Title: Childhood Problems

Characters: Cloud Strife, Zack Fair, Sephiroth, Genesis Rhapsodos, Angeal Hewley, Kunsel

Warning: AU, based on Sinnatious' The Fifth Act

Pairings: None for now ;P

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 5,668 according to Word 2007 (Why I keep writing it longer and longer? -.-; )

Beta-reader: Wintersheart1766

Author's Note: Yes, I've got the permission from Sinnatious to write a fanfic out of her/his fanfic. Yes, this is not a very-much sequel. Yes, I am shamelessly pimp my own ideas and twist around the story. So yes, this might resemble the original, except it has more spices ;P

Disclaimer: All characters depicted in sexual situations in this post/fanfiction/fanart (including material in the comments) are fictional and are intended to be and considered to be by the author of said material of the legal age of consent in the United States or any other countries, regardless of what age these characters may be in the material they are derived from.

The usual gathering between Shinra's three original First Class SOLDIERs had now expanded to a Sephiroth's patience testing seven-man ordeal and the silver haired general would soon find himself fervently wishing for the return of the most recent configuration of only four men sitting around his office.

It started with the boisterous arrival of the well meaning, but thoroughly obnoxious Zack Fair, who seemed to be half walking with and half dragging the newest First Class SOLDIER Kunsel. Inexplicably, Cloud's timid little 'nephew', who had recently been dubbed 'Spike', followed just behind the other two men looking to the all the world as if he were being led to his own very painful execution.

Angeal sighed and shook his head; considering the puppy's earlier reaction to being left out it was not any big surprise to find this strange group of gate crashers standing sheepishly before him, Angeal obviously could not be upset the cadet or even with Kunsel , as he held no doubt as to who the 'ringleader 'of this reluctant circus was. The cadet's obvious unwillingness was easily the result of being coerced and/or abducted by the self appointed jester of Shinra. Angeal was being kind in his current musing; Genesis or Sephiroth would simply proclaim Zack the village idiot and be done with it.

As he ushered the three of them inside; Kunsel glanced at him apologetically, looking upon the surface to be appropriately contrite. Angeal however could clearly see the gleeful gleam within his eye, knowing that if eyes were matched to mouth in their expression, Kunsel would be grinning like an idiot. He and Zack were friends for a reason after all. Still, the man retained the presence of mind to try and apologize, only to have his apology cut off mid sentence by Angeal.

"What's done is done and I'm quite sure that everyone coming will realize who is behind the whole thing. Isn't that right... Zack?"

Cloud's 'nephew, the original Cloud of this timeline, would have very much liked to quietly apologize and excuse himself to save him from his own embarrassment as well as his guilt for a mere cadet like him interrupting a very important meeting. Regardless, of what Zack had told him, there was no way he would not be the awkward one in a room among all the Firsts, albeit he had known them before hand and had helped them through the Nibelheim case. He had tried to escape a couple of times, but struggling with "First Class Soldier Zack Fair" was an act of futility, as Zack continued to grin down at him widely, holding fast to the back of his collar like it was some kind of leash and affording young Strife exactly zero progress in his bid for freedom. He had almost managed to slip an apology past Angeal when he was completely thwarted by the sudden, breath taking, larger than life appearance of General Genesis Rhapsodos.

Genesis, being somewhat aware of 'Cadet' Cloud's case of hero worship towards him, swept up to the group and smiled in a way that was reserved only for the still tiny and lean cadet; causing all of said cadet's coherent thoughts to take immediate flight straight out of his head. All the poor cadet could manage was a return to the red general's greeting, but in a voice so soft and so low it caused him to wonder if the boy had swallowed his own tongue somehow. At least he hadn't stuttered when he spoke, most of the other young cadet's that Genesis had encountered up to this point were all prone to this and he could never make out one word of what they were attempting to communicate to him; he could be thankful for that small blessing at least

And then there were five. Five male bodies now occupied the, slightly less spacious than usual, office of General Sephiroth's. Cloud's nephew was smushed between Zack and Kunsel on the big sofa and was currently devoting all his energy to not fidgeting nervously in the presence of the famed Soldiers and he was steadfastly determined to reclaim some of the dignity that he already had lost due to the careless antics of Zack Fair. The cadet took a moment to glare at Zack before taking up the much more enjoyable activity of casting what he thought were discreet adoring glances at Genesis, who was seated with Angeal on the single couches directly across from where he was sitting.

