"Found you."

Cloud stares completely shocked at the girl in front of him. Aerith was the one who had found him, not one of Johnson's lackeys. But Johnson's lackeys were still looking for him, right? Eyes going wide at the thought, frantic terror once more coursing through his veins, he realizes that Aerith shouldn't be here. He'll just get her into trouble. Trying to put as much distance between the two of them as possible, he goes to scramble away, but his back comes into contact with the inner wall of the cat-bear before he's even slid back more than an inch. "A-Aerith, you shouldn't be here. You'll just get hurt." His voice sounds strained and he knows he's on the verge of tears. "I don't want you dying because of me."

The look in her eyes is sad, but the smile never leaves her face. "Silly. Nobody's going to die because of you." He opens his mouth to protest, but Aerith's hands are on his face, one thumb casually wiping a tear away. Her hands glow softly and then a gentle warmth floods his body, calming him to the core. "Feel better?"

He nods dumbly in response, not entirely understanding what had just happened. Or even how it had happened. When Aerith had touched his face, it was as if the all-consuming panic he had felt since the day before had completely evaporated, replaced instead with the sense that everything would be ok. The trauma and pain still remained, but he no longer felt like the world was out to get him, his body no longer yelling at him to run as far and as fast as he could.

"Ready to go?" Her smile is serene as she holds out a hand. For some reason, Cloud can't shake the feeling that he's looking at an angel.

Voice still not working, he nods again and gingerly takes her hand. Crawling out from under the cat-bear proves to be rather awkward one-handed, but Aerith refuses to let him go, just like Zack had all those weeks ago. He barely has time to straighten up and realize that it is most definitely morning, when Aerith is pulling him into a tight hug. "We've been so worried about you," she whispers for only him to hear, her breath tickling the tip of his ear.

Bringing his arms up slowly, awkwardly, to return the unexpected hug, he's overcome with the strongest sense of relief. The thought I've wanted to do this for sooo long bounces through his head, but that doesn't make any sense. He hasn't known Aerith for that long, so why does it feel like he's wanted this for forever?

Lost in the feel of her arms, the smell of flowers that surrounds her, and the sweet nothings being whispered in his ear – "You're ok. You're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you." – he doesn't realize that there are others there, too. Not until a strangled "Bro…" reaches his ears.

Pulling away from Aerith, albeit reluctantly, he turns to find Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge in the playground, too. He just has time to register the worried looks on the teens' faces – and he really hopes that has more to do with the fact that they just saw him crawl out from underneath what was most definitely a child's toy and not that everybody in Midgar knows his business – when Wedge launches himself at him with another, louder cry of "Bro!"

Jessie and Biggs try to stop the boy, they really do, but he proves too fast for them, slipping through their fingers with ease. As he scrambles over, Wedge looks like he wants to hug him, too, but at the sight of Cloud tensing, seems to reconsider and stops an arm's reach away, vibrating anxiously. "Are you ok, Bro?"

"I…" Cloud is shocked to find that he doesn't really know how to answer that. His brow scrunches up as he tries to determine if he actually is ok. He's not hurt physically, aside from falling down the stairs, but that was entirely his fault. He no longer feels like he's going to burst at the seams from all the terror building inside him, but the pain is still there. As is the desire to just curl into his bed and cry the hurt away.

A hand lands on his shoulder and he looks up to find Biggs watching him, a sad look on the teen's face. "Hey, it's ok. You don't need to know right away." The teen studies him closely for a moment, as if trying to plan his next words. "We're sorry for what happened." Cloud clenches his fists instinctively, definitely not in the mood to talk about this now. Luckily, Biggs can either tell that he's not ready or doesn't feel comfortable talking about the incident himself, the teen instead saying, "We're so glad that we found you, man. We've been searching since yesterday."

"Oh." Cloud gapes at the teen, guilt starting to worm its way into his chest – he had inconvenienced people again. "I'm sorry…"

Biggs throws his hands up in his own form of apology. "Hey, hey. No need to worry about us. We'd do it again in a heartbeat. We care about you, more than you even know."

The teen's admission does little to help his gawking. He knew that they seemed to know him, but they cared about him so much that they would willingly spend their free time trying to make sure he was alright? That definitely wouldn't have happened in Nibelheim. Torn between apologizing again and asking just what it was they saw in him – what was the appropriate response in this situation? – he's saved from his conflicting thoughts when Jessie joins their impromptu huddle.

