A/N: So, I may have made the mistake (or good business sense?) of buying Elder Scrolls Online when it was on sale for Black Friday. Didn't find out until after I had bought and downloaded the entire thing that I needed a PS+ subscription to play it, but that's another story entirely... Anyway, I still have every intention of updating this fic weekly, but if I get behind, I'll make sure to leave a note somewhere (probably the beginning of the latest chapter). I've been good about managing my time so far, but going from my love of Skyrim and the fact that I haven't really played a video game since I started this fic in August, I won't rule anything out.

"You're looking… well."

It's the first thing out of Rude's mouth as the elevator begins its slow descent, the walk from Rufus's office spent in a silence as uncomfortable as Rude himself looks. Entire body tense, the man makes no motion to look at her, the pinched look he wore while she interrogated Sephiroth still wrinkling his face. He did just have to deal with Barret threatening his manhood, but she doesn't think that's entirely it.

"Thanks. You don't look half bad yourself." The only sign she has that her words are heard is a soft grunt and a fleeting sidelong glance her way. Well, this is awkward. Guess she'll have to make the first move. "If you have something to say, Rude, please say it."

A muscle in his jaw works itself for a long moment before he finally makes a decision, the man turning the full force of his attention on her. If he hears her soft gasp at the sudden scrutiny, he chooses not to say anything, his sunglasses doing nothing to dull the intensity of his gaze. "Do you hate me, Tifa?"

Apparently, it's her turn to be completely dumbfounded, pure confusion written all over her face. She was not expecting that. "Why would I hate you?"

"I dropped the plate."

"You were ordered to, though. I know how much you and Reno regret it."

Rude sighs. In a single fluid movement, he's removed his sunglasses and stored them, folded, in his coat pocket. When he returns his eyes to her, she can see the depth of his sadness in them. "Can't the same be said for Sephiroth, though? Jenova ordered him to wreak chaos. He had no choice."

"No choice…" Tifa repeats listlessly, mind a million miles away, brain wrapped in a cloud of smoke. She can feel her nails digging into the flesh of her palms and knows she'll just leave marks, but she can't bring herself to care. This isn't what she wanted to hear. She wasn't ready. Wasn't ready to give up her hate, wasn't ready to feel sorry for the man who had destroyed her everything. Who had taken her father from her. Who had taken Aerith from her.

"He had less choice than Reno and I. We could have said no." Tifa very nearly laughs – she doubts Heidegger or the former President would have taken that kindly. "We were in full control of our actions. We knew exactly what we were doing when we dropped the plate. And we still dropped it." Tifa grimaces – she doesn't need to be reminded. She was there. "We easily killed as many people as Sephiroth did." Rude smiles wryly, eyes never leaving her. "But we're Turks."

"And you're damn good at it?"

His answering chuckle is a touch bitter, something like loss flashing through his eyes as he nods. "Yeah. We are."

Leaning back against the glass of the elevator, Tifa crosses her arms in front of her and thinks. Sephiroth is evil, she had first-hand experience to prove it… but he had no choice. Reno and Rude had more control over their actions and killed so many people… so shouldn't she hate them just as much? If she forgave them… shouldn't she forgive Sephiroth, too? Mind a jumbled mess, thoughts trying to run in a million different directions at the same damn time, she groans, one hand running up to tug aggravated at her hair. This was just too much for her right now. "I can't forgive Sephiroth. Not right now, maybe not ever," she finally decides, the hurt puppy-dog look still carved on Rude's face. "But – " But there's one thing she does know. For certain. A flicker of hope flashes through Rude's eyes as she smiles up at him. "But I don't hate you. Not one bit."

"I… Ahhh… T-thanks." Several emotions pass unchecked through his eyes – surprise, relief, hope, adoration – before he manages to blink himself out of his stupor long enough to pull his sunglasses out of his pocket, returning them to his face with fumbling hands. The ding of the elevator as they arrive at the 1st floor saves him from further embarrassment.

Or so he probably thinks.

