"Sephiroth is sick?" said Cloud.
"Yeah, apparently he managed to catch that super bug the doctors have been dealing with from Junon. He's sick as a dog and probably won't be in for at least three days if he's lucky. Good news for you, since it means you have a couple of free days, right?" said Zack.
"Who's taking care of him?" asked Cloud.
"No one, I guess? I mean I had to wheedle out his condo address out of him and he went so far as to keep it off company records so the Turks can't bug it," said Zack. "I'm sure he's fine. He's Sephiroth, for crying out loud."
"Right, you're coming with me."
Zack blinked.
"Where are we going?"
"You are coming with me to get groceries. Then you are going to show me where Sephiroth lives and if you're lucky I may feed you," said Cloud bluntly.
Zack was more bemused than anything and let the smaller teen drag him off to get groceries.
He was a bit confused why Cloud got so many fresh ingredients and avoided most of the canned stuff. Zack almost had to cringe at the price tag, but his curiosity about what Cloud intended to do with this stuff beat out the pain to his wallet.
To say Sephiroth was less than amused at the intrusion was putting it mildly.
Zack found it far more interesting that Sephiroth calmly obeyed Cloud's rather firm order to lay down on the couch while he made something that Sephiroth could at least keep down.
Zack had managed to find a book that caught his interest, considering Sephiroth looked like crap and didn't have a television to watch anything with.
He was halfway through it when his nose started to twitch and he took notice of the fact that the place smelled of something heavenly, even to his enhanced sense of smell.
He wasn't the only one to notice. Even Sephiroth was taking a strong interest in whatever Cloud was doing in his admittedly bare kitchen.
Seeing the bowls in Cloud's hand, Zack eagerly waited for Sephiroth to cautiously take a bite before blinking and digging in with considerably more enthusiasm.
Zack took one spoon of the chicken soup...and melted.
"Gods, this is way better than the mess hall food! Why didn't you say you could cook?" said Zack.
"It never came up. I made sure to add plenty of vegetables and a few healthy spices, which should help with the congestion," said Cloud.
Sephiroth could already tell the difference. He still felt like crap, but he could at least breath now and his stomach had finally settled with solid food in it.
Cloud set down a cold drink, and Sephiroth tried it. It was fruity, but not overpowering.
Zack tried it and nearly inhaled the entire thing in less than five minutes.
The silver-haired general didn't argue when Cloud ordered him to get some sleep. Zack watched the entire thing with fascination.
"Damn Cloud... you have Seph whipped."
Cloud rolled his eyes.
"More like he knows better than to argue against the one who can feed him when he's this sick."
"Still, why didn't you say you could cook?"
"It never came up," said Cloud. "I didn't exactly have many friends and mom was happy she had something we could do together before I left Nibelhiem."
Which was partially true, but most of his cooking knowledge came from Harry.
Four hours later, Sephiroth woke up and looked a bit better than he had when they arrived.
Zack looked between the two of them.
"You planning to stay the night, Spike?" asked Zack.
"Only if Sephiroth is okay with it," said Cloud. "You really shouldn't rely on that canned stuff when you're ill sir."
Sephiroth was still tired, however what Cloud was offering did at least register.
"I have no problem with you occupying the guest room for a few days, Strife," said Sephiroth.
Especially if it meant he didn't have to cook or clean up after himself until he was back on his feet. Cloud's cooking tasted better and actually stayed down. Besides, Sephiroth's cabinets were bare save for what Cloud brought with him. He had been planning to do some shopping when he came down with his current illness.
Zack couldn't hide the grin on his face. Maybe if Cloud stuck around, the two could get past the unspoken sexual tension between them.
Cloud came in to the room to check Sephiroth's base temperature.
"What's your standard temperature?" he asked Sephiroth. There was no telling if Sephiroth ran a little hotter or colder than normal.
Sephiroth tried not to yawn.
"I tend to run a degree or two higher than the standard norm."
Cloud nodded and carefully put the thermometer in his mouth.
"Well according to this you're running a fever of a hundred. It's not too serious, but you're definitely staying home until it breaks," said Cloud firmly.
Sephiroth wasn't in the mood to argue. Cloud made sure there was a glass of water next to the bed, before pulling up the covers around the sick-as-a-dog general.
"Try to get some sleep."
"Do you really need to wear your contacts?" asked Sephiroth.
Cloud blinked.
"Would you prefer to see my normal coloring instead?"
"Yes."
"Let me go wash my hands then, okay?" said Cloud gently.
Sephiroth didn't know how long it took, but Cloud seemed to come back in no time at all. His left eye was a vibrant green.
The silverette leaned in to Cloud's hand when he gently stroked the man's long hair. He found it incredibly comforting, hearing Cloud hum a lullaby from Nibelhiem to ease him back into sleep.
It felt...nice. Hojo never would have been this gentle or nurturing. He would have told Sephiroth to suck it up (though maybe not with those words specifically) and experimented on him further for falling prey to something as mundane as a sickness going around.
