Rock a bye Sephy…

Sephiroth sighed. Hojo had the best of his time today and for what? Absolutely nothing. His whole experience was a failure. Three hours ago he had swallowed a weird potion and he was wired to so much machines… Deciding he had enough, the silver haired General pulled out the IV and the wires. Hojo just gave him a tired wave, sending him out. When he did reached a window, he noticed with a growl it was nearly midnight. His lover was surely asleep… Upon arriving in his quarters, Sephiroth stepped out of his trenchcoat, put on a green t-shirt and a pair of black cotton pants before slipping next to Cloud. Not without a weird feeling…

Cloud woke up at one go, there was so much noise… As if his alarm clock was right next to his head. He looked around frantically, eyes full of sleep. 1:00 am. Rubbing the back of his neck, and holding his alarm clock in a hand, he lifted the covers. The squalling sound was coming from a bundle of clothes; Sephiroth's clothes… Perplex, he carefully eyed it before poking it; the bundle moved, but did not stopped wailing. In a haste Cloud uncovered a very confused and very upset silver haired baby. And as soon as he saw Cloud, his little hands batted in the air, demanding to be held. The blond quickly wrapped the small body in the sheet and cradled him. Immediately the baby calmed down and opened his bright emerald eyes. A few tears made their way down those rosy cheeks, an expression of helplessness so adorable it melted Cloud's heart.

-Sephiroth? Is that you, he groggily asked

The baby grabbed firmly his shirt and squeezed himself on the blond, sobbing softly. Immediately Cloud's nose came down to brush gently on Sephiroth's, then he hushed him softly.

-Oh Seph… What happened to you…? Just stay here, don't cry, I'll come back in a minute, okay?

Cloud placed the baby carefully between two pillows, then went into the bathroom. He got out with a large piece of cloth and some safety pins. Sephiroth was looking at him with worry. He knew what it was for, and knew too that it was inevitable, as much as it was extremely humiliating.

-I am sorry, but I will have to put you in a diaper. You don't want to wet the bed, now do you? A chance I had had a baby brother ne?

Sephiroth only babbled and grasped Cloud's finger. His silver hair was dishevelled, eyes full of sleepiness as the blond carefully put his superior and lover into a soft diaper. Then, he wrapped him in a fluffy blanket. Sephiroth yawned as he was brought up and leaned against a smooth, warm and beating surface; Cloud's chest heaved up and down in rhythm as he was falling asleep again. The small baby nuzzled his pillow, and decided that if Cloud was going to be that gentle with him, well, better to take the chance and let himself be spoiled.


Sephiroth was tired. There was too much noise, too many faces… It wasn't long before he started crying. Soothing hands were soon on him, cradling him. Cloud gave him a pacifier and held him closer. He immediately calmed down, trying to hide under his lover's shirt, his little hands clawing at the fabric tightly. The woman at the counter lowered her voice, caressing gently his tousled silver hair.

Poor little thing… How many boxes do you want?

Err… Only one package should do, I'm only err… babysitting him for a while. Just to be sure, gimme two… His mother was in a hurry and forgot to give me his things.

Alright. And one box of wipes, two jumpers, one pacifier and a one-piece pajama. Overall it goes up to 239 gil, please.

Cloud paid, but found himself in lack of arms to carry all of his stuff. The lady at the counter giggled and added a baby carrier in the lot. She gently slipped Sephiroth into the bag, pulling out his arms and legs, and then she strapped him to Cloud by the means of belts so that baby Sephy was now leaning on his chest. With his arms full of bags and a sleeping child he returned to the Shinra Tower to take care of his bundle, not forgetting to buy some baby food on the way back. By the time they left the food store, Seph's eyes were closing and his head was leaning heavily against Cloud's chest. When he entered the apartment, the blond let his packages at the door, retired his boots and went to Sephiroth's armchair.

-You are the cutest thing when you sleep, he whispered to his sleeping lover, I love you.

Grabbing a blanket, he carefully wrapped Sephiroth into it, kissed his forehead and then placed him on his bed, between two pillows so he wouldn't fall off. Leaving his little angel to rest, he closed the lights and the bedroom door to return in the kitchen. Cloud then prepared everything he needed to take care of him; the diapers and wipes, bottles of milk etc… He was about to heat one up when the door opened harshly. It did not take more to wake up Sephiroth. The little blond ran up to the bedroom, picked up his lover and walked menacingly to the door.

-/You! Look what you've done! He was sleeping! Can't you just knock like everyone else? Since you got him awake/you/ are going to calm him down.

With that said, he gave the baby to the dark haired man, returning into the kitchen to heat the milk. Zackary Hoecken looked at the squalling child with a frown. He wasn't there to baby-sit, but to see his superior… His eyes widened in alarm when he noticed that the baby had silver hair and green eyes. Dishevelled, but definitely silver and not blond… he even looked angry, his eyes, Mako green eyes, were trying to glare at him sleepily. This was his superior. General Sephiroth had been transformed into a baby!


Seeing the milk bottle in his lover's hands, he batted the air joyously. In fact, Sephiroth looked hungry. Cloud smiled; he was always hungry after his afternoon nap. But before giving him his meal, the blond tickled the baby's sides, eliciting a few giggles from him. Laughing himself in delight, he cradled the child and held him close to his heart, ruffling his hair. Then, he settled Sephiroth in his lap in a half-sit position and helped him to hold the bottle so he could drink up.

