Title: Prisoners of War
Author: XpaperplaneX
Beta: urplesquirrel on LJ, aka Doom Squirrel on FF dot net
Rating: PG
Pairing: SephirothxCloud
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Yaoi
Warnings: None
Summary: Sephiroth and Cloud are coming to terms with the aftermath of their capture and torture by of AVALANCHE, including a slowly budding friendship (and perhaps more?).
Disclaimer: I do not own FFVII and make no money from this work.

There's fanart for this chapter!

http: // xpaperplanex dot livejournal dot com / 5254 dot html

http: // towo dot livejournal dot com / 5246 dot html

http: // original-botticella dot deviantart dot com / art / quot-PoW-quot-ch-14-CxS-Kissing-159147623

XXX

Cloud banged on the side of the vacuum cleaner and jumped when it roared back to life. He was getting the hang of this; dealing with Zack's inability to buy an appliance that had less than three previous owners. He was just about done cleaning the apartment for the party tonight. Did four people really count as a party? No matter, it was going to be fun either way. He had butterflies in his stomach, but they were excited butterflies. He wished he could tell his squad-mates that General Sephiroth was coming to his birthday party, but knew that it wouldn't go over as well as he might hope. Cloud jammed the vacuum back in the closet and slammed it shut before anything fell out.

He popped into the bathroom to check his appearance in the mirror. The bruises were gone and the big cut on his cheek was just a red line now. He attempted to flatten his spikes, but that just looked worse so he settled for the cute, messy look. It dawned on him that he was preening like a girl before a big date and decided that he looked good enough the way he was. Cloud went back to his room and started rummaging through his closet, looking for something casual, but nice, that he could wear. He was just killing time now and he knew it. After the way Sephiroth had taken care of him earlier in the week during the mako testing he really had no idea what to think except that maybe Sephiroth liked him. Enough to carry him home and rub his back while he was puking his guts out at any rate. You had to care about a person at least a little to willingly do something like that. But if Sephiroth did like him, as more than friends, could he handle that? It was one thing to have a crush and, but something else entirely to act on it.

Cloud sighed and picked up the picture that had been on the bookcase when he moved in. It was of Zack and Cloud; Zack had him in a headlock and was giving him noogies and Cloud was blushing and yelling. The picture was a bit crooked because Kunsel had been laughing as he took it. When he first saw it there, Cloud had been surprised that Zack had kept it, let alone had it framed, but he understood now. Zack liked to keep things that reminded him of his friends and good times he had. Cloud didn't really have much like that, just a few pictures of him and his mom. He wanted to start building his own collection of mementos; maybe someday there'd be a picture of him and Sephiroth.

He heard the sound of keys fumbling in the door; Zack was back. Cloud set down the picture and went out to the hall as Zack got the door open.

"Hey, Cloud, come take some of these bags for me," Zack said as he hopped around trying to get his boots off.

Cloud grabbed the bags from Zack and spotted Aerith still waiting in the hall for Zack to get out of the way. "Hi, Aerith! Glad you could make it. You can just shove Zack out of the way, you know."

Aerith giggled and gave Zack a push with her free hand causing him to stumble forward. "Like that, you mean?"

"Just like that. He always seems to forget that people can't fit around him if he stops right in the middle of the door."

"You know I can hear you, right, Spike?" Zack got his boots off and stood up, glaring.

"Yep, I know." Cloud took the groceries into the kitchen and started sorting through them.

"I'll do that," Aerith said. She had followed him and placed a big cake on the counter. "My present for you is in there somewhere and I don't want you to see."

"Gotcha, I'll go put on some music." Cloud backed out of the kitchen and started rummaging through the CDs piled around the stereo. What kind of music would Sephiroth like? He looked for something different, but not weird. Listenable, but not annoyingly popular. He paused in the middle of rejecting another album; he was definitely acting like this was a date. "Zack," he called, "Will you pick out the music?"

Zack laughed as he entered the room. "And this is why Aerith and I picked out the movies; you'd still be there struggling to make a decision."

"I would not! What movies did you end up getting?"

