A/N: Omg, I cannot believe I waited so damn long to update this story. T.T Ah, but my other stories needed love… THAT'S MY EXCUSE AND I'M STICKING TO IT!

Ah ha… yeah. Don't mind that. In fact, just ignore it altogether. I find my mood-swings quite annoying as well. -.-; This story is definitely one of my favs to work on at the moment, but I am thinking about shortening it. 20 chapters? Am I out of my mind (considering all the other stories I have to work on, yeah I probably am)? So that may be something to look forward to. Though I would definitely miss Socially-Awkward-and-Deviously-Sexy!Sephiroth and Paranoid-but-still-so-Oblivious-and-Cute!Cloud. They've become so precious to me. :(

Oh well. XD Just get to reading missy/mister! (I don't judge! :3)

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the FF/KH/Squeenix universe nor do I own "Breathe" by Michelle Branch (yeah, cuz that wasn't obvious or anything…) I just owns ze plot. Boo hoo.

"I've been driving for an hour

Just talking to the rain…

You say I've been driving you crazy

And it's keeping you away!

So just give me one good reason;

Tell me why I should stay!

'Cause I don't wanna waste another moment

In saying things we never meant to say.

And I take it just a little bit,

I hold my breath and count to ten,

I've been waiting for a chance to let you in-

If I just breathe;

Let it fill the space between,

I'll know everything is alright.

Breathe-

Every little piece of me,

You'll see,

Everything is alright!

If I just breathe…"

-"Breathe" by Michelle Branch

Title: When You Walk Away

Chapter Nine: Breathe

The heavy feeling of being stared at only intensified as Cloud's day continued to pass. Blue eyes seemed to develop a permanent twitch as the schoolboy found himself continually looking over his shoulder, the whites of his eyes becoming streaked with red veins.

'WHAT THE HELL?'

It was really starting to take its toll on the poor boy.

Slinging his book-bag over his shoulder, the usually-broody boy slammed his locker shut and quickly strode into the mass of bodies strung along the floors of the school's hallways. Paranoid blue eyes shifting every which way every other second, Cloud quickly made his way into his English class and ducked into his usual seat. His teacher, a tall red-head with his head stuck in his usual book, Loveless, barely waved his hand as he leaned back into his chair and kept reading, teal-green eyes scanning the words in front of them with a flourish only a man like Genesis Rhapsodos could have.

'Final class of the day, Cloud. Final class of the day!'

-And then he'd have to go meet up with Sephiroth, who was probably already outside waiting for the high-school student, ready to molest him at any moment's notice.

'… … … … Shit.'

Letting his head fall onto the smooth surface of his desk, Cloud didn't even notice as the same pair of sea-green eyes that had been formerly scanning the book in front of them lifted themselves up from the page and began to dissect him piece by piece. Narrowing slightly in grim satisfaction Genesis snapped his book shut just as the bell rang; a multitude of students rushed inside the tiny classroom and sat themselves into their normal seating arrangements as the final echoes of the bell settled into complete and total silence.

25 pairs of eyes didn't even flinch as Genesis let his lanky legs fall onto the ground and stood up, smirking almost deviously at the children sweating buckets in pure nervousness.

"So… about last night's homework. We'll be having a pop quiz on it today along with a two-page summary on what you read last night. I'll be expecting your five page essays on the value of literature tomorrow as well…"

A series of groans and moans met Genesis' ears in smooth symphony of sound, his smirk transforming into a large malicious grin.

'God, I love being a teacher.'

"What's the matter Aerith?"

Aerith smiled as she stared up at her professor, the older woman's kind eyes brightening her day immensely. Elfè, a strong demanding professor with a knack for a rough aptitude towards undisciplined behaviors and crude language, hid a disarming smile behind her world-weary eyes. Knowing just how much grief Aerith hid behind her own calm gaze, she knew she was a bit more lenient towards the quiet girl than she was towards others within her class but she just could not help it. There was something about Aerith that inspired peace and tranquility, even when the young 18-year-old was anything but.