Hands clasped behind her back, she struts out of the elevator and teases him, Rude going tense next to her as she drawls out her first word. "Soooo… Cloud tells me you've been asking about me." Not giving him time to respond, he's only had the chance to cough awkwardly into a fist when she comes in for the kill. "Said you were acting like a lovesick puppy."

He stumbles over thin air before coming to a complete stop, gaping at her, a hint of red starting to dust his cheeks. "You were an adult then, Tifa."

She nods sagely. "So I was. And if you plan to make a move, you'll have to wait until I come of age again."

"I'm not attracted to your 13-year-old self."

Tifa can tell the exact moment that her words and his almost-confession catch up to him, Rude's mouth closing with an audible click and his face turning a vibrant shade of bright red. Giggling at his reaction, she resists the urge to tell him he's adorable, settling instead with, "I'm 14 now, actually. My birthday was about a month ago."

Rude, still floundering in front of her, somehow manages to squeak out a weak, "H-happy birthday."

"Thanks." Smiling up at his still crimson face, she can't help herself one last jab. "Huh. Red's a good look on you."

If possible, the blush overtaking his face darkens, extending down to his neck, as he stares at her unbelieving, his eyes no doubt wide behind his sunglasses. She's not sure how long he stands there, barely breathing, before the man swallows audibly, taking in a shaky breath as a single bead of sweat makes its way down the side of his head, disappearing beneath the collar of his dress shirt. "I-I'll k-keep that i-in mind." His voice practically squeaks as he stutters his way through his words, so much so that Tifa almost feels sorry for embarrassing him. Almost.

"You do that."

When he finally composes himself again and they make it outside, Rude waits silently beside her until she sees three familiar figures crossing the pedestrian bridge their way. Unable to hide her delighted gasp, she turns to Rude, body practically thrumming in excitement. "Thanks for escorting me, Rude!"

"It was my pleasure… Tifa."

Off like a shot once he finishes saying her name, she misses the small smile on his face as she leaves. She also doesn't notice how he hangs back and watches until she collides with Aerith, before finally turning around and returning to the Tower.

Heather doesn't hate working the front reception desk like many of her colleagues. But that doesn't mean she likes it either. No, she would much rather be back in the call center where she could joke with her coworkers or mess around on her PHS if things were slow. Or even where she could make faces when people were being particularly dumb or offensive. Not at the reception desk. Here, she had to be all smiles even when the occasional creep tried their hand with pathetic lines like "Hey Sweetcheeks, whatcha doing after work?" As tempted as she always is to offer a dry "Not you" in return, she can't. All about the optics.

So, yeah, by all accounts, she thought today was going to be boring or even bordering on annoying. But that, of course, was before an honest-to-Gaia child stepped out of the VIP elevator with one of the Turks. Subtly feeling her forehead, she's a little disappointed to find that she doesn't actually have a fever. Guess she's not hallucinating after all.

"So… Cloud tells me you've been asking about me." The bald-headed Turk's embarrassment is easily apparent as his adolescent companion starts talking. Heather's just wondering what the man could have said to have him so uncomfortable, when the last thing she expected to hear falls out of the girl's mouth. "Said you were acting like a lovesick puppy."

Acting like a lovesick puppy? Over a very easily apparent underage girl? Heather's not sure whether she wants to throw up or ignore every warning she's ever heard about picking fights with Turks and leaving in body bags to confront this potential pedophile. She doesn't get a chance to decide, though, the Turk's response chilling her to the bone. "You were an adult then, Tifa."

"So I was. And if you plan to make a move, you'll have to wait until I come of age again."

Heather misses the rest of their strange, strange conversation, lost in her own horrified thoughts as she is. She knew of Research and Development and had obviously heard rumors of the shady things that happened under Hojo's supervision. But this… Was this even possible? Turning a grown adult into a child? R&D is the only logical explanation, though… aside from the two of them being insane, of course.