Laughing incredulously, the girl gestures somewhat amazed at the cat-bear structure. "Were you hiding under there the entire time?!"

He rubs an arm a little embarrassed – he supposes the playground was a strange choice for a hiding spot. "Well, I happened on a church first and was planning on sleeping there, but then I heard some of the other cadets looking for me, so I ran." He clutches his uniform top above his heart as he feels the hints of fear rear their ugly head. Please, not again. Taking a deep breath, he's surprised to find that that's it. This time, his emotions seem to be far more controllable. The fear was still there, but it didn't feel like it was trying to eat him alive. He's not sure what Aerith did, but she seriously is amazing.

"You were at the church?" Apparently, it's Biggs's turn to look stunned, staring at him as if he was the one asking random strangers whether they remembered who-knows-what. At his nod, the teen throws an amazed look Aerith's way. "You were right. He was there."

Instead of acknowledging Biggs's words, Aerith frowns, a troubled look on her face. "What do you mean the other cadets were looking for you?"

"Don't worry! We can take care of those punks!" Jessie interjects, flexing an arm as proof.

Wedge slaps his chest in agreement. "Yeah, we got your back, Bro!"

Alarmed, Cloud's surprised he doesn't get whiplash from how hard he shakes his head. "I don't want any of you getting into trouble because of me." Doesn't want them getting hurt after they had already done so much for him.

"Nobody's going to get into trouble because of you, Cloud." At his side once more, Aerith cradles both of his hands in hers. "Now, did you see the cadets looking for you?"

"I… no." He shakes his head dejectedly. He had been too scared. "I didn't want them to see me. I heard them looking for me when I was in the attic. Somehow they knew I would be there." And that had been terrifying enough to find out. "There was a hole in the roof, so I snuck out that way. I was wandering around this playground when they caught up." Fidgeting in her grasp, he really wishes he had a hand free to run through his hair – if for nothing else than to distract himself from how terribly self-conscious he feels. "I… panicked. So I hid. And that's when I heard them say that the others were looking for me, too, and that they would find me." Her eyes start to shine as he continues. "We really should go, though. I don't know when they'll be back."

There's something of a guilty look on Aerith's face and an entirely heartbroken one on Biggs's as Aerith squeezes Cloud's still trapped hands. "Those weren't cadets, Cloud. That was Biggs and me."

"Oh."

"Cloud…" Biggs voice breaks as he speaks. "I'm sorry, buddy. We weren't trying to make you feel like you were being chased."

Cloud manages to pull a hand free this time, carding it through his blond spikes. He still doesn't like seeing the teen upset. "I-it's ok. I'm just glad it was you and not Johnson's friends."

"You don't need to worry about those creeps anymore!" Jessie cackles, shooting a finger gun in his direction. "They had the fear of Shinra put in them!"

"It's a shame they didn't let us put the fear of Avalanche in them, too…" Wedge grumbles, crossing his arms in front of him petulantly.

Aerith giggles – giggles – at Wedge, and Cloud is floored to find a predatory edge to her otherwise angelic face. "Don't worry. Vincent took care of that."

Cloud's eyes jump from teen to teen, trying to unravel the hidden meaning in their words. "What do you mean 'the fear of Shinra'?" It certainly doesn't sound good for the cadets. He almost feels sorry for them, but he's just so relieved to not have to deal with them anymore.

There's still a rather vindictive gleam in Aerith's eyes as she lists off the cadets' punishments. "Let's see… Vincent used them for target practice. Genesis lobbed fireballs at them. Reno launched a volley of electricity and then prodded Johnson like an unruly pig. Oh! And Angeal had to keep Zack restrained so he wouldn't throttle the bully. Zack wasn't entirely pleased about that, though…"

Cloud feels his eyes go wide and Biggs grimaces at the no doubt scandalized look on his face. "They were going to rape you, Cloud. Honestly, they deserve far worse." The teen looks entirely put out that 'worse' wouldn't happen as he concedes, "I guess I'll have to make do with them being sent to prison."

"P-prison?!" The squeak to his voice is not something he's proud of, but prison was the last thing he was expecting.