While Cloud was feeding Sephiroth, Zack was preparing a 'bath' for him. In fact, he was in the kitchen, filling up the sink with lukewarm water. Few minutes later, the blond came with the baby. Both had to watch him so he wouldn't drown, since he seemed to like splashing water everywhere. He was adorable, Zack had to admit, and even him grinned when Sephiroth began to laugh while trying to grab the soap. Jade eyes filled with mirth looked up to both men and he giggled again, splashing them joyously. Cloud lathered him up with a soft baby soap, then lay him on the towel, asking Zack to put him in a diaper and to dress him.

Could you watch him for a few hours? I have an important exam today…

But I have to replace him! I can't-

Good, so just bring him to his office, I really have to go…

Zack tried to put Sephiroth his diaper, but he soon found himself covered in a warm liquid… When he did succeeded, he took him in his arms, but maybe he was too fast because the silver haired child began to hiccup and before long he up-chucked some of his previous milk on the First Class SOLDIER.

-SHIT! Oh great, just great! Man, I didn't do it on purpose… Though you do deserved it after pissin' on me…

Cloud burst out laughing and picked up the baby, patting his back to soothe him, dressing him in less than a minute. After giving Zack another shirt, he went into the bedroom. He got out with his little baby carrier.

-I think I am better to take him with me… Just in case.
Cloud stood up and left the classroom; the exam was over. Sephiroth was still dandling in front of him, totally lax; he had fallen asleep 10 minutes after he had started writing, and with the quiet silence there was in the room, he hadn't woken up. The little blond sighed, taking the baby in his arms to go back at his apartment. Tenderly, he changed Sephiroth's diaper and put him into a soft baby pajama then sat down into the armchair. Although he really loved him, Cloud was getting impatient to have his lover back. The small baby started to suckle his thumb quietly. The blond decided it was time for his little afternoon nap. So he installed his lover cosily between his pillows and laid back next to him. After a while, he frowned and decided that for his own safety, he should take Sephiroth to Hojo… but not yet. As long as Zack could hold his ground saying that the General was still recovering from the scientist's latest experiment, no one would ever know… He was giving at the most four days, and if Sephiroth wasn't back to his normal self until then, he would take him down to the science dept. But right now, looking at his lover, his arms flung above his head and his peaceful expression that would melt even the ice of the Great Glacier, Cloud had no intention of doing so… He knew Sephiroth hadn't had the chance to sleep like that for quite a while.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Huh? Wha?… Seph?

Cloud rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and turned his head toward the wailing baby. He looked very upset, so the blond cradled him but Sephiroth didn't stop crying. Rubbing his back, he checked his diaper, tried to feed him, went to rock him in the living room, walked around with him… did everything that was humanely possible to do to soothe a child. Finally, grabbing his slippers and Sephiroth's favourite black shirt, he took care of wrapping his little bundle in a warm blanket before leaving for the science dept. He just hoped he wouldn't wake the entire Shinra Tower…

After he received laughter from the guards on his way down, a very pissed off Cloud entered the small infirmary room, asking to see someone right away. Sephiroth's face was red from all his crying, he looked exhausted but obviously something was bothering him so he couldn't sleep. Cloud placed him gently on the examination table and soon enough Professor Hojo was walking in, looking at the squalling child in disbelief.

Is he who I think he is, he asked

Yes sir. It's General Sephiroth… He's been fine until now, but I tried everything… I don't know what to do…

… I see. Come back in 2 hours. I will give him the antidote, and see what can make him so upset.


Two hours later

Cloud was returning to the apartment he shared with Sephiroth, carrying the still crying General in his arms. He seemed to quiet down when he realised it was his blond that was there, and he was clutching his shirt. When they finally arrived, Cloud tossed the pills Hojo gave him for Seph, and grabbed a corner of sheet for himself. Sephiroth was now sobbing quietly, his eyes closing slowly. Eventually, before being laid on his bed, he was asleep at last. The blond sighed and went into the living room and on the couch. It took him a big two seconds to fall asleep…

… Only to be woken up half an hour later. Sephiroth was shaking him, a hand over his left ear, and pain marking his features. Cloud wrapped his arms around his neck, yawning. Lacking balance, the silver haired man fell on his knees, head spinning.

…… What's up, Seph?

My ear! Oh God it hurts!

C'm here…

Cloud rummaged around and got the bag Hojo gave to him. Though he was back to his age, the pressure in his ears was making him act like a child but Cloud could understand that. The blond shooed Sephiroth's hand away from his face and tilted his head to the side. The General only felt a soothing cold inside his ear, then it was filled with small cotton ball. Two pills were handed to him, and he swallowed them without protest. His strength had left him, tired as he was, both he and Cloud supported each other to get to bed, where they both collapsed. The blond snuggled beside him, but the throbbing pain in his ear kept Sephiroth awake all night long.


Cloud laid a kiss on his beloved's forehead, patting the pillows behind him. Stopping for a moment what he was doing, he looked at Sephiroth and sighed. The man could hardly stay awake, his eyes were red and his hair dishevelled, he was looking so ruffled and smashed that Cloud thought even Zack wouldn't recognised him if he was to stop by. And since he was complaining (for a rare time) the blond had moved him in the living room, so he could complain even more. For some reason, though, he had an intuition he would drop off soon if he was nearby. So he turned the TV on, scanning through the channels and finally he stopped on some old cartoons. And indeed, after a few minutes, Sephiroth was snoring contentedly, head tilted on one side, mouth agape and drooling. Cloud pulled the covers up to his neck, smiling tenderly.

-It's good to have the old you back, he whispered, but you'll stay /my/ baby forever.

End

Author's note

YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY! I finally finished that one! Would you trust me if I was telling you it has been standing unfinished for one year? Thanks Lauren!