Wait. The Turk had called her Tifa. Wasn't she the one who called for Mr. Tseng all those weeks ago? Whom surprisingly Mr. Tseng had actually known? If she was a once adult turned experiment, then no wonder.

Suddenly, everything clicks into place (and really makes her want to throw up). The poor girl – woman – was one of Hojo's unfortunate victims… who somehow escaped? She really, really hopes that that's a sign that this President doesn't approve of human experimentation. How else would this Tifa be roaming the halls of the Tower so freely? How else would she be allowed to leave the building?

Heather breathes a sigh of relief. She doesn't like what happened to Tifa one bit, but if she was free, then it shouldn't happen to anybody else. She knew there was something different – better – about President Rufus compared to his predecessor (and not just his good looks!).

But then another realization rocks her to her core, a single tear sliding down her face. Those two obviously had some history. Were they former lovers? Ripped apart by Hojo's scheming? She wants to cry for them, for how unfair it is. But she also wants to squeal like the romantic that she is. The Turk had obviously not given up on Tifa, if the lovesick puppy comment was anything to go by.

She can't wait to tell Aisha – her friend is just as much a sap for love stories as she is. …No. Wait. She can't tell anybody. Can't tell a soul a single word of what she just overheard. Hojo and his experimentation might be gone, but the Turks weren't. And they could still make people disappear. Especially foolish people who didn't know how to keep their mouths shut about potential human experimentation.

Casting a nervous glance around the lobby, she heaves a sigh when she realizes that she's alone. Tifa and the Turk were gone and there doesn't appear to be anybody else who would have noticed her ill-advised eavesdropping. She's safe for now. She'll just have to keep her mouth shut and wish them the best silently.

"Aerith!"

The strangely familiar voice pulls Cloud from his conversation with Zack – tips on how to beat Kunsel at the arcade, not that he even knows how he got so good in the first place – and he looks up to see an impossible sight running their way. He looks up to see Tifa of all people racing towards them. Tifa who should be back in Nibelheim. Not in Midgar. How had she even gotten there?

Before he can even work through the confusion to ask, Aerith has launched herself at the other girl with a happy shout of "Tifa!" As the two embrace, the only thought running through his head is how do they know each other?

Far too soon for his shock to have abated, Tifa breaks away from Aerith, her eyes finding his own dazed ones. He chokes out an uncertain "T-Tifa?" as a tear slides down her cheek, worry clear on her face. There's a cry of "Cloud!" and then in a flurry of blue dress and black hair, he finds himself wrapped in her.

"Oh, Cloud…" His arms hang limp at his side as she buries her face into his neck, her arms snug around his back. "Are you ok?"

He tenses instantly. How did she know? He certainly hadn't told her. And he certainly isn't going to tell her that everything still hurts. How would he impress her if he did? If she knew just how weak he was? He knows things have changed in the past few days, has felt them change, but the desire to impress her is still there. Is always there.

A little shakier than he would care for, he brings his arms up to return the hug and reassure her that everything's fine. But the command must get jumbled somewhere between his brain and the rest of his body, and instead he finds himself pulling back to get a good look at her face as he asks, "How do you know about that?"

"Aerith told me." Her answer is simple, but it still doesn't help his confusion.

"But… how do you know Aerith?"

Tifa looks to the other girl as if for confirmation, Aerith just shrugging in response. Ok, Cloud really has no idea what's going on. When she turns back to him, Tifa apparently hasn't decided to start making sense. "Aerith's an old friend. She visited Nibelheim a long time ago."

Old friend? Visited Nibelheim a long time ago? But they were both teenagers… "What…"Cloud starts but cuts himself off with the shake of his head, somehow knowing that he won't get any further with that line of questioning. "How did you even get here, Tifa?"

"I got a ride with some friends!"

"What… You… Huh?" He struggles with his thoughts for several long moments before deciding that the oncoming headache is not worth the trouble. "I give up."

"I was worried about you, Cloud." Tifa's voice is soft, her tone matching her words, as she cups his face in both hands. Staring wide-eyed back at her, he can only manage to nod dumbly when she asks again, "Are you ok?"