"Rufus probably wanted to gut them, but no doubt felt obligated to be fair – you know, not follow in his father's footsteps and all that." Jessie grins darkly. "Though perhaps he wanted to prolong their suffering – Corel will not be kind to them."

"T-the President?" Well, it seems that the confusion was back to live, rent-free, throughout his entire being. He still was at a loss as to why the President was so interested in him. Yes, he knows that he was Sephiroth's student, but he had figured that that was null and void after… well, everything. Even if for some reason he hadn't lost Sephiroth's approval, that still didn't explain why the President would be so upset over him – assuming Jessie wasn't exaggerating, that is.

Aerith takes pity on him, a comforting hand landing on his shoulder. "Rufus was very disturbed when he heard about what happened. He was the one who asked us to look for you. Not that we needed to be asked." The others all nod in agreement as Aerith's hand slides down to grasp his once more. "Now, let's get you back to my house. I'm sure Zack and the rest of the 1sts will be happy to hear that you're safe. I don't think they've stopped looking."

"They're SOLDIERs!" Jessie laughs. "Their eyes glow! They're probably their own living, breathing flashlight!"

Something about that doesn't sit right with Cloud, doesn't sound right, but he's far too focused on the tears welling up in his own eyes, the realization that he had failed somebody once again just too much. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Nuh-uh. None of that." The dangerous tint is gone and Aerith's voice has regained the soft and loving lilt that he had so quickly grown fond of. "Nobody is mad at you. Nobody blames you for anything. Ok?"

"O-ok," he says, using his free arm to rub at his eyes.

Aerith smiles and loops her arm through his, holding him in place at her side. "Let's go to my house and my mom can whip you up something to eat. Her food is the best – you'll eat yourself stupid!"

He goes to nod, too worn out to protest and stomach most definitely growling at the thought of food, when Wedge makes a sound of approval from next to him. "Sounds great! Let's go!" The boy exclaims, throwing a hand high in the air.

"Oh, no you don't." Biggs interrupts, holding out an arm to restrain the boy. "They'll have enough to deal with what with all those SOLDIERs there."

Wedge pouts, entirely put out. "But… But… No fair!"

As Aerith leads him away, Cloud can't stop himself from glancing at the others one last time, the strangest sense of déjà vu growing in his gut. As if he had overheard a similar conversation before. But where?

Zack groans. Where could Cloud have gone? He had searched every shop, hotel, you name it, that he had come across. He had scoured the train station, not to mention all of the trains. The conductors had not been happy with him, something about him shitting all over their schedule, but he was on a mission. He had to find Cloud. That was far more important than their schedule. And he had absolutely no qualm pulling rank on them.

He's just about to tear through Mori's Armor Emporium – and doesn't that bring back memories – when a hand falls on his shoulder, pulling him backwards. He lashes out without thinking, but Angeal picks his fist out of the air as if it was no more threatening than a feather. "Zack. Slow down."

"But we can't find him, 'geal!"

"I know, Puppy." Angeal releases his fist, but keeps the hold on his shoulder, grounding him. "We're all worried. But rushing will just lead to mistakes. And fear will prove to be your downfall. You need to calm down."

Tugging at his hair, Zack whines, totally ignoring the thought that this wasn't helping the whole 'puppy' thing. "But…"

Angeal squeezes his shoulder, cutting off his protest. "Genesis and Sephiroth are looking, too. We'll find him."

Wark! Wark!

"Oh!" Zack jolts at the sound of his ringtone. Ripping his PHS from his pocket, he barely checks the caller ID before answering with renewed hope. "Aerith? Please tell me you found him."

"We did. He's fine." Zack practically collapses with relief, sagging against Angeal for support – thankfully, the man was built like an oak tree. If his former mentor minds him grappling him like some sort of overgrown monkey, the man doesn't say anything. "I brought him back to my place."

"Great. We'll be there soon. You're an absolute saint, Aerith."

She giggles at him. "Sounds good. Just don't do anything reckless."

"Reckless? Me?"

"Yes, you. Silly." The mirth in her voice is unmistakable – though whether it's due to his antics or to having found Cloud, he'll never know. "Behave."

Oof. She knew him so well. At least there was more than one way to get to the slums. "Anything for my lady."