"You look down today." Elfè smiled cautiously. "You know you can talk to me about it."

"I'm just worried whether I'm doing the right things by Cloud." Aerith admitted quietly. "Perhaps I am pushing this growing relationship with Sephiroth a bit too much. He may not be ready for such intimacy just yet and I don't want either of them to get their hopes for nothing."

"From what you've told me about Cloud, it seems as though he needs the rough treatment." Elfè pat the discouraged teen on the shoulder, knowing just how rough Aerith could be on herself when she doubted her own decisions. "He's overly cautious and doesn't want to take chances… it took him this long to even begin to open up to you, God knows how long it would take to open up to somebody else, especially somebody like Sephiroth. I don't think you're doing the wrong thing here, Aerith and especially not for the wrong reasons."

"So… I'm not hurting him, right?" Aerith squeaked out, leaning back against her desk as she squeezed her books against her ample chest.

"I didn't say that. But in this case… maybe that's for the best. He needs to learn that with taking chances comes the sometimes inevitable hurt that goes along with them." Backing away from the broody brunette in front of her, Elfè shrugged her shoulders. "Besides, even he does get hurt, it wouldn't be your fault. It's really up to Sephiroth whether Cloud gets hurt here or not."

"He's been hurt enough…" Aerith began before cutting herself off. Cloud's business was really not hers to tell and she had been vocal enough to her teacher without having to resort to digging deeper within Cloud's past so that the older woman could understand just why Cloud was as paranoid as he was and just why she was as worried as she was. "But it's nothing. I suppose I can only continue to do what I've been doing and protect Cloud the best I can."

"By doing what?" Elfè chuckled at the thought of Aerith being so defensive for anybody but her father. 'But Cloud's her brother now… what else could you expect from somebody who holds family to such a high regard like Aerith does?'

"By watching Sephiroth of course. And making sure he doesn't do anything… untoward to my baby brother." Aerith smiled sweetly, the vicious gleam within her pure green eyes scaring even Elfè. "I'll see you tomorrow professor! Thank you for making me feel better!"

Elfè laughed nervously as she watched the now perky brunette skip out of her classroom, sweat running down the back of her neck.

'I do not wish to be in Sephiroth's position right now…'

"Alright. Class dismissed everyone-" Genesis stated as he cleared the chalkboard of all the unnecessary notes he had wrote in as the students behind him rushed towards the door like a herd of animals. "Except for you, Strife."

Cloud gulped, almost dropping his book as a pair of piercing turquoise-colored eyes met his own deep blue over the teacher's shoulder. "I need to speak with you, Cloud."

'FUCKING FISHSTICKS!'

"Of course, sir." Cloud pulled on one of his golden-yellow bangs and smiled unsteadily. Making his way (incredibly slowly of course) towards the still-erasing teacher perched in front of the chalkboard, the fidgety blond felt his smile slowly fray at the edges as small puffs of dust infiltrated his nostrils and made him cough into his sleeve. "What… did you need to… talk about Mr. Rhapsodos?"

"According to a very rambunctious puppy currently living with me, it's been brought to my attention that Sephiroth has finally begun courting you." Genesis spoke steadily, as if he had rehearsed all of this beforehand. "Zack believes that you are the one that everyone should be concerned about. I do not know much about your past-"

Cloud opened his mouth-

"Nor do I care to know to be quite honest." Only to shut it a second later, a grateful look perched within his face. "However, I am prone to think otherwise. You see, Sephiroth, as much as I loathe to admit it, is my friend. And I have known him long enough to be able to tell that this is the first time he has ever put in the effort to win someone over, let along put in the effort to care about someone other than the people who force themselves onto him (i.e. Zackary, of course). He is… not quite normal and I'm quite sure you've noticed all this before the two of you even began this… whatever it is you're doing."