"I'm better now." Or maybe it was just the bewilderment hiding the residual pain. Why would she come all the way from Nibelheim just for him? Just to make sure he was ok? He's pretty sure he didn't make that much of an impression that night on the water tower. Besides, wasn't he the one who was supposed to rescue her if she was in a pinch?

Tifa nods and smiles, lacing an arm through one of his and interrupting his still spiraling thoughts. "Good. Now, Aerith and I are going to cheer you up… and Zack too, probably." She tacks on the last part hastily, as if just remembering that he was there.

"Nice to see you, too, Tifa," Zack teases back.

Cloud shouldn't be so surprised that Zack knows her, too. But he is. Before he can figure out whether it's worth asking (he probably wouldn't get a satisfactory answer anyway), Aerith has attached herself to his other arm. As they walk towards the train station, Cloud still trapped between the two, he can't shake the eerie feeling that they're heading towards a haunted graveyard.

After Cid has talked Barret out of threatening Rude with bodily harm if anything happens to Tifa – "Ya dumbass! You know our Tifa could kick Baldie's ass even in her pint-sized form. Not that Sunglasses ever raised a finger 'gainst her when she was his enemy anyway." After Rude has silently escorted Ms. Lockhart out, Barret turns the full force of his ire to Sephiroth. "As for you, Sephiroth. You better watch yourself." The man stomps up to him and pokes a finger into his chest, not showing the same cunning judgement that his young friend had. "If I hear that you even consider hurting Cloud again, I'll be back for you."

Sephiroth sighs. "It sounds like you'll have to wait in line."

"I swear, ya numbskull, it's like you don't even listen sometimes," Cid berates Barret once more, scoffing at whatever face his companion makes. "Oh, dontcha go makin' that face at me. I hate the idea of Quicksilver here skewerin' Cloud just as much as you, but you heard him say that he was under that alien freak's control. You were just defendin' him not 2 minutes 'go. How is this any different than him burnin' Nibelheim to the ground?"

The low growl Barret makes seems to be his sign of defeat. "Alright, fine. You've made your point, Cid." Barret grumbles angrily as he removes the finger still jabbed into Sephiroth's chest and turns to Rufus. "Oi, Rufus! Where are those no-good bullies?"

"On their way to Corel Prison at the moment."

"Corel, eh?"

Rufus rests his chin against a fist, eyebrow raised, looking rather exasperated with Barret's transparent interest and the continued interruption. "Yes. And I intend for them to stay there, too." Barret opens his mouth to speak, but Rufus doesn't give him the chance. "Enough with the theatrics, Barret. None of us like what happened to Cloud, but you will not confront those delinquents, am I clear?" The large man's rumbling is just as incoherent as his friend's before, but for some (seemingly foolish) reason Rufus takes it as a concession anyway. "Good. Just remember I have eyes and ears everywhere. If they bad-mouth Cloud again, you'll be one of the first to know. Then, and only then, you'll have permission to do whatever you please." Rufus smirks. "Though, you might want to let the 1sts have a go, too."

Barret thinks for a long moment before heaving a large sigh. "I think I can live with that."

"Good. Now, if you would, please park that airship somewhere else."

"What's wrong, Rufus-baby?" The President twitches at the nickname, but otherwise doesn't do anything to interrupt Cid. "Can't let us park there while we go shoppin'?"

Rufus rolls his eyes. "No. That helipad is for emergencies. You two buying gifts for your wives is not an emergency."

"Fun-sucker."

"Cloud!"

They're not even halfway to the train station when another familiar voice has Cloud turning around. But before he can greet the three cadets running his way, Tifa is in front of him, fists raised. "Don't even think about it," she all but threatens, her menacing aura more than enough to stop Cloud's roommates dead in their tracks.

"Tifa…" Cloud sighs, laying a hand on her shoulder and stepping out from behind her. "It's ok. Those are my friends. They won't hurt me." As he's engulfed in three more sets of arms, he doesn't catch Tifa's soft, confused "Friends…?"

