a moment. There were dozens of reasons; he was Zack's superior and it was his job to tell him what to do, Zack was Cloud's friend and therefore more closely responsible for the boy, he was habitually too rough in his actions and might accidentally knock Cloud on the floor (and he didn't deserve it like the previous man), he knew that he could be intimidating and Cloud would probably rather be woken in a strange place by Zack, he might accidentally brush against the hair and contract some of the heinous pink on to himself, he might also accidentally… But none of theses reasons were what mattered.

"Because I said so." The General abbreviated his dissertation and answered simply.

"Humph." Zack pouted as he tip-toed over to the sleeping cadet.

Cloud was curled on the end of the couch with his head propped on the armrest, his left knee was pulled up to his chest, while one hand was tucked under his chin and the other lay peacefully beside his head. His still-blond bangs hung in his face and over his eyes, gently stirring with each of his slow breaths, making an angelic frame for his even younger then usual face.

Zack braced himself and made a feeble attempt at waking the boy by jiggling his shoulder and mumbling something that sounded like 'Spiky'. Cloud stirred a little, he made a discontented whimper and nuzzled his face against the cushions, folding into himself even more, rather like a tired puppy.

"Damnit!" Zack huffed and turned away. "I can't do it!"

"You can and you will." Sephiroth ordered firmly.

"If you're such a cold bastard why don't you do it?!" Zack challenged.

Sephiroth tried to glare is disrespectful second into submission…unfortunately there was no submission. He cleared his throat.

"Cadet Strife!" The silver haired man spoke loudly. He had intended to use his very stern General-voice but it was strangely difficult at the moment for some reason.

"Yezzz….Shir…" Cloud mumbled and snuggled deeper into the cushions. To the amazement of all present he was somehow still asleep.

"Wow, he's really out." Zack mused sympathetically.

Cloud began fidgeting restlessly, his fingers twitched and he made little noises deep in his throat while his legs moved slightly.

"Aw! He's having that dream about you again!" Zack exclaimed cheerily, smiling at the young cadet.

Sephiroth's eyes widened slightly at this statement but he didn't respond. He did not respond.

"We can't leave him here all day." The Silver Haired General rubbed his temples. "You are going to have to—"

"I have the solution!" Zack interrupted the other man's headache inducing thoughts. He deftly slipped his arms under the sleeping cadet's shoulders and thighs, gently lifting him so as not to disturb his sleep. "There! Now no one has to wake him."

Cloud mumbled quietly and settled against the SOLDIER's chest, reflexively wrapping an arm around the older man's neck and resting his spiky head on the other's shoulder. Zack laughed, then turned to Sephiroth and made a curious expression.

"What's wrong, Seph?"

"Nothing." The silver man answered irritably.

"It doesn't look like nothing. You look upset. Like all pissed out the world. Or unsettled or something. Like you always do when you're a little bit unhappy or displeased. Or you don't have your way. Or you…"

"I said nothing!"

"Ha! Now I have proof you're upset!"

"I don not get 'upset', Zackary."

Zack looked up surprised. That was a definite growl.

Of course, simply knowing that there was a threat to his wellbeing did not dictate that Zack Fair would take any steps to ovoid dismemberment or death. In some cases it only served to make him more curious as to the mysteries of a situation and its infinite possibilities. All at once the SOLDIER came up with a positively brilliant idea. He grinned widely.

"I guess you can hold him if you really want to…" Zack offered.

No response (not counting the temperature fluctuations in the room).

Impasse.

Zack mentally cheered for himself. Sephiroth wasn't able to make any violent retaliatory actions due to the cadet draping Zack and acting as shield. The brunette applauded his own wonderful sense of timing.

He could however feel the temperature of the room dropping considerably and if it wasn't for his Mako enhancements he would have shivered because of it. It was entirely owed to his extraordinary mind however that he didn't fall dead on the floor for the look he was receiving from glowing green eyes. Zack hugged the cadet tighter and thanked his presence of mind for keeping Cloud with him at all times.

The General gave him another expression which was kind of like flipping one off, except much more dignified. He strode off in front of him.

"... Hey! Wait! What's the hurry? Hold the door! I can't get it with him!" Zack called after the silent man. He was trying to figure out how to yell while whispering; it was working out pretty well all things considered, especially since pitch didn't matter with Sephiroth's advanced hearing.

Sephiroth held the door, while now giving only a half hearted Glare of Death.

A few odd meters later.

"No. This way."

"What do you mean? This way's a whole lot closer." Zack paused in the hall looking at the other man quizzically.

"Will you ever learn to just follow orders?" The General sighed.

"Umm, that program didn't come installed." Zack grinned impishly.

"I think someone forgot the entire operating system…"

"Well, my mom could never stand to punish me when I was a kid, so…"

"I really don't care to know."

"…but I don't want you to blame my mom, she's a sweet lady. She makes really good… Oh, why were we not supposed to go this way?" Zack began absently walking the way he had intended, he then stopped.

"Because this corridor passes directly by…"

Too late.

"Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth's warm motion of greeting was to stop and stare at Hojo, who immediately began crackling with laughter.

"Having a good time, Sephiroth?"

"Absolutely."

Zack could hear the grinding of teeth.

"Oh, I see, I see!" Hojo glanced to the peacefully oblivious cadet and rubbed his hands in vicious delight.

