Attempted to get this out on New Years but then stuff happened and yeah… Happy New Year!

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII nor its characters. I also don't own the ideas taken from Love Monster.

"Hey Spikey is that all you've got?" Zack questioned as he watched Cloud dump his miniscule amount of clothing on the bed. It consisted of about three shirts, three pairs of pants, some underwear and his cadet uniform. Zack on the other hand was carrying some other things that were locked up in a trunk.

"I figured that I'd be wearing my cadet uniform for most of the time. All these other clothes are the ones that I wear for training."

Zack just stared at the clothes for a few moments with a frown on his face. "So… Other cadets didn't steal your clothes and throw them into an incinerator or anything like that when you were changing in the lockers."

Cloud gave Zack a weird look. "Reno was usually around all the time and even if he wasn't around… I doubt they'd resort to that kind of childish way of bullying."

Zack pouted. "It's not that childish! I hide all of Seph's leather clothes all the time. It's totally worth the effort just to see him walk around in a shirt and jeans."

Cloud didn't even bother responding. After spending the whole day moving his stuff he had pretty much given in to most of Zack's demands, like calling him by his name, and pretty much threw most of his reserved attitude out of the window just to stop the Lieutenant from procrastinating.

Zack just pouted some more until he figured that Cloud wasn't going to react and dumped the Halfling's trunk on the floor beside the bed. "So what's in this heavy trunk that you couldn't lift it up on your own?"

"A sword and some materia."

Zack stared at him disbelievingly. "No way a sword would be that heavy and not be the size of a buster… A buster wouldn't even fit in that tiny case!"

Cloud just sighed before reaching around his neck and pulled out a key. After all, if Zack was going to be training him, it would be better if he knew what kind of weapon it was that Cloud wanted to handle. Taking a seat beside the trunk, Cloud slid the key in and flicked the lock open. All Zack could see was a whole lot of blades and seven pieces of materia.

The wolf let out a low whistle. "I thought you said a sword, not many."

"It is a sword." Carefully Cloud started taking out each blade and Zack watched in silence as the Halfling pieced the sword together with practised ease until he found himself staring at a buster sword.

"I stand corrected Spikey, it is a sword." Zack lifted up the weapon, trying out its weight before holding it out for Cloud to take from him.

The cadet didn't even attempt to grab it.

"You know if you don't even try, you're never going to learn how to use it Spike."

"I already know that I can't lift it as I am now."

Zack stared at Cloud with a thoughtful look on his face before he clicked his fingers. "I have an idea." Cloud didn't know whether he should be worried or not. "When your buster's broken up you can use the smaller parts as a weapon right?"

"I… Think so."

Zack stared at Cloud blankly. "You've never tried before?"

The cadet shook his head. "Between helping out my mother, going to school and doing homework? I never had the time to train myself with them."

A small grin appeared on the Lieutenant's face. "Then let's try them out now."

Cloud stared at Zack incredulously. "You mean here? In the middle of my room?"

"Yes." Zack replied as if it was perfectly normal to be swinging a sword in the middle of a bedroom. Cloud just sighed before he started taking his sword apart again.

"Which one should I try out first?"

"Err…" Cloud just stared at the wolf with a blank look on his face. Did the Lieutenant really know what he was doing?

"Go with the lightest one there." At the sound of the new voice both men turned their attention to the bedroom door. Cloud seemed to freeze as usual while Zack perked up at the sight of Sephiroth standing there.

"General Sexiroth!"

"It's Sephiroth, puppy." Sephiroth seemed to automatically correct him.

Zack just ignored the comment and continued on as if the General didn't say anything. "What are you doing here?"

"Angeal said something about you cleaning your apartment. It sounded like some kind of miracle so I thought it would be best to witness it in person."

Zack pouted. "My apartment isn't that messy!"

"You seem to be the only one that thinks that way puppy." Zack just crossed his arms and pouted some more at that comment. "So what was all that about just now? Teaching your new student about swordsmanship?"

Zack's mood seemed to turn a full one-eighty on the topic of Cloud's sword. "Seph, you should see his sword! It fits together like a puzzle!"

Sephiroth took a look at the pieces on the ground before turning his attention to the Halfling. "What's its name?"

"First Tsurugi." Cloud replied in a small voice, not even lifting his head up to look at the General. He was already feeling a bit too exposed with the General standing there in this weird environment.

"It sounds like a fitting name. You have good sense cadet."

Cloud almost immediately blushed at the compliment.

"Hmm." A huge grin appeared on Zack's face as he took note of Cloud's reaction. "Spikey is there something you're not telling me? Like how you have a crush on General sweep you off your feet and not just in the metaphorical sense."

"Don't be stupid Zack!" Despite his protest Cloud could feel his cheeks heating up even more.

"That's too bad." Both Cloud and Zack stared at Sephiroth with surprised expressions on their faces. "I would actually be honoured if a cute fledgling like you were interested in me."

"Hey, Seph, Spikey's my cute little fledgling… I mean student." Zack protested, though you could see the playful look in his expression. "Only I'm allowed to hit on him."

"Then we can just make him my student. After all, I am the one that recommended that he join the mentor programme."

"I'm the one that found him!"

Cloud really couldn't believe that he was seeing this. Were the two really play fighting in front of him? Well, Zack he could understand, but the General?

"You may have found him Zachary, but you have to remember, you only specialise in broadswords. I, on the other hand, am quite adept to the use of any kind of sword. Besides." Sephiroth reached over two pick up two of the swords, one in each of his hands. "I don't think you've had any experience with dual wielding."

Zack muttered something about dual wielding in an entirely different way, which caused Cloud to blush but Sephiroth just ignored the comment. "All joking aside." The general took a better look at the weapon now that he was holding some of the parts. "Cadet, where did you get this sword from? Another one of those presents from your father?"

"…Yes." Cloud answered slowly. "When I was old enough to join Shinra and I got into the cadet programme he sent it to my dorm."

Zack let out a low whistle. "Man what kind of a person could get all that materia and a weapon of that kind of calibre? Your father must be one rich human." Not really wanting to lie to Zack, Cloud merely nodded his head.

Sephiroth seemed to choose that moment to place Cloud's swords back with their other parts before making his way back to the door. "I'm heading back to work now." He paused and turned his attention over to Cloud. "Cadet, I know that my Lieutenant can be hard to babysit at times, but I'm leaving him in your care."

"Seph!" Zack protested. "What do you mean by leaving me in his care? I'm his teacher! Not a child that needs to be babysat!"

Sephiroth let out a low chuckle. "I know you're not a child. You're a puppy." Sephiroth was quick to close the door just as a pillow was hurtled at him.

"That jerk… Hey Cloud." Said cadet turned his attention over to Zack. "You know all about Seph and I being lovers and all that right."

"Your relationship is like an open secret Lieutenant."

"Then you know that I'm one of the few people that knows Seph the best right?" Cloud blinked, exactly where was this going?

"That's generally how relationships work Lieutenant."

"Good, then listen to every single word that I'm going to say to you and remember them." Cloud nodded his head hesitantly. "Sephiroth is the type of crow that likes to eat little fledglings like you for breakfast, so don't go anywhere near him."

Cloud blinked. "… What?"

"What I'm trying to say is, don't ever agree to becoming Sephiroth's student alright?"

"…O…K?"

"Good." Zack breathed a sigh of relief while Cloud tried to keep a straight face.

It worked for about a second before the cadet burst into laughter.