It was then that Sephiroth arrived bringing the occupant count up to the new record for most people in Sephiroth's private office at one time. Sephiroth, being the distinguished and unshakable man that he is, took the scene before him in stride; the only visible sign of its effect on him being the upward arch of one silver eyebrow as he took a seat behind his dark mahogany desk. Yes, outside Sephiroth remained the unflappable, epitome of cool, however, inside Sephiroth was absolutely sure that his office was running out of oxygen.

First Class SOLDIER Cloud Strife was the last to arrive, reacting much the same as Sephiroth had to the much expanded members of the 'usual gathering'. The office was fresh out of places to sit noticed Sephiroth, but he also knew that 'big' Cloud preferred to stand anyway seeing as he was always the one mixing the drinks for them all. It was a skill that had won him high praise from both Zack and Kunsel upon its discovery.

Cloud graciously delivered everyone's drinks, heavy on the alcohol for the SOLDIERs in attendance, but nothing more than straight up lemonade for his younger self which was why the boy was now scowling at him with as much contempt as he could muster. Angeal retrieved a chair from an adjacent office and Cloud settled down into it with a soft sigh and sipped leisurely at his drink

The talks revolved around their daily life as SOLDIER and some cadet practice as well, not wanting to leave Spike out of the conversation. Cloud, the ever silent one, astounded everyone by actually agreeing to tell of his recent adventures in Modeoheim and Wutai; that is once he had swallowed the final sip of his third drink mind you.

During the many and varied courses of their conversations, Cloud found his gaze continually returning to rest upon his young 'nephew' and he suddenly realized that, much to his shame, he had as of yet, done nothing in the effort to forge some kind of bond with this boy. This long ago shadow of himself who looked exactly, walked exactly, talked exactly, was exactly himself at that age.

Now, one might be tempted to think that because it would seem impossible for the two not to know each other like the backs of each other's hands, or that the 'discovery' of the really cool fact that they just 'happen' to like or dislike so many of the same things would make befriending the boy a piece of cake, but think about it; when has anything ever come easily to someone with the name Cloud Strife? And with him as well as his 'nephew' bearing that name, he couldn't help but pray things wouldn't have to be twice as hard in order to find their way to the solid uncle and nephew relationship he was striving for.

Cloud supposed that it couldn't hurt things to at least talk to the boy. He thus far .knew very little of how things were going and how he was adjusting to his new life here. He really was quite curious as to what things would have changed and what remained unchanged in comparison to his first go round as a cadet. He truly hoped that somehow this Cloud Strife never had or would have to experience the cruelty and loneliness that came with being bullied by your peers.

Cloud softly cleared his throat before asking his younger counterpart.

"So...How goes your cadet life …uh Spike?"

Suddenly all eyes shot straight to the cadet who hesitated a momentarily under the scrutiny, before intelligently answering, "Um...it's okay."

It was still hard to think of himself as the uncle of someone that he knew to be himself, the self that had yet to become tainted by the tragedies of his previous existence. Still, he had definitely found the answer the boy had supplied to be…unsatisfactory, he decided to press further.

"Really, you're not having any problems?"