Garrett is the first to recover from his relief, crossing his arms over his chest and practically yelling, "Where have you been?" It hadn't even been three days, but Cloud had still forgotten how loud his red-headed roommate could be. To be honest, with everything that had happened, he had completely forgotten that the three of his roommates even existed. Not that he would share that little tidbit with them now. "We thought you were dead!"

"Dead?"

Logan lays a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention to the other teen's serious expression. "The President summoned all of us to the auditorium yesterday to remind us of Shinra's zero-tolerance policy when it comes to assault and then described the – er – rather graphic punishments reserved for any offenders."

"He had the Turks there to help demonstrate, too." Colin adds, looking around nervously as if to make sure none of the Turks in question were there, before nearly whispering, "Reno is absolutely terrifying."

Logan shakes his head at the interruption, but doesn't contradict the blond. "Johnson wasn't there and you were missing, so we thought…" The teen sighs, pain flickering through his eyes. "We thought he had killed you."

"He… J-Johnson…" Cloud sighs frustrated – would he ever be able to talk about the bully normally again? Running a (slightly shaky) hand through his hair, he tries again. "J-Johnson and some of his friends ambushed me the other day and t-tried to force themselves on me." The end is said as a near whisper, his voice (and nerves) giving out on him.

Several moments pass in silence as Cloud's roommates process, their expressions shifting rapidly from concern to horror. Logan speaks first, his furious "What?" a complete contrast to Colin's following squeak of "Y-you mean rape?" Cloud's grim nod in response is enough to pull Garrett out of his shock, the teen's uncharacteristically soft voice doing nothing to conceal the murderous edge. "Where is he?"

"They're being sent to Corel Prison." Zack answers for him, the teen slinging a comforting arm over his shoulders. "And they'll never find work with Shinra again. The President's made sure of it."

"What?"

Cloud's surprise is ignored, Colin coming to his defense, voice surprisingly predatorial. "You know, Garrett. I think I have some distant relatives in Corel. Maybe we should visit."

"Guys. No, you can't…"

Garrett's eyes light up, a pleased noise passing his lips. "Oh! Excellent idea. I would love to meet your family, dude." Logan, the usually level-headed one of their group, is no more help, offering a simple, "I'm up for it."

Before Cloud can protest again, regardless of how unsuccessful, Zack drops his head, shaking it in his amusement. "Oh, man. You three are great! I can see why Cloudy likes you!" Lifting his head again, there's still a twinkle in his eyes as he pretends to be the voice of reason. "But as the responsible SOLDIER that I am – " Cloud bites the inside of his cheek harder than necessary to keep from saying anything " – I have to advise against doing anything reckless. You'll just get yourselves into trouble." The wink he throws them belies the serious air he had adopted. "Don't worry, though. The President has already warned them that if they so much as look at Cloud in the wrong way again that they'll disappear."

Cloud doesn't think his eyes can get any wider as he tries to make sense of this new information. He knows he shouldn't be confused after everything that's happened so far, but why him? Minus the 1sts, what's so special about him?

"I guess that'll have to do." Returning his attention to Cloud, Garrett must not notice his inner turmoil as he asks, "But why didn't you tell us, man? You know we would have had your back."

"For what it's worth, he didn't actually tell anybody." There goes Zack, answering for him again. "He just ran. We spent the entire day looking for him. Didn't find out until today that his PHS is dead."

"I… sorry." His weak apology is met with a "Not mad at you, bud," Zack squeezing his shoulder. Shrugging, Cloud's answer for Garrett is equally pathetic. "I didn't want to get anybody involved. …Didn't think anybody would want to be involved."

Colin shakes his head, eyes sad. "We're your friends, Cloud. We're already involved." Cloud opens his mouth, but Colin doesn't give him a chance to say anything. "Hey, don't apologize – we want to be involved. We've been really worried about you."