When he hangs up and turns to Angeal, he finds the man regarding him with something akin to amused concern. "Your ringtone is the cry of a Chocobo."

It's phrased as a statement, but Zack feels like there's a question in there somewhere. Smiling brightly – he hasn't felt this good since finding out Cloud was missing – he resists the urge to bounce as he answers, "Yeah! It reminds me of Cloud!"

Angeal sighs, amusement morphing seamlessly into exasperation, and runs a hand over his face. "I won't tell the kid."

"Hi, this is Cloud Strife. I'm not available right now, but leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as possible."

Sephiroth sighs. The prerecorded message sounds like some sort of generic template, as if Cloud hadn't known what to say. Or perhaps never expected anybody to call, so hadn't put that much thought into it. Not that that small amount of deductive work helps him, he still has no idea where the boy is.

He and Genesis had searched half of the plate, Angeal and Zack the other, but their efforts had still been for naught. Calling the boy was apparently useless, too, but that didn't stop him from trying anyway, silently hoping that each time would produce a different outcome. If they didn't hear from Avalanche soon, he would probably scour the slums himself.

"You're fretting, dear."

Turning, he sees Genesis exiting Philosopher's Stones – interesting name for a materia shop – a resigned look on his face. So, that had been fruitless, too. "I am not fretting." He was concerned for his student, that's all.

Genesis snorts at his denial. "Oh, yes you are. There's a terrible crease to your brow," he says, tapping the center of his own forehead in emphasis. "You look like you're planning to march down to the slums and search the entire place by yourself."

"How…?" Sephiroth regards his friend incredulously. He didn't think he was that easy to read.

"Because I've been thinking the same thing. I'm worried for him." A dark look passes over the SOLDIER's face and his bracer lights up as if in memory of the events from the day before. "And I'm still incredibly furious with those cadets. The longer we spend up here on this plate unable to find Cloud, the more I'm tempted to return to the Shinra Building and burn them alive, Rufus be damned."

Sephiroth is very tempted to agree, but he can't let himself fall down that path again. If he was going to be better this time, he couldn't burn things to the ground at the slightest inclination. Regardless of how much he wants to. Holding his rage in check for who knows how many times since the afternoon before, he and Genesis continue their sweep of the sector.

Given the sheer number of shops, hotels, and even playgrounds that they've combed, he fully expects to be on the front page of the tabloids tomorrow. Though, what crazy headline they come up with is anybody's guess.

Surprise Inspection of Midgar!

Hide and Seek: SOLDIER Style!

A Cinderella Story: The General's Search for His Runaway Lover!

With his luck, it would probably be the latter. It's a shame Cloud doesn't remember, though – his reaction would be priceless. He can almost imagine the scowl on the boy's face as he ransacks the entire city in an attempt to destroy every last article. It would all be in vain, though – Sephiroth would definitely keep several copies for himself. He had promised himself that he wouldn't torture the boy this time around, but the promise of that disgruntled look gracing Cloud's fair features might prove to be too powerful a siren's call for him to resist. Well, he supposes that the sight of this Cloud blushing over the headline would still be rather endearing.

"You do know you can change your ringtone, right?"

Pulled rather abruptly from his Cloud-filled thoughts, Sephiroth responds on auto-pilot, "This is sufficient." It's Genesis's scoff that makes him realize that his PHS is actually ringing. Pressing the device to his ear, he answers without thinking, "Cloud?"

"Yeah, he's been found. He's with Aerith right now."

Scowling at the realization that it's Zack on the other end and not Cloud, it takes him longer than he cares to admit to register the teen's words. When he does, relief blooms in his chest and tension he didn't realize was there bleeds from his shoulders. He ignores the perceptive glint to Genesis's eyes, who no doubt had heard the entire conversation and picked up on the reasoning behind his irritation. "Great. We'll meet you and Angeal at the train station."

"Yeah, about that…" Zack drawls out, unusually hesistant. "I was thinking of another way down."

Sephiroth sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. Not this again. "Zackary, we've been over this before. Jumping from the plate is not an acceptable way to get to the slums. I don't care if you've survived the fall before."

"I know, I know…" Zack responds, entirely exasperated, as if Sephiroth was a nagging mother hen. "Not what I'm talking about. There's another way down that's waaaay faster than the train."

Looking to Genesis, Sephiroth sees that his interest is piqued, too. "I'm listening."