He knew that the scope of the question was vast, and didn't come anywhere close to pinpointing the area of trouble or problems that Cloud was interested in knowing about, but he was unsure how one would best approach the subject of bullying or anything like that. Perhaps it would be better if he waited until he could speak to his nephew alone. Gaia knew that the young cadet had to be experiencing some type of fallout with regards to his close personal friendship with not just one, or even two, but ALL freaking four of the highest ranking members of SOLDIER, one of which just happened to be his look- a- like, same named Uncle.

"Um...no."

Cloud didn't have a clue how to proceed in the face of the cadet's frustrating mono-syllabic answers without it becoming akin to bullying the boy himself and so yet another awkward silence descended upon the room. But if Zack were good for anything, he was good for slaying those very silences as easily as he would slay any monster in his path.

"Spike's doing pretty good actually! Right, Kunsel?"

Kunsel nodded his head in agreement and added with a chuckle, "He's a bit lacking in power house abilities, but his speed and agility tend to balance things ou; as for academics his memory is remarkable but he has difficulty in understanding some of the reading assignments from his class text books, I don't think many of the words are in his vocabulary."

Cloud sometimes forgot that both Zack and Kunsel enjoyed going down to barracks to interact with the green cadets and were often seen raising their morale in the cafeteria or on the field. Being First Class SOLDIERs hadn't changed a thing.

"You cannot read?" Genesis face wore the most incredulous expression Cloud had ever seen. The utter shock displayed by such a revelation was nothing new for Cloud, but people forgot that Nibelheim was really not even a village by most standards. There was no form of formal education there at all as Cloud knew from his previous experience.

Young Cloud did not answer immediately; feeling extremely awkward he ducked his head, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes fearing the disapproval he was sure they would hold. This was why he never wished for them, most of all his idol, to know that he struggled with the more advanced subjects because he didn't understand what he read. It had been bad enough when only Kunsel had come to be aware of what he swore no one would ever find out.

Silence from the 'future' Cloud prompted the raise of an elegant, silver eyebrow from the general sitting near to him, but Spike was a young Cloud and silence not yet being his forte felt the need to explain further.

"Um...there is no school back in Nibelheim. There's a reading class, but it's just the mayor's wife teaching us three days a week."

"Atrocious! Even back in Banora we have schools!" Genesis was positively fuming at this point.

"So that's the only instruction in reading you've had up to now?" Kunsel inquired sympathetically.

"Uh…I..Well, actually my Ma taught me so that I would understand the basics and that's all the classes would have taught anyway so I never had to attend the classes since I already knew all that." After his indifferent explanation the young cadet shrugged his shoulders again looking and acting in that moment very much like his good ole "Uncle Cloud" when the later was obviously trying to leave some of the truth untold, pretending to think it was unimportant.

"How about you, Cloud?" Angeal was curious about Cloud's experience and that curiosity was shared to an even greater extent by Sephiroth, whose gaze snapped up and over to the blond SOLDIER as soon as Angeals question reached his ears.

"There was no school in Nibelheim when I was there either and it seems that there has been no improvement in that area." He looked at his nephew as he continued, "I study up on more advanced subjects when time allows on my travels."

Cloud felt his head spinning a bit, he had never attended those classes either and also depended on his Ma for any instruction he'd received, did this mean he'd hit the nail on the head about the cadets being bullied back home? All the boy's dismissing gestures only served to further confirm his suspicions.

Genesis blanched, It just shouldn't be possible for someone as powerful, clever and yes, intelligent as this blonde warrior before him to be practically illiterate, it just didn't make any sense. He'd be damned if he allowed such a thing to occur again in this young cadet's life.

"Well then, cadet, we will simply have to tutor you."

Spike whipped his head around sharply enough to give the poor kid whiplash and stared dumbly at the red commander; his innocent blue eyes, still free of mako glow, were as wide as the saucers for his ma's favorite tea cups. But Genesis failed to notice as he had already begun typing on his PHS checking the cadet's and his own schedule for compatible times apparently.

"I am extremely fond of the subject Literature in particular, so if, by any chance, you happen to be taking that class, I will gladly tutor you, but should you have problems with any of your other subjects feel free to consult with me about those as well."