"It's a surprise, birthday boy. You're supposed to have surprises on your birthday." Zack grabbed a few CDs at random and tossed them into the player just as the doorbell rang. "Go answer the door, if you want to make yourself useful."

Swallowing his butterflies, Cloud forced himself to walk, not run, to the door. He pulled it open and smiled widely at the man in front of him.

"Hello, Sephiroth," Cloud said. "Come on in."

"Hi, Cloud. Where can I put this?" Sephiroth gestured to a large duffel bag he was carrying.

"Um, I don't think it'll fit in the closet; I can put it in my room if you want it out of the way." Cloud reached for the bag but Sephiroth didn't hand it over.

"That's okay, Cloud. I'll take it."

"Oh, okay. Um, can I get you something to drink?"

"Sure, some water would be great," Sephiroth said as he tossed his bag through the door of Cloud's room.

Cloud grabbed glass from the cupboard and filled it. He heard Sephiroth go into the living room and speak to Zack and Aerith. He couldn't hear what they were talking about which was a bit weird. Usually you could hear everything people said when they were in the living room. Maybe they had some sort of surprise planned; he wouldn't put that past Zack. Just in case, he got some water for himself to give them a bit more time.

When he poked his head around the corner, the trio was just wrapping up whatever secret conversation they were having. Sephiroth was flushed and Aerith was snickering rather evilly. She reached out and patted his arm in a consoling manner before turning to grin at Cloud.

"Why don't you and Sephiroth sit down while Zack and I get the snacks ready?" she said.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"I've got it covered, Spike." Zack thumped him on the shoulder. "Relax, it's your party." With that, Zack shoved him towards the couch where Sephiroth had taken a seat.

"Um, here you go." Cloud was feeling suddenly nervous as he handed Sephiroth his water.

"Thank you."

Sephiroth was dressed casually in jeans and a tight t-shirt with some unidentifiable symbol splashed across the front. He could almost see the muscles underneath. Cloud realized he was staring and hastily sat down… a little closer than he had meant to. Shit, now what was he supposed to do? If he moved away it would seem like he didn't want to sit next to Sephiroth, and that wasn't true. But sitting this close when there was a whole couch was just weird. A burst of manic laughter suddenly came from the kitchen, startling him.

"Cloud! Cloud! Get in here!" Zack shouted.

Wasting no time, Cloud jumped off the couch and ran to the kitchen. "What is it?"

Zack was doubled over and tears were streaming from his eyes. Aerith looked a bit guilty to be caught, but she was laughing all the same.

"Check it out." Zack held out his PHS.

Cloud took the phone and glanced at the screen. There was a mail message displayed.

Subject: The mystery of silver winds.

Oh, it was from the Silver Elite! He still couldn't believe Zack was a member. He scrolled down.

Last week, a devoted member of our fan club spotted Sephiroth at the famous restaurant L'Astrance. While it is well known that Sephiroth often frequents this high-class establishment, he usually does so alone. So when he showed up with a young man accompanying him, our correspondent was intrigued. She observed Sephiroth holding the young man by the arm and leading him to their table. If that's not shocking enough, dear members, Sephiroth at one point slid around the table to sit right next to the young man. He was apparently helping him with the menu because their waiter, who wishes to remain anonymous, reported that Sephiroth ordered for both of them. Pictures are forbidden in L'Astrance, but our cunning member waited outside for the pair to emerge. She managed to snap one photo of Sephiroth and his mystery companion before they were out of sight and we are pleased to be able to share it with all of you.

Cloud was certain his face was on fire at this point and he wasn't sure if he even wanted to see the picture. This was a complete nightmare! Still, he couldn't resist scrolling down. The picture wasn't bad, actually. He and Sephiroth were walking towards the car and they were laughing about something. Sephiroth had his arm behind Cloud's back but from the angle of the picture, it was impossible to know for sure that Sephiroth's hand had, at that moment, been resting on Cloud's lower back. There was more writing after the picture:

Well, fans, what do you think? Was this a romantic date or friends out for dinner? Any idea who the mystery date might be? While we are curious to know, please remember to respect Sephiroth's privacy. You can visit our forums to share your opinions on the matter.