Cloud however treated him as something precious. Something that needed to be cared for, while at the same time acknowledging Sephiroth's strength without being a total parasite about it.
Sephiroth nuzzled into Cloud's hand, unaware of the blush spreading across the blond's face. He didn't stop though.
For the next two days, Cloud took care of Sephiroth from giving the man something moderately healthy to eat that would keep his strength up and at the same time be easy for his poor stomach to keep down, to cleaning up the apartment.
Most of that was changing the sheets once the man's fever finally broke and doing dishes.
Did not stop Sephiroth from wandering around his condo with a blanket wrapped around him like a shield.
Cloud thought it was ridiculously adorable, but kept that to himself.
On the third day, when Sephiroth was mostly back to himself, Cloud found himself with the general's head in his lap, silently demanding attention. Much like an overgrown cat, which wasn't too far off considering Sephiroth's eyes were decidedly cat-like and he had a personality to match a large predatory feline.
Cloud was debating on whether to get up and get a drink of water when he noticed Sephiroth's eyes staring into his own intently.
Before he could say a word, Sephiroth's face had already closed in and he felt the older man's lips against his.
Bewildered, and more than a bit curious as to where this was going, Cloud didn't resist. Sephiroth took that as the invitation it was and did it again, deepening the kiss.
The older man practically purred when Cloud's hand sank deep into his silver hair.
Perhaps it was the influence of his teenage hormones, or perhaps it was just the many, many weird dreams that had been haunting him of late, but Cloud didn't resist when Sephiroth lead him to the bedroom with intent.
He certainly didn't argue when Sephiroth bit into his shoulder somewhat possessively and said with a slight growl "Mine."
The next morning...
Zack took one look at the way Cloud was having trouble meeting Sephiroth in the eyes and how Sephiroth was looking considerably more mellow than normal, before a shit eating grin crossed his face.
"It's about freaking time!"
Cloud glared at him.
"What does that mean?" he demanded.
"Oh come on Cloudy, anyone with eyes could tell you had a thing for Seph, and that Sephiroth was interested in you. Hell we were about to start a betting pool to see how long it took for you two to get a clue!" said Zack.
"Fair, don't you have work to do?" interrupted Sephiroth.
"I have to know...did Sephiroth top you or did you dominate him?" asked Zack.
"Zack, I have to warn you that if you keep asking questions about my nonexistent relationship with Sephiroth, I will be forced to retaliate in a way that will have a certain red-haired Turk taking notes if only so he can try and replicate it on his co-workers," said Cloud in warning.
Zack's grin didn't fade.
"So who made the first move? I bet it was Sephiroth...you don't exactly seem to know what sex is," said Zack.
Cloud openly glared at him.
"Just remember, you were warned to drop it first."
Zack snorted, not taking Cloud's threat seriously.
Oh how he would dearly regret that by the next morning. Cloud's revenge lasted for an entire week and not even Sephiroth felt enough pity for the violet-eyed man to call the pissed off blond off.
On an unrelated note, Reno did take a considerable amount of notes and the second he figured out who was the culprit behind the pranks against Zack he insisted on getting advice from a potential enabler.
(Elsewhere Vincent felt a shiver go down his spine and he spared a brief moment to pray in pity for the Turks. That was about as much empathy as he gave them, considering Cloud's pranks were a good way to train up their situational awareness.)
In retrospect, he should have figured it out after Sephiroth gave him a key to his private residence. Or when the general discreetly had his room reassigned to his home.
In reality it took realizing that he had been living with Sephiroth for the better part of two weeks to realize they were dating.
Sephiroth was openly amused when the epiphany hit Cloud like a brick to the face. Rather than question it, the less-than-social blond snuggled deeper against Sephiroth.
Did not stop Zack from crowing for a solid week about being right...or Cloud from retaliating by bespelling the man into wearing a pink version of his standard uniform for three days straight. Zack thought they were his normal clothes until his girlfriend Aerith made a comment about it on their date.
Zack was horrified, and there was no way he was living it down because the spell had been on him long enough that everyone had gotten blackmail pictures.
Genesis had never laughed that hard in his life, seeing Angeal's Puppy walk around oblivious in that color.
Only to laugh even harder when three days later, most of the Turks not already on assignment started sporting bright red suits instead of their standard dark blue for a full day.
Reno had a shit eating grin, as he regretted nothing. Especially not bribing Cloud into pulling the same thing on his department.
Tseng looked like a lobster in all that red.
Zack was in a bad mood, and it wasn't entirely his fault. He had finally worked up the courage to propose to Aerith, only for her to turn him down because she didn't want to marry a SOLDIER. Something about the Company having it in for her.
He tried not to let it affect him, but the fact was that everyone could sense Fair was unhappy about something and it was causing him to snap at people who had the bad luck of being around him.
So when he snapped at someone asking if he was alright, it took him several seconds to register it was Cloud.
Cloud stood there without a word, not even commenting on his foul mood.