"Umm...but sir..."

"I have looked up your schedule as well as my own and it would seem we are both free next Thursday we will start the tutoring sessions then."

"Wow...that was fast, Genesis!" Exclaimed Zack.

"Are you sure, Gen? You have never taken an interest in even training before, much less tutoring one."

Genesis scoffed and waved away all the questions and obvious doubts, he could now see in the eyes of all who were present, with his elegant fingers.

"This is special case a chance to make a difference in an area I deem important and I am interested in. I have the needed time to spare. So why not?"

Genesis swept his hair out of his eyes, a gesture solely his, and continued, "Plus it would be an opportunity to way lay at least to some degree the 'all brawn, no brains' label that has all too often been stuck upon SOLDIERs as a whole... due to certain antics of a few." He glanced to Zack, with little thought of subtlety in case anyone had not realized he had been referring to the puppy's frequently reckless, bordering on idiotic stunts.

Zack, meanwhile, would have protested quite loudly if he were not busy trying not to choke on the drink he currently had coming out of his nose.

Cloud evidently did not want to know what was going inside the mind of the auburn haired male and simply decided to keep his own opinions on the matter too himself for the time being, but really, the very last thing he needed was for Genesis to corrupt his younger self in the many unthinkable ways that he could not the least of which causing the young man to become similarly obsessed over LOVELESS. Cloud didn't care how great the poem supposedly was. The whole tutoring idea also did not bode well with regards to the appearance of favoritism and the possible bullying backlash it might create.

However, Cloud could see, by the look in the young cadet's eyes and his slightly slack jaw as he continued to gaze upon his hero, that his worries were not enough of a reason to deny this opportunity to the boy. Of course, his younger counterpart would be thrilled at the idea of being taught by his idol but he couldn't help it if in the back of his mind there was still concern over it looking like favoritism and how Cloud's peers would react. He also worried over the imposition this may become for Genesis, regardless of it being at his insistence.

If there was one ideal that was ingrained in Cloud's personality it was his aversion to bothering others and his fierce determination to rely only on himself. It had drilled into his young mind by his Ma deeper and more indelibly than any drill sergeant could have ever hoped to have achieved. So for now he resigned himself to keeping a sharp eye on Genesis and these tutorial sessions, as well as his nephew's life down in the barrack.

"Thank you, Sir!" His younger self seemed to be grateful and amazed even if still a bit unsure.

Genesis, again, waved absently and simply said, "Thank me later after have worked hard enough to have succeeded. I expect diligence from you and no complaints. Understand that this will be a lot of hard work."

Zack laughed cheekily, "Looks like you're getting a raw deal, Spike!"

"Won't this be somewhat of a problem?" Sephiroth asked, keeping the tone of his voice neutral.

Cloud, however, was still able to surmise that his mind had no doubt been thinking along the same lines as his own.

Genesis raised eyebrow in frustrated defiance "I have the time, he has the time, so what's the problem." He asked curtly. Genesis took the general's question to be a thinly veiled ploy to prevent his tutoring the boy out of jealousy and really jealousy no was simply not becoming of the General.

"I am merely concerned about whether this could wind up being viewed by some as favoritism or not."

The calm sentence from Sephiroth in effect seemed to douse everyone in the room with a nice big bucket of ice cold water, as they were rudely just reminded that such a possibility did indeed exist.

Sephiroth fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose like some dusty old librarian and sighed "I personally have no objection to the Commander's tutoring you but in the face these unusual circumstances I feel I must ask...Do you have any sort of… problems with your peers?"

The question was finally out not from Cloud's mouth, he thought somewhat sheepishly, but after few moments he decided that it was probably better that the question had come up more naturally as a relevant part of the conversation rather than him just springing it on him out of the blue some time.

