A/N: I own nothing!
It's been awhile, folks and i apologize for taking so long. Special thanks to: Peque.-, berkie88, DamonWesker
You guys rock! And I apologize to gatekeeper, because for some reason it keeps cutting off your pen name, without further ado, on with the show! *dramatic exit from spotlight. Curtains unveil the stage*
Kadaj was, quite honestly extremely embarrassed. He had no intention of exiting the restroom any time soon either.
Why?
Because he'd made a huge fool of himself that's why. What the heck had he been thinking? His head was spinning again. He leaned against the wall after he was done throwing up.
"Dammit."
He examined himself in the mirror. He was a royal mess and well…it had been a long time since anything like this had happened. 'No regrets, no regrets…'
"Je ne regrette rien."
"That's right." He told himself. "I'll walk out and act like nothing happened."
Upon walking out, though, is when he discovered that he could pretend that nothing was wrong. Well…he could try.
He was swarmed in droves of concern, Tifa taking him to the back of the bar and making him lie down, Yuffie grabbing a cold ice pack, getting ready to put it on his forehead.
'It's not like I have a fever'. He thought. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to say anything, if he didn't know better he would say he had a fever. His throat burned, his head was spinning, and he just wanted to sleep…
Either this was one hell of a hangover, or he was really actually sick.
Sephiroth and his brothers rushed in, worry mirrored on all of their faces. Zack and Cloud followed, and seeing the blonde suddenly made him want to hide under a rock. Cloud looked worried too.
"Guys, I'm fine." He muttered, covering his forehead with his head.
"You wouldn't happen to be willing to bet on that would you?" Sephiroth said reaching into a man-purse that appeared out of nowhere. 'What?'
His eldest pulled out a thermometer and it all went downhill from there, for Kadaj at least.
'I haven't seen one of those in years…why is a 27 year old carrying that in his bag?'
The next thing he knew, the slightly cold object was in his mouth, he almost gagged.
"Remember, no squirming." Yazoo teased in light amusement. Kadaj glared at him lightly closing his eyes and trying to convince himself he wasn't really there.
Looking at Cloud somehow made it that much harder.
"103.5," Sephiroth said (triumphantly, all of them would agree later) "you have a fever."
He didn't know what to say. So he didn't say anything. Yuffie handed the icepack to Cloud with a grin on her face. She may have been drunk but that didn't mean she hadn't heard everything.
Steel blue eyes blinked at the cold object in his hands at first, failing to notice that all eyes, except for Kadaj's, were on him. The silence in the room was intense when Tifa walked in, with refreshments for everyone. Her eyes followed theirs.
When Cloud moved, everyone in the room jumped. He blinked at them before kneeling beside Kadaj, whose pale cheeks had turned a feverish red and whose eyes looked directly into his. He favored him a small smile, placing the ice pack gently on his forehead.
As soon as he had, suddenly everyone was shuffling and moving around, like they hadn't been watching intently the entire time. Tifa went to Cloud with a cup of coffee and water for Kadaj.
"Here you go."
"Thank you." Cloud managed out, and Kadaj nodded his head gently in acknowledgement.
The room was suddenly empty, the sound of the ac blasting throughout the room loud. Cloud was still there. Kadaj's brain was still fried. Yep,
All was well with the world.
Not!
If Kadaj thought he wanted to hide under a rock before, now he needed a freakin' cliff to jump off of. Right now.
"I'm sorry."
"Why?" Cloud asked with the usual look of confusion.
"For everything. First I got drunk and now I'm sick…"
"Don't apologize." Cloud stated quietly, although Kadaj it was like he had screamed it through a megaphone. "It wasn't something you could control…but how'd you get sick? You seemed fine this morning."
Kadaj chuckled. "Last night was actually the first sleep I've had in about three or four days, give or take a few."
"You don't look like you haven't slept in that many days." Cloud responded in amazement. He usually took a nap everyday, even before he slept for the night. "How…?"
"I'm a model." The silverette smirked, a little proud. "We have our ways. Besides, coming back…was a little hard for me."
At the distant sound in his voice, Cloud decided it would be best to change the subject. Because after all, the last time he'd heard that distant voice was-
"Cloud. I'm going."
Who had that been? Who—
Aerith?
"Cloud?" Kadaj asked suddenly; he jolted back to reality. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Cloud nodded mutely, looking a little sick. Kadaj sat up and laughed softly, placing his hand on Cloud's forehead.
"Don't tell me you're getting sick too."
Cloud shook his head with the ghost of a smile. "No. You're supposed to be lying down."
"Make me." Kadaj chided playfully, sticking out his tongue. Needless to say Cloud did, pushing him down onto the couch and holding him there, pinned down.