Putting down the eraser (which had left heavy white stains on his manicured hand), Genesis gave Cloud the most intimidating glare he could muster (which was pretty freaking scary to a 16-year-old teenager with paranoia issues). "Sephiroth is not the most competent person socially and he may either come off as too strong or too indifferent. This is not on purpose. This is not his fault. Do you understand what I am trying to tell you in letting you know this?"

"Um… no…"

"I'll make this clear, then, so that even you may understand. If I so much as hear that you've broken the man's heart, even if accidentally, or for a misunderstanding or just on a fucking whim, I will make sure that the rest of the time you spend in this high-school will be a living hell. I will do everything in my power to keep you here and enjoy the mental anguish you'll be forced into because of that fact. Sephiroth is not to be played with, and if so, that privilege belongs to me and me alone. Now do you understand what I am trying to say Cloud or do I need to further specify?"

"Y-yeah…" Cloud squeaked out; face flushed and full of fear. "Got it!"

"Good. I'm glad we've had this chat! I feel as if we understand each other so much better now! Wait till I tell Angeal just how great this talk was!" Genesis grinned, face nowhere near as frightening as it had been just five seconds before. "You're dismissed, Strife! I'm sure Sephiroth is already outside and waiting! Remember what we talked aboooout!"

The young schoolboy simply nodded, backing away from the bipolar school teacher like a skittish animal about to attacked. As soon as he hit the hallway, Cloud shut the door closed behind him and ran down to his locker. Eyes wide and full of panic, Cloud could only imagine just how scary Sephiroth himself was when he was in full-defense mood if his friends were as intimidating as they were without him.

Genesis on the other hand simply smirked, wiping his hands on one of his student's tests. Picking up his favorite book, the redheaded English teacher hummed under his breath as he returned to his former passage.

'And Angeal says I don't know how to talk to people. Ha! My social skills beat Sephiroth's and Zack's by far!'

Sadly enough, Genesis did not see anything wrong with comparing himself to two of the most socially-deficient people within Midgar and continued on with his reading with a large grin on his face.

Sephiroth sighed as he leaned back against the school gate, his tall figure doing little to bring attention away from himself. Long silver hair glistened spectacularly where it lay over his leather-clad shoulder, primly kept under control in the form of a long loose braid. Green eyes sparkled, lengthy irises expanding as Cloud's form finally evacuated the school and marched towards his lackadaisical figure. Shrugging off his own jacket so that his loose white tee-shirt could be seen, Sephiroth did not think anything of the strange look nestled within Cloud's expression as the boy practically glomped his side as soon as he was close enough and held onto his arm.

"Cloud…?"

"You," Cloud muttered underneath his breath "have the craziest fucking friends ever!"

"Uh… ok?" Sephiroth blinked, not quite sure how to respond to his companion's sudden bought of affection and cursing. "I suppose this is true. May I ask what brought that along, Cloud?"

"No." The boy answered quietly, leading them both towards his house. "Only know that it's true and so far all of them creep me the hell out."

"I doubt there isn't anything about me that doesn't creep you out, Cloud." Sephiroth murmured back at the blond hanging off of his arm. "My friends, I believe, are the least of my concerns."

"It's not-you just… argh." Cloud shoved himself away from the tall man, eyes burning with righteous anger. "You are just so hard to understand! One minute you're all apathetic about everything, as if you don't care about anything I say or do and the next minute you're affectionate and look as if what I say means the world to you, as if I could break you or something… I just can't keep up with you Sephiroth. You confuse me!"

"What about my liking you has to be confusing, Cloud?" Sephiroth plainly asked. "I wish for you to be mine. There is nothing confusing about my intentions. I admit that my social inadequacies are less than stellar but I am willing to improve upon them for both of our sakes if you would give me the chance to show you that I mean everything that I say."

"I just… don't understand. Why do you keep playing with me like this?" Cloud whispered. "I'm not… anything special."

"You have said that to me once before Cloud and I am inclined to disagree. You are special. I know it to be true."

"You don't know anything about me." Cloud replied truthfully. "And you smothering me isn't helping anything!"