"Um...there's a few I guess–" His voice was soft and hesitant. Spike looked troubled, not knowing which choice was better; he could either lie or say the truth. Cloud could practically feel the cadet's conflicting thoughts as they battled in his head, being that he had once been in the very same position.

"What?" yelled Zack, as he jumped to his feet "Why is it that I know nothing about this? Spike, why didn't you say something?"

"Because... mostly it's just stupid kid stuff, like name calling. I'm used to it and I can handle it myself."

The cadet shrugged once again, the frown he wore on his face was a mixture of irritation and utter embarrassment at not being thought able to handle this matter on his own; he deserved a little more credit than that and while it was true that most of the incidents were only verbal taunts, there had been some close calls he had luckily managed to avoid when some of the bullies decided to get physical. If they found out about that he'd be escorted by one of them everywhere he went like some baby that needed his hand held. Ha! He'd be lucky if they let him visit the latrine by himself. So he stubbornly kept his silence on the matter.

Damn, Angeal could feel himself sobering up more every moment; he suspected that there was more going on than what their cadet friend was telling them; but seeing the boy had clammed up like a clam, he could only think to say, "Well...as long as you're sure you can handle it, we will leave it to you for now. However, if this bullying becomes something more dangerous than what you truly can handle, you should report to your superior or to Zack or Kunsel here. Do you understand, cadet?"

"Yes, Sir." Spike nodded solemnly.

It would seem the accursed, yet admirable stubbornness of Strife's really was a family trait after all, thought Angeal.

With that the whole matter was closed and they gratefully talked about anything else.

It was almost nine when Spike jumped up suddenly in a panic as he had just been assaulted by the reappearance of rule number two of the ShinRa cadet handbook which had inconveniently been missing from his mind until now; said rule stated in no uncertain terms that all cadets without the prior knowledge and approval of their superior and not assigned to some work detail that would keep them from fulfilling this rule are required to adhere to a barracks curfew. And he was late.

Zack and Kunsel decided it would be best to accompany him back should there be any problems despite the onslaught of protests from the tardy cadet.

Before they could excuse themselves, Cloud asked his younger self, "Are you free tomorrow?"

Numerous spikes, much longer than his own, were caused to bob up and down in synch with the movement of young Cloud's head as the cadet nodded his affirmation.

"Have your training gear ready and wait for me in the cafeteria at 09.00. We'll be using the SOLDIER training room"

"Uh...but..."

"You will be with me and we'll have less audience." He shrugged.

Spike nodded and said sheepishly, "Okay."

Cloud however, only nodded, "Good night, Cloud."

Both the usually talkative Firsts were taking certain measures not to mention the issue of bullying anymore, so that the night's pleasant atmosphere would not be sullied by either the grim topic itself or by their over-protective tendencies toward the young blond cadet. After all it would not be fair to ruin his first night out simply because they were still very unsettled by the news that incidents of bullying, in which the blond had been targeted, had managed to slip unseen and unheard passed their radars. And they both had every intention of seriously looking into the matter.

Meanwhile, back in the rapidly re-oxygenating office of General Sephiroth

"Gonna teach him some self-defense moves while you're training?"

Cloud looked up at Angeal and shrugged but said nothing as he collected the empty glasses, mind and muscle worked automatically like they had done so long ago when was still helping Tifa at the bar.

"Were you bullied too?" Angeal was certainly sharp. Not much if anything got past him. And if he knew…the others likely knew as well.

"Were-being the keyword." He answered in an unintentionally, but unavoidably clipped tone of voice.

Genesis strangely chuckled, "Of course it is, seeing how you carry that giant sword now, it's no wonder, who would be stupid enough to bully now, besides our dear Sephiroth that is."

Sephiroth sighed with a sense of frustration that said this was an often debated subject that he no longer wished to debate or as most would put it, a sore subject, "I do not bully him. I was merely asking for a spar."