"Zack... you've been acting out of character for a week. What happened?"
Zack flinched. But it didn't change the fact a girl he really liked had dumped him without much warning.
"It's nothing."
"You're acting like a girl on her period," deadpanned Cloud without any remorse.
"I am not!" said Zack irate.
Cloud gave Zack the stink eye.
"You're acting moody and your general behavior swings from depressed to pissed and you have been biting the heads off everyone without any explanation or reason," said Cloud without hesitation. "All that's missing is you bleeding in your underwear."
"You're an asshole," said Zack, grossed out by the subject.
"And you're an idiot who apparently needs reminding you do have friends who are concerned about your behavior and want the real Zack back, not this brooding teenage moron who acts like the world owes him something," Cloud shot back.
That seemed to spark something in Zack.
"Are you saying you finally acknowledge the fact we're friends Spike?" he asked quietly.
Cloud finally gave into temptation. He slapped Zack upside the head.
"I'm saying if you agree to come clean about what's bothering you, there's a high chance you'll be able to figure out why my left eye keeps changing colors," said Cloud.
Zack blinked, before he gaped at Cloud.
"Wait...you mean if I finally talk, you'll let me see what the big secret is you've been hiding about that eye of yours?"
"Yes. Sephiroth already knows and I'm fairly certain it's why he jumped me once his sickness finally went away," said Cloud absently. Then he realized the mistake he made.
"I knew it! I knew you were too awkward to make the first move!" said Zack, starting to act like his old self as he crowed triumphantly.
"Come on, I'm sure Angeal would love to hear why you've been acting off for the past week and a half."
Zack followed and found a worried Angeal already waiting in the room with Sephiroth. He looked relieved to see Zack acting somewhat like his usual self.
Cloud handed him a drink.
"Now talk. What happened that made you act so weird."
Zack winced.
"...I proposed to my girlfriend Aerith and she turned me down. She said she couldn't marry a SOLDIER since the company apparently has it out for her and she didn't want my job to get between her and whatever Hojo wants her for," said Zack.
Angeal winced. Cloud however had a pretty good idea what Hojo wanted.
"Great...so Hojo's creepy sex-dungeon strikes again," said Cloud in disgust.
That caused Zack and Sephiroth to choke, just a little.
"What?" said Zack, bewildered.
Cloud gave him a sympathetic look before he explained.
"Gast originally operated under the assumption that Jenova was a Cetra. Aerith, if she's who I think she is, is Gast's daughter and quite possibly the last Cetra descendant alive. Or at least one that has any real ability to use their powers as diminished as they are. Knowing that creepy gnome he probably wants Aerith to try and breed her with Sephiroth or something just as ridiculous because according to the notes, Sephiroth has a high level of Cetra genes. Which is ridiculous because Jenova wasn't possessing a Cetra when it was originally put into stasis," explained Cloud.
Zack stared at him.
"How do you know all this stuff?"
"I've read pretty much all the files in the Nibelhiem mansion...that and Hojo is apparently shit at picking passwords. There's an active retrieval mission for Aerith, but apparently Tseng isn't inclined to care too much about Hojo's stupid demands because he mostly just has some of the Turks guarding her and pretends to ignore the retrieval part."
"Wait...are you responsible for that shipment of green jello that was mistaken for mako being sent to Hojo's labs last month?" said Sephiroth suspiciously. "The one that he has been adamantly denying ordering, despite the fact that it had his name on the order form?"
Cloud had a positively wicked look.
"Do the words 'plausible deniability' tell you anything?" he asked.
"That's great and all, but you said you'd explain why you wear contacts," said Zack. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Aerith apparently did have someone high up after her.
Cloud looked slightly depressed.
"Most of my childhood was spent with people unwilling to look me in the eye when they talked to me. I found it was easier to deal with them by hiding behind books, and they were a lot less cruel than actually talking to people. Children can be really vicious when the adults aren't there to tell them off and Nibelhiem isn't exactly a place that accepts anything that's openly different."
Zack pulled the blond into a hug.
"It's okay Cloud. We won't hold the fact you're a bookworm against you," said Zack.
"Actually I became a bookworm in an effort to shield myself from people's nasty rumors about me," said Cloud.
With the ease of practice, he popped out his left contact and put it into the small container. He blinked a few times to get used to having it out, and waited for Zack's reaction to his actual eye color.
"I thought you were taking your contacts out?" asked Zack.
"I did. I have heterochromia. Nibelheim is a close-minded place that hates anything that they think isn't normal, so how do you think they'd react to someone naturally born with two different eye colors?"
Zack stared. It was really weird, looking at Cloud's eyes. There was something deep and ancient staring back at him from the green one.
He was starting to get why Cloud wore the contacts, and why he hid his left eye.
He still pulled the blond into a hug though. Just because his left eye was a bit weird didn't make him a monster or anything and maybe if Cloud saw it didn't bother them he'd stop wearing those contacts so often. He knew it bothered his eyes a lot.