Cloud looked up from the phone, eyes wide with horror. "How do I delete things?" he asked.

Zack had recovered himself enough to get off the floor and stumbled forwards. "No can do, Spike. Seph hasn't seen it yet."

"What!? No!" Cloud shrieked and clutched the PHS to his chest as Zack made a grab for it. He made to run with it, but Zack tackled him and started trying to wrench his arms away from his body. Cloud kept shrieking at the top of his lungs while trying to get away. This was no fair! Zack was way bigger and stronger; he didn't stand a chance.

"Help!" Cloud shouted for Aerith, hoping she would take pity and get her mad boyfriend off of him. A strong arm suddenly wrapped around his torso and pulled him out of Zack's grasp. That wasn't Aerith.

"Are you okay, Cloud?" Sephiroth was standing him up and checking him over for injuries. Cloud barely even registered the phone being taken away as Sephiroth carefully examined his right hand. "Cloud?"

"No! Sir! The phone!" Cloud snapped back to reality and attempted to grab at it.

Sephiroth smirked and held it out of his reach. "You seem fine. What did I say about calling me 'sir'?"

Completely ignoring Cloud's protests, Sephiroth looked at the screen. An eyebrow raised and he scrolled down. It rose a little higher as he read the article. Cloud didn't know what to do. As that one eyebrow got higher and higher, running was looking like a better and better option. Just then, Sephiroth smiled.

"At least it's a good picture," he said. Cloud was certain his heart had stopped. Did he hear that right?

"Isn't he cute?" Zack popped up behind Sephiroth and pointed at the phone. "Look at 'im smiling at you. It's just too precious."

"Zack, that's hardly appropriate. Cloud, stop looking so scared, I'm not mad at you. The Silver Elite, however, is a different matter. I've been letting them get away with far too much."

"Aww, are you going to rush off to defend Cloud's honour?"

Sephiroth shot Zack a withering look. "I'm going to go make a phone call. Please refrain from teasing Cloud as much as possible while I'm gone."

Zack snickered, "I would never tease him! Except he's even cuter when he's blushing."

Sephiroth went out to the hallway and Zack turned on Cloud with a wicked grin on his face. Before Zack got a chance to start mocking him however, Cloud spoke. "Not one word, Zack Fair! Not a single word or I'm never cooking for you again."

"I think he means it, Zack. And I'm not going to be your replacement cook, so smarten up," Aerith said. "Though it really was a cute picture, Cloud."

Cloud hid his face in his hands. "Can I go hide in a corner somewhere, please?"

"No way, Cloud. We're going to have a ton of fun tonight, I promise," said Aerith. "Come on, help me put the snacks out on the table."

When Sephiroth came back in, Cloud had managed to get his face back to a reasonable colour and the snacks were all laid out with the cake in the middle.

Sephiroth smiled at him. "It'll be taken care of, don't worry too much."

Cloud nodded. "Okay." Sephiroth looked tired; he was paler than usual and his face was pinched, like he had a headache. Cloud reached out and touched his arm. "Are you okay, Sephiroth?"

"Yes, I'm-" Sephiroth paused and really looked at him. "I'm tired and I've got a bad headache. Hojo was feeling a bit more sadistic than usual today."

"Do you want to leave? I'd understand if you're not feeling well."

"No, I don't want to miss tonight for anything. I'll be fine."

Cloud's heart did a little fluttering thing at that. "I hate Hojo," he muttered. "Are you really sure those experiments are necessary? It seems to me like he's just doing whatever he wants to you and doesn't care how much it hurts you."

Sephiroth sighed, "Will you come sit down?"

Cloud nodded. Zack and Aerith seemed to have disappeared somewhere so he went and sat on the couch. This time it was Sephiroth who sat a bit closer than strictly necessary.

"Does it really seem that way to you?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yeah, I know it's not my place-"

"No, please tell me what you really think. I grew up this way, it's normal to me."

Cloud nodded firmly, if Sephiroth didn't know anything different, of course he wouldn't realize that it wasn't right to be treated like that. "Hojo's creepy, he treated me like I was a sample for an experiment. When he interacted with you, it was like he was surprised you were even capable of talking. He didn't treat you like you were human."