Genesis laughed out loud at his friend's social ineptitude giving Cloud a chance to turn his attention towards Angeal, whom he began to discreetly, but thoroughly inspect.

It has already been several months since he had given the cure to Angeal. And though the cure was successful there were still some minor lingering signs of his degradation remaining. It could have been worse though and all in all he looked pretty healthy, but Cloud still could not help but ask, after all he needed his help with something.

"How was your scheduled check-up?"

Angeal raised an eyebrow in surprise. This was another topic that could be considered a sore subject and Angeal went to great lengths to make sure that it died shortly after they got back to Midgar, but seeing the serious way blond was currently appraising him Angeal decided to allow it. He took a moment to feel about his body with his mind and after sensing no signs of degradation, he replied, "I'm fine and the lab results have come out fine too."

Cloud nodded his approval and his relief was apparent in his eyes.

"Why do you ask, is something the matter, Cloud?"

Cloud looked up toward and found the other three staring at him with concern,

"Ah, no. It's good to hear that. I just want to make sure before..."

"Before?"

"Do you have time for a spar tomorrow, Angeal?"

The request had surprised the three of them into silence as Cloud usually sparred with Sephiroth.

"Uh..." Angeal stammered for he was surprised and still surprised, "Of course, tomorrow's my day off. When do you want to have it?"

"In the training room, around noon would be good if that's agreeable; I have it reserved for private use too."

"What about your nephew?"

"It's fine. With what I have planned for him and his current level of conditioning he'll be more than happy to just sit and watch by the time you arrive. I'm hoping that he'll learn something."

"I see. A few pointers and some practice during your training and then you and I let him see the how the moves work in a real fight? Not bad."

Cloud frowned a bit, wondering if this too might be looked upon as favoritism in the highly competitive world of SOLDIER training. But he could not resign himself to do nothing and the least he could do was train the boy a little, so that his younger self could better defend himself against the bullies, at least somewhat better than he had been able to. The damage caused to a person's self confidence could be very serious as a result of the mindless cruelty of others and while he did not wish to coddle his younger self, since some amount of hardship would be beneficial in the long run, he really wished the boy would not have to share such bad memories.

"I just wish..." There was an uncomfortable silence before Cloud mumbled out the rest of his sentence which was only heard because of SOLDIER's enhanced hearing. "... I could somehow spare him from the bad memories." The three of them understood the simple wish as each of them could relate it to themselves in some way.

Looking at this Cloud standing here before them, and thinking that if he was anything like the young cadet is now, back when he was his age, then it was not that hard to see, how the lean, slight and border line feminine look of his body and the angelic innocence of his face would have, no doubt, made him a prime target for bullying, or even worse, out and out sexual assaults. In a virtually all male military environment such as this, where hormones and stress ran rampant, and relief for such was few and far between, it was an all too common occurrence.

Wordlessly, the three of them vowed to keep their eyes on the still young and still innocent cadet as much as possible. Zack and Kunsel, they were sure, had already resigned themselves to do the same. After all, they still owed a certain little guy and owed him big with regards to the whole Nibelheim debacle.

The first thing they had to do was assure the blond that none of this was favoritism of any kind.

"It is not considered as unethical to facilitate the understanding of class materials unless evaluation details of an explicit nature are being divulged." Sephiroth stated neutrally.

"I am in complete understanding of the parameters in which I need to keep and I'm still intending to tutor him nevertheless." Genesis said, as he brushed the bangs off his face; it was a familiar, dramatic gesture that said his decision was set in stone.

"And by the way, you won't mind us tagging along to your spar as spectators?" Genesis inquired, but it was less a question than a statement of intent and one that booked no argument at that.

Cloud duly nodded as he proceeded to wash the glasses, relieved that perhaps they understood the weight of responsibility behind this simple act.