"I am not-"

"YES YOU ARE." The blue-eyed teen practically huffed out. "Following me around, asking me personal questions out of the blue, KISSING ME WITHOUT PERMISSION! You are killing me! I don't even know what the hell we are or what you really want; telling me you want to be with me answers nothing! How can I trust you, Sephiroth, when I barely even know you?"

"How can I get to know you if you won't even give me the chance to do so?" The solemn look on Sephiroth's face made it all the more intimidating, a pang of fear spiraling up Cloud's spine as he froze where he stood. "I am attempting to accommodate my methods to your personality but your mood swings make it exceedingly difficult to do so. I am trying the best I can, Cloud. What else can I do to make you see that I am serious about getting to know and having you get to know me as well?"

"You can be yourself, Sephiroth." Large blue eyes began to water lightly as the 16-year-old student shoved his hands into his jacket gave the older man a small smile. "Just… be yourself. And maybe things won't be like this."

"I don't think you want that." Sephiroth lamented. "I am not exactly… normal."

"Psh. As if any of the people in this city or mentally stable." Cloud grinned. "Including me."

"So… does this mean that you'll actually give me a chance now?"

Cloud gave the 21-year-old college student a penetrating stare, blond locks of hair slumped around his face as if to imitate Cloud's earlier depressive state. "I don't think I'll ever be able to fully trust you, Sephiroth. There's just something about you that puts me off, but… I can try to if you promise to stop stalking me wherever I go and actually try to have some semblance of a relationship with me."

"I am sure such arrangements could be made." Sephiroth muttered without hesitation, shucking his leather jacket over his shoulder. Cloud grinned as he halted his steps and allowed the older man's free arm to come around his shoulders. A small but incredibly bright blush flourished over the teenager's cheeks as they continued their way to Cloud's home, not noticing the devious smirk growing against Sephiroth's lips.

Cloud had asked that he not stalk him but said nothing about pursuing him discreetly. All Sephiroth had to do was make sure that he didn't get caught, and with someone as moodily oblivious as Cloud as prey, it wouldn't even be a challenge. After all, how long had he been watching the boy without so much as a twitch in his direction?

The strange serpentine smile stayed on Sephiroth's lips even as he dropped the young boy off at his home and was given another gentle smile for his efforts. Though it would take a bit more time, Sephiroth knew that he was incredibly close to breaking through the blond's suspicious nature and claim him fully for his own. Tapping the cell-phone settled within his pocket, Sephiroth felt the smirk on his lips lengthen to epic proportions.

'Oh… Zack is not going to believe this.'

"YOU DID WHAT?"

And Sephiroth could always pride himself on being right if nothing else.

"Yes…" The older man crooned out into the phone's receiver, lying prone on his bed. "And he was quite receptive towards me once our situation was cleared up."

"Seph, no offense, but I don't think this is a good idea."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"… … … It's just… you come off a little… strong sometimes."

"Everyone keeps saying that…" Sephiroth grumbled to himself. "I have no idea what it is you all are talking about."

"You have got to be fucking kidding me, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth winced. You knew things were going downhill once Zack used his full name.

"Did you conveniently forget about all those 'wrong place, wrong time' quotations that you do? Or the random facial expressions that you pull out of your ass at the most inconvenient of times; so random that even I at times have to wonder where you come up with them? Or your violent tendencies? Demanding personality? Do I really need to keep going because I'm pretty sure the both of us know I can."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes after the first sentence, beginning to feel a bit more inadequate with each passing word.

"Well I apologize for being the way I am but your way of doing things is not working Zackary! Cloud plain as day stated that your way was, and I use your phrase here, 'freaking him the fuck out!'." Taking in a deep breath, Sephiroth thought back on the look on Cloud's face as he opened up to him for the first actual time in the face of actually progressing with their venture into a relationship. "Being his friend is not enough for me Zack. I need this, and something tells me that he does too."

"… … And so the pupil has surpassed the teacher."

"Don't be an idiot Zack." Sephiroth muttered with a red face that his friend could not see, the howling laughter on the other end making him feel better despite the fact it was aimed at his own self. Glancing over at the clock beside him, Sephiroth wondered what Cloud was doing.