"Here you go."

Cloud stares amazed as Aerith's mom sets a large stack of the fluffiest pancakes he has ever seen in front of him. He's still trying to wrap his head around the fact that not only had she agreed to shelter him – an almost stranger – but then had also gone out of her way to feed him. And not once had she complained either. "Uh… Thank you, Mrs. Gainsborough. Sorry for – "

"Oh, don't you even think about apologizing again, young man." Her voice is strict, but there's a kind look to her face as she places one hand on her hip and uses the other to point a spatula at him. "Aerith gave me the rundown on what happened. I would never leave you to fend for yourself."

Cloud turns his gaze to the checkered tabletop, hiding his face and trying to will away the prickling in his eyes. It had been just him and his mother for the longest time. Then just him and his roommates when he first joined Shinra. He still couldn't fully believe that so many people thought he was worth something now. He kept expecting to wake up and find it all just a fanciful dream. Swallowing in what hopefully isn't a vain attempt to keep the tears at bay, he manages a strained, breathy, "T-thank you."

He can hear the warmth in her voice when she responds, "I'm glad you're safe and sound."

That simple statement does it for him and when she turns around, he has to rub his eyes vigorously to hide their watery response to her unexpected kindness. Once he's sure his eyes won't betray him again, he's once more done in when he takes the first bite of pancake. He can't help the moan that escapes him – Aerith was right, her mom is an excellent cook.

There's a chuckle from the kitchen and then he hears Mrs. Gainsborough's highly amused voice. "That good, huh?"

"Y-yes, ma'am. Thank you."

Aerith drops into the seat next to him with a sigh, completely distracting Cloud from his embarrassment. "Hopefully he doesn't jump from the plate this time." Shaking her head, she mumbles to herself, "Wouldn't put it past him, though."

Cloud pauses, pancake-laden fork halfway to his mouth. "J-jump from the plate?!"

Giggling at the horrified look on his face, Aerith winks at him. "Zack's not the most… tactful of people. Now that he knows where you are, he'll no doubt be looking for the fastest way down from the plate."

The fork falls from his hand, forgotten, landing back on his plate with a clatter. "He wouldn't actually jump, would he?" His mouth is hanging open, but whether from shock or from his thwarted attempt at eating, he doesn't know.

"Probably not. I think he has more common sense than that." Aerith frowns, a far-off look to her eyes. "Though, the first time I met him, he did fall through the roof of the church."

Her words don't exactly reassure him, but before he can press for more, Mrs. Gainsborough is sliding another plate in front of her daughter. "Here you go, baby." Waving the spatula at both of them this time, Aerith's mother says, "Now, less chit-chatting and more eating. If breakfast gets cold because those friends of yours show up, I'm not making more."

Breakfast over, Cloud's just offered to help clean up ("You're such a well-mannered young man!"), when they hear it. A thrumming overhead that only seems to grow louder and louder. He can't exactly pinpoint the sound, but he feels like he should associate it with the Turks. Mrs. Gainsborough, though, seems to know exactly what it is, the woman scoffing as she lifts the dirty plates out of his hands. "Did they honestly take a helicopter?"

Aerith giggles as she wipes down the table. "At least it's better than jumping from the plate." She seems lighter somehow, as if reassured that her boyfriend hadn't actually done anything too careless.

Shaking her head, Mrs. Gainsborough smiles down at Cloud. "Sounds like they were really worried about you. You've got some good friends, young man."

"Oh… I… Thanks?" Cloud feels his embarrassment return as Aerith's mother takes her load to the kitchen. He had been certain that nobody would have wanted to see him again. Even though Aerith had worked to disabuse him of that idea, the nagging voice still remained, whispering dark little promises to him that the 1sts would find somebody better. He never would have imagined that they would have been so worried about him that they would commandeer a helicopter to get to the slums faster.

The sound of water from the kitchen faucet and the tinkling of china is enough to pull Cloud from his depressing thoughts as Mrs. Gainsborough starts cleaning up their mess. "If they land near the train station, we should still have some time before they get here." She calls to her daughter, not bothering to turn away from the sink.

Aerith hums, sounding unconvinced. "I don't know. There's that big, empty area between here and Leaf House – they'll probably set down there. It's closer and we won't have four of the most recognizable faces in Midgar trampling through the heart of the slums."