The following morning saw Cloud well rested and quite refreshed. Looking at the clock, he saw that he still had half and an hour to prepare himself for the day. First he took a hot shower and changed into his usual clothes minus the shoulder guard and the black sash that covered his left leg, just his black turtleneck and his black pants along with his sword harness. He hefted his blade which still had his materia slotted and placed it in the harness. Lastly, he grabbed his keys and other various essential belongings and headed out the door. He walked toward the cafeteria and found it to be deserted as he strolled up to the counter and grabbed two of the sandwiches they were serving. He also took a cup of hot water before heading to a spot he had scouted out earlier to sit down and wait. He pulled a tea bag he had purchased in Wutai out and plunked it into the hot water, he was quite relieved he had thought to make the purchase since everyone knew that Shinra's tea was simply awful,

He ate slowly, anticipating the coming spar with Angeal, as well as, giving defense instruction to his younger counterpart. He still had a lot to talk about with his younger version, especially about those bullies and whether it truly had not yet escalated to physical, still he suspected, that young Cloud was indeed trying to hide the truth out of the same sense of misguided shame that he had felt.

Soon he was joined by his younger version, who had also chose two sandwiches and steered clear of any tea or coffee served by Shinra, opting for plain hot water. With tray in hand he moved to join his uncle on the opposite seat.

"Good morning, uncle."Was the polite greeting he received, that and a small, but ready smile.

Cloud nodded and murmured his own greeting. He offered his nephew another tea bag which was gratefully accepted by him.

They both ate in silence since neither would ever be accused of being talkative. After some minutes had passed and Spike had all but completely devoured his sandwiches, he timidly asked his uncle.

"Are you going to instruct me?"

Cloud looked up from his cup and nodded, "Just few pointers here and there, nothing much."

His nephew chewed on the remainder of his last sandwich thoughtfully.

Cloud hesitated a moment before finally forcing out his next sentence.

"How bad are they bothering you?"

His nephew looked up at him seeming lost until his brain caught up with the question he'd been asked.

"Not too bad." He shook his head whilst shrugging a petite shoulder. "Usually they just call me stupid names."

"You said usually... does that mean they've actually hurt you a time or two?"

This time his nephew looked a bit surprised and then he shook his head firmly, "No. I was able to avoid them."

Cloud nodded in approval at the young man's self-control. It was a good thing to know when to make a strategic retreat. Running away for greater good was not a cowardly act and knowing that would be beneficial in the long term.

"Good."

He knew in his heart though that his nephew, just like he did at his age, felt like a coward and was ashamed that he avoided his adversaries, instead of standing up to and fighting them and in truth there would be little Cloud could do to convince him that avoiding fights such as these was much more beneficial than actually fighting them, even if one was assured of winning the brawl. That sort of understanding came only through age and experience, even though one may have been told a thousand times in the past; it will mean nothing to us until one have experienced enough to finally believe. But he would still try.

"It is not cowardly to avoid fights that would be fought for no good reason."

There was no real indication whether his nephew had even heard his statement, he only knew that his chewing had slowed slightly, but no words were uttered in response.

"I was bullied too you know, a long time ago."

Blue eyes, as wide as the day was young, stared at him as if he suddenly sprouted wings on his back.

"You?" Spike whispered in utter disbelief.

"Yes."

"Did you...?"

"Run?"

"Absolutely, it helped ensure I'd be around to train and learn to become what I am today, and today I almost never run."

The silence between them was thick for a moment before Cloud sighed, "There are times when you finally have to stand up and fight just to put a stop to it all, but sometimes, it just isn't worth it."

Young Cloud finished his sandwich and said, "Thank you, Uncle."

Cloud only nodded and wordlessly finished his breakfast, feeling a little lighter after offering his counsel to his younger self. He hoped that in some way the bullying would not be so hard on him anymore.

~End~

Author's note:

1. Continuation from Friends

2. It won't make any sense if you do not read Sinnatious' The Fifth Act, so go read it first. It was an awesome piece!

3. Reviews are very much welcomed ^.^