"But I'm not. Not entirely anyways."

Cloud gave him a look. "Don't be stupid! Of course you're human! You're enhanced, sure, everyone knows that, but it doesn't mean you're not a person and you don't deserve to be treated like one. You've got feelings, you care about your friends, you get angry and scared and happy like anyone else." Sephiroth was gawking at him like he had just announced that chocobos could fly and Cloud was getting mad. "Hojo hurts you for no reason and that's wrong, Sephiroth. You're a general now; you don't have to do everything some lunatic scientist tells you to. You need to start thinking for yourself and stop going to the lab unless it's medically necessary. For you." Cloud sat back and crossed his arms defiantly.

"So am I supposed to start doing everything the lunatic corporals tell me to do?"

"No, sir, there's only one lunatic corporal you should listen to. He knows best."

"I see, I guess I'd better tell Hojo I have new orders."

Cloud's defiant pose collapsed as he panicked. "You're not actually going to tell him that I told you to stop going, are you!?"

Sephiroth laughed. "No, but thank you, Cloud. I've been thinking about this a lot since you first brought it up. I hate being treated like 'Specimen S' and I will put a stop to it. But I want you to promise me that if he ever approaches you about experiments for your mako tolerance, you'll tell me. I don't want you turned into his specimen either."

"I promise. I don't want to be a specimen."

"So are you guys ready for presents and cake, or what?" Zack appeared from around the corner with a couple of lumpy-looking presents.

"I'm ready." Cloud made to get up off the couch but Zack held out a hand to stop him.

"Hang on. Say 'cheese'!" A bright flash left Cloud and Sephiroth blinking in surprise. "Okay, now you can get up. I found Angeal's old camera the other day and thought I'd put it to use."

"Do we want cake or presents first?" Aerith said from next to the table.

"Cake! I want the biggest piece!" Zack snapped a picture of Aerith putting candles in the cake. "It's too bad I couldn't find good party hats. That would've been a year's supply of blackmail material right there."

"I think it's best for your health that you didn't find any," said Sephiroth. "So what's the story with the candles?"

"You don't know that, Seph? Man, talk about a deprived childhood."

"Shut up, Zack," Cloud butted in. "You put one candle on the cake for every year you are old, plus one to grow on. Then we light the candles and there doesn't need to be any singing. The person whose birthday it is makes a wish and blows out the candles. If they get them all in one breath, their wish will come true."

"Does it work?"

"Meh, probably not, but it's a fun thing to do anyways."

Aerith giggled and began lighting the candles. "So we're not singing?"

"No, Sephiroth doesn't know the words and it's stupid anyways," Cloud answered.

"Good, Zack's singing is terrible."

"Hey!"

"Happy birthday, Cloud," she said. "I hope your wish comes true."

"Thanks, me too." With that Cloud took a deep breath and blew out every candle on the cake. And blinked as a flash went off in his eyes.

"What did you wish for?" Sephiroth asked.

"I can't tell you that or it won't come true." Cloud blushed.

"But I thought the story wasn't true?"

"It might not be, but I don't want to risk it. Just in case it is."

"C'mon, Cloud," Zack elbowed him in the ribs, "You can tell us."

"Not a chance. Thanks, Aerith." Cloud took the first piece of cake that Aerith handed him.

When Aerith had the cake distributed, Zack decided it was time for presents. Cloud sat on the floor and Zack handed him the larger of the two lumpy packages.

"You've got to open the best present first," he said.

Cloud tore the wrapping paper off… a stuffed chocobo. "Zack…"

"What? You've got no stuff, Cloud. Your room looks like you still live in the barracks. Open this one now." Zack handed over the second package.

That present was two simple, empty picture frames. There was another flash in his face and Cloud looked up, smiling.

"I'll get these pictures developed and you can put your favourites in the frames."

"Thanks, Zack," said Cloud. Now he could start his own collection of memories of his friends. "Can we take a picture with all four of us?"

"Sure thing, I'll just have to figure out how the timer works on this thing. Keep opening presents."