Mrs. Gainsborough sighs in resignation, turning off the faucet and drying her hands on a nearby towel. "Guess that'll have to wait til later," she says to herself, joining them in the front room and sliding into the chair furthest from the door. "I'm not cooking for them, though."

Aerith giggles again as she drags Cloud to the middle of the room, hand resting in his. "Don't worry, they'll be here soon," she whispers to him. He tries to return her smile, but he knows it's strained. Now that the 1sts are so close, the butterflies are fluttering in his stomach again. He has to figure out what to say, how to apologize for wasting everybody's time.

Seconds pass agonizingly slow as he frets – would they forgive him even if he wasn't prepared? – Aerith's hand the only thing anchoring him, the only thing keeping him from dissolving further into an insecure mess. The rushed clomping of boots is the only warning he has before the front door is flung open, Zack breathing heavily on the other side of the threshold. Wild mako eyes land on him and a watery, relieved smile falls over Zack's face.

"Spike."

He barely registers Aerith dropping his hand as Zack strides purposely across the room, the SOLDIER's eyes rooting him to the spot. Before he realizes it, he's being pulled into warm arms, one hand curled around his head, fingers twined in his hair, holding him to Zack's chest, the other wrapped firmly around his waist. "Spikey," the teen's voice is raw as he speaks, knocking Cloud's breath out of him faster than a punch to the gut would. "You ran away."

"I'm sorry, Zack." The words aren't accusatory in the slightest, but there are still tears in Cloud's eyes. He knows he'll just make a mess of Zack's ribbed sweater, but he can't bring himself to care. Something about being in Zack's arms just feels so right. So safe.

"I-I thought…" Zack's voice breaks and the arms around him tighten almost painfully, but Cloud doesn't care. It feels so good. "I thought I would never see you again."

"I'm sorry." Cloud's arms curve around the teen's back, hands clutching the straps of his harness as if they were his only lifeline. Shaking in Zack's hold, he remembers the visions he had in the Combat Simulator all those weeks ago. If his disappearance had caused the teen even half of the distress that he had felt at seeing Zack's apparition walking away, then he had hurt the teen. A lot. "I'm so sorry."

Zack sniffs from above him, thumb running circles along Cloud's hipbone as if reassuring himself that this was real. "I'm so glad we found you, buddy." Sighing, Zack pulls him impossibly closer, thumb still drawing patterns, acting as if he has no intention of letting go anytime soon.

"Zackary, please let the boy breathe."

Zack turns his head to look at the newcomer, but makes no move to release Cloud. Instead, he curls himself more protectively around his willing captive as he responds almost petulantly, "I found him first, 'geal."

Cloud can't see Commander Hewley, surrounded by Zack as he is, but there's no mistaking the man's sigh. "Only cause you jumped from the helicopter before we even landed, Puppy, and ran straight here."

"Snoozers, losers!" Cloud can almost feel the tongue that Zack has no doubt stuck out at his former mentor.

While Cloud is half-tempted to stay wrapped up in Zack forever, he still needs to apologize to the other 1sts for being such a burden. Savoring the feel of the teen's arms for a few selfish seconds longer, when he finally goes to extract himself, Zack spins his head around, eyes worried. "Cloudy, wait…"

"I promise I won't run again." It would be absolutely ridiculous of him to even try running with four 1st Class SOLDIERs there, but it seems to be enough consolation for Zack, who releases him with a sad sigh.

Stepping out from around his friend, he forgets everything around him, his breath leaving his lungs in a soft whoosh, when he sees the look on the General's face. Sephiroth stands frozen in place, staring at him, unblinking, with a single-minded intensity, as if worried that he was just an illusion and would disappear at the slightest movement. Not even sure what he was supposed to say anymore, all Cloud can manage is a soft "I'm sorry."

This seems to be enough to break whatever spell the General was under and Sephiroth takes three long strides across the room before lifting Cloud easily from the floor. For the second time in as many minutes, Cloud finds himself enveloped in strong arms.

"Cloud."

A/N: I read somewhere that the word 'materia' might be a reference to 'Prima materia', which is the base material required to make the Philosopher's stone. So, I thought Philosopher's Stones would be a pretty cool name for a materia shop :)