'Soon, I won't even have to wonder.' The silver-haired man snickered within his head, clicking the phone shut once Zack's annoying guffaws began to seriously irritate his sensitive eardrums. 'Soon, he'll be right where he belongs…'

"Dad! You're home." Cloud exclaimed as he leapt the final step inside and smiled over at his adopted father, the large grin on Gast's face blinding both Aerith, who was sitting on her couch reading her Chemistry book, and Cloud with its toothy glow. "I thought you would be at the lab today!"

"Ah, I'm supposed to be, but it can wait." Gast waved the boy's concern off with an absentminded grin. "I actually wanted to have a talk with you first Cloud, if you don't mind."

"Ah…" Already knowing just what it was that was on his father's mind, Cloud internally cringed at the thought of having to speak about these types of things with his adoptive parent. "Do I… have to?"

"Not if you don't want to, but…" One look at Gast's put-down face broke Cloud's resolve before it even had a chance to actually build itself up.

"Fine!" Tugging the scientist into the kitchen, Cloud flopped into the nearest chair and nervously tugged on a stray piece of blond hair. "W-what did you want to talk about?"

"This… thing you have going with Sephiroth," Cloud quietly gulped as his father fiddled with his glasses, "is it serious, Cloud?"

"Um… I don't really… know." Gast gave the boy a look. "I don't! He just… and I just… why are you asking me this anyway?"

"You're my son aren't you? Can't I protect you once in awhile?"

Cloud blinked as he lowered his head shamefully, his heart racing both painfully and yet…

"Shouldn't you be more worried about him? You've known him longer after all…"

"As much as I consider Sephiroth family, he is still not my son. I know all there is to know about Sephiroth just as I know all there is to know about you, Cloud. If you'll let me, I'd like to help you and… be there for you if nothing else."

Smiling to himself as laid a hand over his head and ruffled his wayward golden locks, Cloud cast aside all of his hesitations and looked his father in the eye. "I'm confused and he's done nothing to really clear up the mess within my mind but I think that even if we're not serious now, it's a possibility that we could be in the future. Does that… does that bother you? If you say so, I'll stop seeing him! I'll do whatever it is you think is right"

"Just do what you think is best, Cloud. The only thing I wish for is for you to be happy." Gast gave his son a pat on the back. "Everything else should fall right into place once you do."

Giving the older man a smothered grin, Cloud once again wondered what he could have done to deserve such a caring family.

'This can't be temporary.' A warm voice echoed his inner-most feelings. 'Not anymore.'

Next Day…

"Sephiroth?" Cloud blinked as he opened the front door of his home, the morning sun managing to crawl through the bland gray skies signifying the coming of winter. "You're… here."

"I wished to walk you to school." Digging his hands into the pockets of his leather duster, Sephiroth flinched as Cloud's eyebrow shot up to his hairline. "I would have called your cell-phone but I didn't wish to awaken you so I… waited for you."

Cloud once again blinked.

"How long have you been standing here, Sephiroth?"

"Only a couple of hours. It was quite refreshing to tell you the truth." Sephiroth smirked as the young boy smacked himself on the head, mumbling something about creepy college students and their lack of sensibilities.

Sephiroth could only assume he was speaking about Zack.

"Time to go?"

Instead of being intensely weirded-out by the much larger silver-haired man, Cloud felt a smile burst along the tips of his lips. Grabbing Sephiroth's hand and clasping it between his fingers, he somehow felt lighter. Ignoring the shocked gape Sephiroth sported as they walked down his balcony steps, Cloud leaned in just a bit closer than necessary towards his newly-acquired 'friend'(/boyfriend but who was keeping track?).

Oblivious to the victorious smirk once again decorating Sephiroth's lips, Cloud continued onto school with a large grin on his usually-blank face and a hopeful outlook on a wholly unknown future.

For once, Cloud could say he was closest to happiness than he had been in a long, long time.