Aerith gave him a Restore and an Esuna materia. Both were quite high-level and she explained that she had lots of opportunities to build up the materia living in the slums.

"Sephiroth will teach you how to use them, right?" She smiled at Sephiroth and Cloud swore he saw the hint of a wink.

Sephiroth choked on his drink. "Yes, I'd be happy to. I'll just go get your present, excuse me."

Sephiroth returned carrying the duffel bag he had brought with him and sat down on the floor next to Cloud. "I didn't have any of that fancy paper to wrap it, I hope that's okay," he said as he handed over the bag.

"Of course that's okay, Sephiroth. The paper's just to keep the present a secret; it gets torn off anyways. A bag works just as well." Cloud slowly unzipped the bag and opened it up. He had a feeling he knew what was big enough that it would need a bag this size but didn't want to get his hopes up. He reached in and wrapped his hand around something long and narrow. It was. He couldn't believe it.

Cloud pulled the most beautiful katana he had ever seen out of the bag. It was black with gold beneath the wrapping on the handle. The tsuba was also black, and had a rising phoenix carved into it with gold inlaid flames. There were four linked materia slots and one independent one. He looked up at Sephiroth with an expression of disbelief. His mouth moved, but his voice seemed to have vanished.

"I know you like the buster swords, like Zack's," said Sephiroth, "But a katana is much lighter and you'll be able to use its speed to your advantage. If you don't like it-"

"It's perfect, I love it. Thank you so much, Sephiroth," Cloud spoke in a rush to try and make him understand how much the gift meant to him.

"You really like it?"

"Yes, it's… it's amazing. I don't know what else to say." Cloud carefully set the sword down and got up on his knees. He shuffled forwards and awkwardly wrapped his arms around Sephiroth's neck. "Thank you."

Sephiroth held still for a moment then wrapped his own arms around Cloud and leaned into the embrace. "You're welcome."

Cloud heard a click and the camera flashed once more. He smiled; that was the picture he wanted to put in the first frame. He reluctantly pulled away from Sephiroth and picked up the sword again. Pulling it out of the scabbard, he reveled in the sound of the blade sliding free. He turned it over carefully, not wanting to mar its pristine surface. There was a signature on the blade, but he couldn't read the characters.

"It's called Murasame and was made by Masahide, a well-known Wutaian swordsmith," Sephiroth said.

"Hey, I think I've got the timer figured out," Zack said. "So everyone take a seat on the couch. You can hold your sword if you want, Cloud, just put it back in the scabbard. I don't want to lose an eye when I'm diving to make it into the picture on time."

Cloud sat between Aerith and Sephiroth on the couch and Zack directed them to squish closer. Sephiroth's arm ended up around him once again and his silver hair was falling over his shoulder like silk. Finally, they were deemed to be close enough and Zack ran around to take his place. He scooped up the stuffed chocobo and tossed it into Cloud's lap as he went.

"Can't forget about Mini-Cloud!" he said laughingly.

Cloud wiped the protesting look off his face and managed a bright smile when the timer went off.

XXX

"What movie are we watching?" Cloud asked Zack as he turned on the television.

"I told you, it's a surprise. But if you really want to know, it's a movie about Sephiroth."

"There's a movie about you, Sephiroth?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Sephiroth said.

"Trust me," Zack said, "It's all about you. Now shove over, Cloud. You've got to leave some room for me to sit too."

Cloud inched a little closer to Sephiroth; this couch was way too small for four people. Why didn't they have a chair or two for when more people were over? Sephiroth shifted and his knee bumped into Cloud's. He tried to make himself as small as possible to give Sephiroth more room, but with Zack taking up as much space as he could on the other side, there wasn't much he could do.

The movie finally got through all the warnings and started. With socks. Sock puppets, specifically. Cloud looked over at Sephiroth; his expression in the unsteady light was horrified. When the scene cut back to the sock puppets, Zack nudged him.

"See, it's about Sephiroth."

"Uh… How's that?"

"People think he's a hardhearted black sock, but underneath his dark… um, leathery exterior he just a-"

Sephiroth leaned across Cloud and punched Zack on the arm. Hard. "If you call me a naked pink anything, I'll hurt you," he said. As he leaned back his arm trailed across Cloud's shoulders in a careless fashion. His hand remained resting on his arm. Cloud's heart sped up, that had to be deliberate.