"Sorry…"

"This is what I was talking about," Logan says to their roommates before coming to stand in front of Cloud. "Cloud, you've been doubting yourself more ever since you became Sephiroth's student, haven't you?"

"I…"

"It's because you don't think you're good enough, isn't it? You've never liked making mistakes, never enjoyed feeling like a failure, but I bet all of that is just amplified by a million now. You don't think you're worthy of Sephiroth's attention, so whenever you make even the smallest of mistakes, you think you're just a waste of space. Am I right?"

"I… I guess…"

The arm around him tightens at his concession, the heat of Zack's hand almost too much for him now, but the teen remains silent as Garrett chimes in. "Dude, you're worth it. If you don't believe in yourself, then believe in me." Garrett pokes a thumb into his chest. "Have I ever led you astray?"

"Yes," Cloud deadpans. "Multiple times. Like when you insisted Blugus were weak to fire. My teacher still won't let me live that one down – Remember, Strife, Blugus are weak to lightning… not fire." As if he would forget after the initial humiliation.

"Come on, man, that was once!"

"What about when you claimed that that one alleyway was a shortcut to Sector 3? It took us an extra hour to get there and only cause we turned around halfway through and went back the way we came."

"Ok, ok! I get the picture!" Garrett throws his hands up in a sign of surrender. "Ok, fine. Believe in Colin or Logan, then."

Cloud huffs out a sigh – he's sure Garrett won't give up on this. "I'll try."

"Good."

Cloud tries to return Garrett's smile, he really does, but the emotional rollercoaster of the past couple days coupled with the massive shock at finding Tifa in Midgar seem to be too much already. Luckily, Zack saves him from any further awkwardness, the teen addressing Cloud's roommates once more. "I'm glad Cloudy has the three of you around." Zack hums in thought for a second, his head tilting to the side. "You know, I don't think I ever caught your names." Cloud keeps the that's cause you only had eyes for me to himself. The teen wasn't exactly subtle about it. "I'm Zack."

"Oh, we know who you are." Garrett chuckles. "I'm Garrett, the studious-looking one with brown hair is Logan, and the blond who can't pass for a Chocobo is Colin." Garrett ignores Cloud's glare as he finishes introducing them.

"Nice to finally make your acquaintance!"

Tifa enters his vision as she shuffles over to them, rubbing an arm and looking a touch embarrassed. "Sorry about earlier. I'm Tifa, by the way."

"The Tifa?" Colin splutters out, shocked. "From Nibelheim?"

"Uh, that would be me."

Garrett smirks and Cloud just knows he's in for it. "It's wonderful to finally have a face to a name. Cloud has told us so much about you."

Tifa looks far too amused for Cloud's liking as he squeaks out "G-Garrett!", his face turning a wonderful shade of scarlet. Alright, that's it. He wants to die. It couldn't be any worse than this.

"And I'm Aerith!" Their other companion bounces up, hopefully distracting Tifa enough that the girl will forget that this conversation had ever happened. "Zack's girlfriend!"

Garrett's mouth falls opens at the admission, the teen's gaze flickering between Aerith, Zack, and Cloud as if trying to solve some sort of complex calculus. Cloud's just worrying that Aerith has broken his roommate, when Garrett's eyes finally stop on him, the teen running a hand through his red hair stunned. "Huh, so you're not…" He says, pointing between Cloud and Zack, before his hand falls limp to his side. "Interesting…"

"Garrett."

Zack somehow, luckily, doesn't seem to catch on – though the same can't be said for Tifa or Aerith, unfortunately – the teen cocking his head to the side again. "Not entirely sure what you're getting at, but whatever." He shrugs his shoulders as if not interested in pressing the matter. Thank Gaia. Pointing a thumb behind him towards the train station, he continues, "We're planning on exploring the plate some. Would you guys want to join us?"

"We would love to, but we've got class," Logan replies, though Cloud's roommates look like they're seriously considering the consequences of skipping. "We already skipped lunch to look for Cloud."