Zack stepped back protectively, as though Cloud might somehow be telepathically contaminated by the scientist. "You coming, Seph?" Zack waited a few paces away from the insidious lab-coat clad man. Under most circumstances he would happily have been more aggressive but right now he had to take care of the unconscious boy depending on him.

"Oh, go on." Hojo chuckled deviously, directing himself to Sephiroth. "I would never interfere with the pastimes of high ranking SOLDIERs"

Zack glanced toward his commander, noticing the tiny pinpricks of sweat lining his forehead and the ominous vibration in the air.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

It wasn't that Zack would have minded seeing Hojo killed, who would? But Sephiroth was looking kind of, you know, angry. And if he got really mad, he might do that thing he does when he gets really mad.

Zack didn't really want that.

He strained his quick thinking, innovative mind searching for the answer. How had he survived so many desperate battles? How had snuck off base for so many covert rendezvous? How had he played so many tricks on the fearsome General? Some sort of counteraction, or escape? Or distraction?

"Whoa! Agh!" Zack made a nicely dramatic display of tripping over his feet as his eyes widened in surprise.

Of course there was no possibility of him dropping the innocent sleeper. But there was a very good possibility that Sephiroth's cat reflexes would snap him away from the villainous scientist in order to catch the victim of Zack's ploy.

Oh how beautifully it worked. Sephiroth was beside him in an instant ready to catch Cloud if need be (though strangely making no attempt to keep Zack from fall in on his ass). But it had worked! The clever SOLDIER wondered how Hojo had managed to live this long without his cunning.

"S'okay." Zack whispered again when Cloud moaned, disturbed by his rough treatment and their voices. "Let's just go, huh?" He pleaded in the name of the cadet.

"Of course." Sephiroth simply nodded. He didn't look back at his evil nemesis behind him but strode off, emphasizing that the man wasn't worth a second glace.

"Have a pleasant evening, boys!" Hojo let out another vindictive crackle, seeming more pleased than anything at Sephiroth's rude treatment of him.

Zack sighed once they were alone in a different hall. "Doesn't that man ever sleep?"

"Not really. He doesn't use his body for any considerable physical activity and his mind his diseased and somehow maintains a sort of constant functionality…"

"Umm, the door?" Zack gestured toward the impediment before his quarters. He decided that this time he might not want to annoy Sephiroth about being spaced out and simply stepped through the immediately open doorway.

Zack balanced precariously, stepping on the bottom bunk and setting the young cadet on the top.

"Gees, we've got to feed this kid more." Zack commented setting the boy down carefully and noticing how small an impression he made on the mattress.

"You do that." Sephiroth responded in monotone. A monotone so void of any variation it acquired a startling mechanical hint and ceased to be monotonous. It was a Sephiroth tone.

With any of his other friends Zack would have undressed them a bit but he remembered that Cloud was the shy type and would probably have a hissy in the morning, especially if he knew that the great and mighty General had been there. Zack chuckled to himself at this thought. He carefully lifted the boy's head with one hand and settled for just slipping off the heavy chain around his neck with its dangerous looking triangular pendant, handing it down to Sephiroth.

The General ignored Zack's amusement, deciding that is was much better not to know whatever the man was thinking and accepted the chain, followed by the collar and the cuffs.

"There. Now at least there isn't anything he can hurt himself on while he's asleep." Zack removed one more studded belt hanging from the cadet's hips. "Okay, now there isn't."

Zack dropped back to the floor and took the accessories only to throw them on a pile of laundry on the floor; whether it was clean or dirty nobody knew, especially not Zack. Either kind served equally well as a place to throw things.

After all this, Cloud was only now beginning to stir. He twisted uneasily and frowned at the unwelcome sense of consciousness.

"Hn…Zack…?"

"Yeah kid, go to sleep." Zack told him while pulling junk off his bed.

"Un-hunnn." Cloud settled into his pillow unquestioningly without even having opened his eyes to make sure where he was. He regained a position similar to his earlier arrangement, with his fingers curled around the corners of the pillow and his lips parted slightly.

Sephiroth pulled the blanket closer over the magenta-blonde's shoulder before he even noticed what he was doing, feeling oddly protective of the oblivious cadet. By the time he turned away frowning at himself, Zack was already undressed (he did boast record stripping abilities) and sprawled in bed looking as disheveled and messy as, well, Zack. Even his never made bed looked more disorderly because he was in it.

The SOLDIER yawned rolling on to his stomach. "Everything okay, Seph?" He was no doubt wondering why the easily bored man was still there.

Sephiroth nodded, knowing that even though the other man's eyes were shut, he could hear his hair sliding over fabric, indicating the head movement of a nod.

The customary grin seeped into Zack's relaxed features. "I don't know how you do it all the time…" He yawned again already falling asleep.

The silver haired man raised an eyebrow, he wondered if Zack could figure that one.

"I hate sleeping alone... All the time…it would get so lonely... Don't you even mind?"

Sephiroth responded with frown and a knit brow for no one to see. "I'm not afraid of the dark, Zackary."

The Silver General turned quickly and left before Zack could throw any more 'idiotic' questions at him. He slipped into the hall and shut the door…quietly.

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Well, I'm thinking this is a little shorter than usual and I'se sorry for it! but I really wanted to end it on that angsty little note You can throw stuff at me for it if you want, but nothing too heavy please! I've been kind of busy working on a new fic I just started called School Daze, about Kadaj being sent to high school. You might want to check it out;p if you like the SHM centric AU, crackness.

Love ya all!