The movie was getting weirder and weirder; Sephiroth kept alternating between snorting derisively and gaping in slack-jawed horror. Cloud couldn't help but giggle at the look of confusion on his face when the characters began insulting books to get them to fly.

"Cloud," Sephiroth wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close to whisper confidentially in his ear. "If it's the chicken, we're out of here. Agreed?"

Sephiroth's breath tickled Cloud's ear as he spoke. "Agreed," he managed to whisper back despite the fact that it felt like his heart had made its way up into his throat. It didn't seem like Sephiroth planned on removing his arm anytime soon. Cloud found himself wondering if he would remove it. There was no way that he'd be able to get away if Sephiroth decided he didn't want to let go. He was running his thumb up and down the skin on his arm and it felt nice, but it was terrifying at the same time. He had pulled him so that Cloud was forced to lean against his chest if he wanted to be at all comfortable.

"Are you okay?" Sephiroth whispered.

Cloud hesitated, this was what he wanted, wasn't it? For Sephiroth to like him back? He was concerned about him and wanted to make sure he was okay with what he was doing. That was a good thing, wasn't it? He wasn't just doing whatever he wanted. And he wasn't doing anything inappropriate; he was just… just what? Touching his arm, that wasn't a big deal to anyone. He nodded. "I'm fine."

"Because I'll stop if you want me to."

I'll stop if you want me to, Cloud repeated the words in his head. He looked up and saw nothing but sincerity in Sephiroth's eyes. In response, Cloud allowed himself to relax against Sephiroth's chest. It was nice, there was something about listening to the steady rhythm of his heart that made him feel safe. Even the movie didn't seem so weird with Sephiroth gently stroking his arm. He noticed the silver hair falling over his shoulder and couldn't resist touching it. He immediately regretted taking such liberties and looked up, prepared to face Sephiroth's anger at having his hair touched. But Sephiroth was smiling and he reached up and ran his hand through Cloud's spikes, gently scratching his scalp. He smiled back and returned his attention to the movie.

It really was a strange movie; he wondered why Zack and Aerith had chosen it. Sephiroth must be really confused; somehow he couldn't imagine that he had seen a lot of movies. And he was too logical a person to be able to easily accept the randomness of this one. Although it didn't seem like Sephiroth was really paying that much attention to the television, if the fingers brushing against his cheek and the soft breath causing his hair to flutter were any indication. It was beginning to get interesting as the strange creatures named Bob, and one named Malcolm, were carrying the heroine to safety and Cloud had grown quite comfortable sitting this close to his crush when he felt a hand brushing along the top of his thigh.

He immediately tensed and tried to move his leg away but there was no room. He didn't want to make a scene by getting up off the couch, but he didn't want that, not so soon. "No," he choked out. He couldn't; it was too much. They hadn't even spoken to each other yet. Suddenly he was scared, what did Sephiroth want from him, exactly? But the hand pulled away and he heard a quiet, "Sorry," whispered in his ear.

He forced himself to slow his breathing down; it was okay. Sephiroth wasn't going to do anything that Cloud didn't want him to do. He just had to remember that. Hadn't Sephiroth said that he'd stop if he wanted him to? He could say 'no' and Sephiroth would listen; he wasn't the kind of person who would force himself on someone. He glanced over at Zack and Aerith; they were significantly more intimate with each other. Aerith was curled up into Zack's embrace, practically on his lap, and Zack was resting his hand on her hip, occasionally moving it back to caress her butt and thigh. She was planting little kisses along his neckline and rubbing her hand up and down his side. Their presence made Cloud feel a lot more comfortable and he found himself relaxing once more.

For the remainder of the movie, Sephiroth's hands didn't stray again from Cloud's comfort zone and for that, Cloud was grateful. When the credits began rolling, he found that he didn't want to move. Zack stopped the movie and poked Cloud in the side.

"I'm going to take Aerith home, then I've got another movie for us. Are you guys alright hanging out for a bit?"