"Aww, you three are honestly the best! Ok, new plan. Next time you guys are free, we all need to hang out!"

"I plan to tell Cloud the truth."

The first words out of Rufus's mouth after Barret and Cid have finally taken off do a far better job of knocking the breath out of Sephiroth than the ire of the former gunman and the child martial artist combined. Masking his shock just as quickly as it came on, his eyes narrow. "With all due respect, sir, we've been over this before. Telling him right now could be too much for him. It would be better to let him remember on his own."

"No, General. We've tried it your way for the past two months with no significant results. We do it my way now."

"But he's starting to remember, sir!"

Sephiroth is not proud of the change in volume of his protests, but Rufus must not be in a manipulative mood since he doesn't comment. Instead, the President waves a hand to silence him. "Unfortunately, we are out of time. As I mentioned before, General, somebody wants you dead. It would be extremely foolish to go after you directly. And with how skilled this assassin is at remaining undetected, I would hazard he knows this as well." Eyes boring into him, Rufus laces his fingers on the desk in front of him. "No, if he is as cunning as he appears to be, he will go for Cloud first."

"Sir?"

"Are you aware of your little fanclub, Sephiroth?" Rufus doesn't wait for him to respond, though, likely already knowing the answer – how could Sephiroth not be aware? "Well, they have been going absolutely crazy over your 'darling new student'." Rufus says, quoting the end with the dryness of the Corel Desert. "There is no shortage of pictures or crazy theories – like Cloud being the secret lovechild of you and Genesis." Rufus smirks – maybe he was in a manipulative mood after all – and Sephiroth tries to brace for whatever's on the other side of that smug face. "Regardless, it's clear to anyone with eyes that Cloud is your weakness."

The rapid, almost frantic knocking at his door drags Sephiroth's attention away from the book he was trying – and failing – to read. He supposes the distraction might do him good, he hadn't been able to make it past the first sentence with Rufus's and Ms. Lockhart's words repeating themselves unsolicited in his head. Was he just using Cloud? Hadn't he made him suffer enough? …Was he really Sephiroth's weakness?

Shaking the maudlin thoughts from his mind, he pulls the door open to find Zack on the other side. The teen's nervous fidgeting stops immediately as his eyes land on Sephiroth, Zack squinting at him in surprise. "I keep forgetting how much smaller you look without the armor."

Sephiroth sighs. Perhaps he wasn't in the mood for company after all. "Did you need something, Zackary?"

"Uh, yeah. It's about Cloud."

Sephiroth tries to mask his growing alarm. Had the assassin acted already? "Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine! He's back with his roommates now." Zack rubs the back of his neck, looking rather uncomfortable with the situation. Well, at least Sephiroth wasn't the only one. "Can I come in?"

The moment the teen crosses the threshold and the door closes, Zack turns to him, arms crossed in front of him. "What are your intentions towards Cloud?"

Sephiroth blinks uncomprehending at his fellow SOLDIER – hadn't they been over this before? Answering slowly, he really hopes that Zack hadn't hit his head somewhere and suffered serious brain damage. "I'm training him so he'll be ready in case I succumb to Jenova again. But you already knew this, Zack."

"Not what I'm talking about." Zack grumbles, pacing back and forth in front of Sephiroth as if trying to find his words. Once successful, the teen comes to a stop and confronts him once more. "Cloud is 14, you know. He's still underage. You can't make any moves on him until he's an adult. And he remembers. Oh! And he definitely has to consent, too!"

Sephiroth groans, one eye twitching for good measure. Not this again. "Please not you, too, Zack. I've already gotten this talk from Angeal and Genesis." He really hopes this isn't how Angeal had felt after talking to him all those weeks ago. If it was, he really owed the man an apology.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You are talking about my apparent crush on Cloud, right?"

Zack's eyes go wide as saucers and the teen chuckles a little awkwardly. "Oh, yeah. Your crush. That's definitely what I'm talking about."