"There."
Kadaj didn't even try squirming. This position was kind of…intimate. He didn't know Cloud that well. Normally he'd think things were moving to fast at this point. But with Cloud it didn't feel that way, it felt—
Natural.
Had he met him before?
The blonde got up quickly, as he seemed to realize it himself. "I have to go. My job starts now."
Of course it does. Green eyes closed and he nodded.
"I'll visit you later."
"You better." Kadaj smirked. "I'm so lost without you."
Cloud snorted, smiling gently all the same and walking out of the room.
Kadaj didn't say anything for a while. But he finally got tired of it. "You can come out now."
Yazoo and Loz came out, both a little guilty looking. "You knew?"
"Believe me, even after all these years I've never forgotten you're personalities. It's just about impossible, with you guys."
His brothers' cheeks reddened slightly, and Loz responded quickly. "You're pretty unforgettable yourself."
"Glad to know it." Kadaj smiled. But he didn't say anything more after that. Loz wanted to talk again but Yazoo stopped him before he spoke. Now was not the time.
Sephiroth came in later, with Zack in tow. "Zack, can you carry him?"
"Sure." He said, easily whisking Kadaj off the couch. "Your brother hardly weighs a thing!"
'That'll all change when he starts having my cooking." Sephiroth smiled as he watched his boyfriend carry his brother off to the car.
"You couldn't have just done it yourself?" Yazoo asked with minor irritation. It was always about Zack. Stupid Zack who stole their older brother!
"I'm going to buy his medicine. You drive him home." He answered giving Yazoo the car keys. "No stopping for coffee either. Go straight home, make sure he's okay, and then you can do what you want with the car. Except for crashing it. Or speeding. Or—"
"We get it Sephy." Yazoo smiled, feeling a little better. Loz nodded and the two of them left.
Meanwhile, with our protagonist—
"So you're Zack." Kadaj said flippantly.
"Yep. At your service." Zack grinned with a warm smile showing off his pointy teeth.
"You're dating my brother."
"Yep."
"I imagine Yazoo's been giving you a hard time." He smirked playing with his silver bangs.
"Believe it." Zack said shaking spiky black hair. "I really wish he wouldn't hate me."
"He probably doesn't hate you. I think he's just jealous."
"Jealous of what?"
"You're stealing our big brother. After everything that happened, I'm sure they were all they had. Why don't you take a day to hang out with all of them?"
"…shouldn't you say 'us'?"
Oh.
"Ah. Yeah…I guess it's because I haven't been part of them for a while." He replied uncomfortably.
Zack just laughed. "Don't sweat it, little man."
"I'm not little." Somehow, the light-hearted laughter was soothing. Comforting. "You're just too tall."
"I get that one a lot." Zack replied simply. "Its crazy nice to meet you, Kadaj."
"Good to meet you too. You're really sweet."
"E-eh?" Zack stuttered embarrased. He may have been known to be one of the friendliest guys in town. But he had never, ever been used to recieving compliments. Especially not from his one of boyfriend's brothers.
"Relax; I'm not hitting on you. I think I figured out why brother likes you." Green eyes scanned blue, deciding this guy was pretty likeable. His eyes were honest and open.
"Seriously?"
"Yep." Kadaj smiled.
"What is it?"
"Figure it out." Kadaj said simply, enjoying the miffed look on the others face. His eyes were fixated on the ground when he spoke again. "I'm really not to heavy am I? We've been standing out here for a while now."
"Like I said, you're pretty light. Besides you shouldn't be standing or anything right now."
"It's not like I'm in a comatose." He protested.
"Please. Both of us know your brother would skin me alive."
Kadaj snickered and his eyes brightened instantly. "Ain't that the truth?"
Time to go over what happened in this chapter! So we see Kadaj was actually sick due to the stress of actually leaving his mother. It took a lot out of him and he hardly rested if anyone's wondering. And, amazingly, models do have ways to make it look like they always get enough sleep. If I remember correctly, it's some sort of spray...or maybe an eye drop?
He and Cloud seem to warming up to each other nicely, but it's only a matter of time before Cloud pushes him away, or perhaps, Kadaj would push him away first. Things are going to get messy as soon as the plot thickens.
Yes, Yazoo may seem a bit childish for acting like he hates Zack, but it's mostly because he cares for brother, and it's a way for him to keep Zack in check. He does in fact (grudgingly) like having him around. It means he gets to do what he wants more.
Also, Zack may have pointy teeth but let it be known that he is not a vampire. Vampires have nothing to do with the making of this story. And they never will.
It's kinda short, sorry. Although I do have the next chapter all planned out, it's already half-way done. Thanks for reading, please leave a comment, and I will love you forever :)