Cloud sat up, pulling away from Sephiroth's embrace. Zack was smiling at him; he seemed to think that everything would be fine. Cloud gathered up his courage and nodded. "Sure."

"I'll have my PHS with me if you need anything."

He nodded again; he could do this. They needed a bit of time alone together to talk before things went any further. This was a good opportunity.

Aerith stood up and straitened her dress. "Goodnight, Cloud, Sephiroth. I hope you enjoyed your party."

"I did. Thanks for coming over." Cloud stood up to give her a hug.

"You're welcome, I had fun. Good luck!" Aerith whispered that last part and winked as she turned to go.

Cloud flushed and sat back down, a little bit farther away than he had been sitting previously. He and Sephiroth sat in silence as Zack and Aerith got their shoes on. With one final call of, "I'll be back in a little while," they were alone in the apartment.

Fiddling with his hands in his lap Cloud decided to break the silence. "At least it wasn't the chicken," he said.

"Yes, I was very relieved at that," Sephiroth laughed. "It was a strange movie, though."

Cloud nodded but couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Do you want me to go?" Sephiroth asked quietly. "I won't be offended if you're uncomfortable being alone with me right now."

He shook his head firmly. "No, please don't. I- I'm just wondering, um, what you're thinking."

Sephiroth shifted so that he was facing Cloud and took a deep breath. "What I'm thinking… I'm thinking that I like you, and that maybe you like me too. Am I wrong?"

Cloud shook his head.

"I'd like to spend more time with you and get to know you better," Sephiroth continued. "I talked about it some with Zack, and we came to the conclusion that while I've had relationships, I've never really dated someone. That's what I'd like to try with you. If that's something you'd be interested in."

Cloud sat there, stunned into silence. Sephiroth wanted to date him? Date like go to theme parks and the beach and hold hands and make out in theatres? Like boyfriends? Partners? Lovers?

"You don't have to say yes, Cloud. Please don't feel like I'm trying to pressure you. And you can think about it for a while too, if you need to. If you decide you don't want to, I'll keep training with you, same as before. We can still just be friends, if that's what you'd prefer."

Cloud was hearing the words Sephiroth was saying, but he was still hung up on the idea that Sephiroth wanted to date him. He shut his eyes, trying to think. Sephiroth liked him; his actions tonight had made that crystal clear. And Cloud knew he liked Sephiroth as well, he just wasn't sure if he was ready for everything that came with being boyfriends. But maybe… Cloud opened his eyes and looked at Sephiroth sitting in front of him.

"Can… Can we take it slow?" he asked.

Sephiroth nodded. "Of course, I don't think I would want things to move too quickly, either. If you say 'stop', I'll stop, no matter what. Does that work for you?"

"Yes, thank you. Same goes for you, okay?"

"Okay."

Cloud suddenly laughed, breaking the tension that had gathered in the room. "That was a bit awkward, wasn't it? I wonder if it was remotely like that when Zack asked Aerith out?"

"If I recall his ranting correctly, he asked her out on a date and she said, 'A date? What's that?' So maybe it's awkward for everyone, just in different ways."

"Probably." Cloud scooted a little closer to where Sephiroth was sitting.

Sephiroth tucked a stray strand of hair behind Cloud's ear and cupped the back of his head. Cloud noticed him leaning in towards him and then hesitating, so he took the initiative.

With his heart beating madly, Cloud closed the distance between their mouths and shyly touched his lips to Sephiroth's. He bumped his nose and had to tilt his head slightly to the side, but he was kissing him. He closed his eyes as he felt Sephiroth's lips move, returning the kiss. It was gentle and his lips were soft. They opened slightly and lightly pulled at his bottom lip. It felt so nice and Cloud reached up to run his fingers through Sephiroth's long hair. He ended up holding onto a fistful for dear life before realizing that he could indeed breathe while kissing someone. He felt Sephiroth smile before pulling away.

"Did you know that you're the first person who ever dared hold my hair like that?" Sephiroth asked. Cloud immediately tried to let go, but Sephiroth seemed to anticipate that that would be his reaction and reached back to hold his hand in place. "Don't stop," he said, "I like it."