Sephiroth raises an eyebrow at the teen, but otherwise doesn't delve further into his awkward display. They don't have time for that now. "If it makes you feel better, I'm attracted to what I remember of Cloud as an adult, not to his 14-year-old self."

"Oh. Good, good… Wait. You already talked to Angeal and Genesis about this?"

"Not now, Zack. We have far more pressing matters."

"No, no, no, no, no, no," barrels out of Zack's mouth, the teen wagging a finger at him. "You're not going to distract me so easily, mister."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sephiroth is really starting to regret having opened his door in the first place. Reading the same line a thousand times while plagued with the accusations thrown at him would have been far more enjoyable than this. "Zackary. Somebody is trying to kill me."

Zack stops in place instantly, staring up at him confused, head cocked to the side like the puppy he claims he isn't. "And… your point?"

"This would-be assassin is apparently very skilled – he's evaded detection so far." Crossing his arms in front of him, he prepares for Zack's reaction. He's knows the teen won't like what he says next. "Rufus is convinced they'll come for Cloud first."

Turning white as a sheet, Zack stares at him horrified. "What? Why Spike?"

"Rufus claims he's my weakness."

"Your weakness?" Zack squeaks. Sephiroth only feels slightly vindicated – apparently it wasn't clear to everybody with eyes.

"I asked that, too. But Rufus just smirked and called me a 'poor bastard'."

Zack's face scrunches up, the teen seemingly trying to come up with a solution. "Shouldn't we tell Cloud's old friends? I'm sure they'd help out."

"That was my next question. And that's when Rufus laughed at me." He had almost thought that the prickling in his chest and the curling of his lip was Jenova again, but then realized that, no, that was just normal aggravation. "To quote him, 'Barret isn't subtle on a good day. We can't have whoever it is catching wind that we're aware of their plan.'"

"Then what do we do? How do we keep Spikey safe?"

Sephiroth hesitates for a long moment, Zack tensing at the sight of his deepening frown. "Rufus plans to tell Cloud the truth."

"What…? No, that's a terrible idea!"

"Yes, I know." Oh, boy, did he know. But Rufus wouldn't hear him, not so kindly reminding him that he had no room to talk about terrible ideas. "Rufus says he can't have a Turk tailing Cloud everywhere and that he can't have Cloud fleeing the Tower every time something spooks him."

"But he had good reason to run away!"

"I am aware, but him fleeing the Tower again to Gaia-knows-where will make it all the more easier for this assassin to get their hands on him."

"But will Cloud even believe us?"

Sephiroth sighs long and hard. That's what he's worried about. "I don't know. I tried to change Rufus's mind, but he wouldn't listen." That's enough, General. My word is final. Sephiroth had almost forgotten how infuriating it could be to answer to somebody else. He will admit, though, that he much prefers Rufus to his idiotic predecessor. And vastly prefers Rufus to Jenova… "He seems convinced that if Cloud finally gets his memories back, that'll he'll be better able to protect himself if this assassin does come for him, even unenhanced as Cloud currently is."

"Do you really think telling him the truth will trigger his memories?"

"I don't know… but I have my doubts."

"When will Rufus talk to him?"

"Tomorrow."

A/N:

- While I think Tifa and Cloud or Tifa and Aerith (or all three 😉) would be cute together, I will go down with the Tifa/Rude ship.

- For those of you who haven't played the Remake, there's a part in the train graveyard where Tifa, Aerith, and Cloud are about to enter this maintenance facility and all are a little spooked out about the rather ghostly things happening around them. Well, Aerith's all like "everything will be fine, we've got a bodyguard" and clings to one of Cloud's arms. Not to be left out, Tifa grabs his other arm and is like "after you". So, that's why Cloud thinks they're heading towards a haunted graveyard.

- Now that I have ESO on the brain, funny story: I spent like a good 2 minutes trying to defeat an enemy in the first dungeon, was hiding in an alcove shooting at them and everything, wondering why their health bar wasn't appearing/going down, only to realize that it was another player and I just don't understand how MMOs work... (This is my first MMO)