So… I got my HP book at about three, three-thirty on the twenty-first, and, even though I took breaks for such necessities as sleep, food, and playing FFXII, and the viewing of Ratatouille, I had it finished by today, the twenty-second, at about two in the afternoon. And I cried. And I cried a little more. And then I cried so much that my sinuses blocked up, my eyes turned red, and people probably thought I was insane when I appeared in public. But it was worth it. All twenty-something deaths of beloved characters was totally worth it.

Chapter Four

By noon, all four men were in the living room of the three bedroom apartment, blinds drawn and no lights on. Sephiroth and Zack, who seemed to have recovered quickly, were sitting on the couch together, Zack almost asleep on the silver-haired mans chest. Cloud and Squall, who had taken Zack's 'infallible hangover potion', were not fairing as well as the other two. Every so often, Cloud would groan loudly as a bolt of pain would lash through his body. It seemed as if there was some kind of stinging electrical spark connected between his temples and his ass, and every so often it would spark harder.

Cloud's cellphone, a hot pink RAZR (graciously bought by Aeris), went off loudly, screaming (or at least it seemed to be) the words to 'Rock 'n roll all night' by Kiss. Cloud groped for the cellphone, couldn't find it, and had almost given up when Squall produced it and tossed it to him. Cloud caught it deftly and answered. "Hello..?" he murmured, his voice raspy.

Aeris' voice erupted in his skull, piercing and loud. It was exactly the kind of voice you didn't want to hear when you were suffering from a particularly nasty hangover. "Where are you? Yuffie told me you weren't coming to work and-!!!"

Cloud cut her off patiently, his head throbbing. "I'm fine. I just had a little too much to drink last night…"

Aeris was starting to yell. She was a total teetotaler, a girl who never drank, and if she never touched the stuff, Cloud couldn't either. "Drank too much! What did I tell you about drinking!"

Cloud sighed. "Not to do it again. We had a friend over, and so we popped a couple of beers and celebrated."

"A friend? What kind of friend?"

Cloud groaned and rubbed his temple. Before he had met Aeris (and for a little while after he had met her, too) a 'friend' meant just the same as if 'with benefits' had been tagged on the end. He had been bisexual, right up until the night he had proposed, and she was obviously still suspicious. Cloud replied softly. "Just a friend. His name's Squall."

"Is he an ex?"

"No."

"Did he stay the night?"

"Yes. He did, as a matter of fact. And I'm going to have to cut this phone call short. My head hurts and I feel like I'm going to vomit again, so bye."

Aeris sniffed prudishly. "Fine. Goodbye."

Cloud hung up, aware that this was the beginning of a fight. He staggered to his feet, went into the kitchen, and took out a bottle of water, probably the only thing in the fridge that had not spoiled. Cloud reflected on the fact that he needed to buy some proper food and opened the bottle. He chugged the cold water back, feeling a sense of relief when the liquid doused his insides. He looked around at the other men and, with hooded lids, murmured softly, "I'm going to take a shower…"

He shuffled into the bathroom, stripped, and climbed in. The hot water was glorious on his body, and he washed himself thoroughly, lathering his spiky hair into a thick mat of soap. When he was finished, he stepped out, wrapped a towel around his waist, and glanced in the mirror. He moaned. "Don't I look profoundly emo…"

With his hair draping over his left eye, he did look quite depressed. He pulled on a pair of loose jeans and a wife beater and reentered the living room. Glancing around at the other guys, he sighed. "I'm heading the grocery store. Who wants to come?"

Squall stood, slipped on his shies, and both men left.

That was a lame ending… I have nothing to read! Oh, and I recommend 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' to anybody who bothers to read this. It's a fabulous manga. The guys are really cute! And it's shounen-ai. Although it's more implication than anything… But so is Final Fantasy! Y'all will love it, I swear!