Disclaimer: All characters used are copyrighted to Square Enix and Tetsuya Nomura. I just use them for my own personal fan created fanfictional writing and your amusements.
AN: Alright, alright, alright! I'll stop posting random new Fanfics and start work on Editing these chapters so that you guys can EVENTUALLY get an Ending. XP Yeah, I haven't forgotten about this. Its just that music is a siren in my ears to work on putting together Gameplay footage to music and post the videos on my YouTube Channel. And my inspiration is wanting to fly South as soon as Summer ends and Fall hits.
Time had been given enough for Sephiroth to realize, that there was something there about the young man he had encountered. It became more and more apparent as he turned over and over in his fingers, a card holding Cloud's phone number on it. Unconsciously, he had seen himself dialing it and speaking to the young man. No restrictions, no one to disturb them, just, a conversation. With a young man that had stolen his attention.
Or as his subconscious was calling it, his heart.
Twirling it about in his fingers, he decided it was time to take the chance to just call the number. As he listened to it ring and ring, he started to wonder if it was a bad decision. When someone picked up the phone and answered, he couldn't tell if it was the one he was calling, "Is there a Cloud…Strife…"Sephiroth turned the card that he had written down Cloud's name and number down onto over and over in his fingers, "…there?"
"Depends. Who wants to know? This is best friend in the whole world and roommate, Zack Fair, maybe I can help you?" Zack inquired as he played with the phone his shoulder, "First off, what's your name? Because I don't think Cloud likes talking to random strangers. Hell, he hardly likes to talk on the phone, let alone to his own Mother."
"ZACK!"
Sephiroth could hear the squawk of the boy screaming at the boy on the other end, a hidden chuckle danced on his lips, "My name is Sephiroth Maximus, and I'm just calling to talk to him because I had a run in with him this afternoon at the local Cafe an-"
"OH! So you're the one he ended up ditchign Angeal and I for, huh?" Zack turned towards a turning red Cloud, who was trying hard to hide behind the laptop screen, "And, what are your intentions with my best friend?"
"Excuse me?" Sephiroth seemed a little taken back by Zack's words; he hardly knew Cloud, and here this young man was asking about his intentions with the blond, "Um, I just wanted to ask him if he would join me for coffee later this week to just talk."
Zack looked towards Cloud, noticing that Cloud had been listening to the conversation, "I see, well, if that's all this is about, then...I guess I can pass the details onto Cloud and he can get back to yo-"
"Sorry about that," Cloud muttered through gritted teeth as he took the phone from Zack, "...I...I...I would love to talk to you later this week, but, it might have to be this weekend. My week is packed with School, and I need the time to get used to the new place I'm in."
"I understand, and I'm just as busy this week. I'm wrapping up some work related to releasing a new book soon."
Not wanting to sound like a complete fan, Cloud turned away from Zack who was trying to ease drop, "Sounds exciting...I really like your works and can't wait to read your upcoming tale."
"Alright, love birds, off the phone unless this is really a pleasure call," Zack spoke through the other receiver.
"OFF. ZACK!" Cloud shouted, causing Sephiroth to pull the phone away from his ear.
Angeal had to fight off snickering at the young man's actions as he saw that Cloud was giving him the stink eye that was tied into the facial expression of, 'Are you that much of an idiot?' to add to the glare, "Because of this is a pleasure call, I'm sure I can patch you through to a good time with my good buddy, Cloud…"
Sephiroth pulled the phone away from his ear as he looked at his alter ego, "Who the hell kind of people is he associated with?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, sweetie…just keep the baboon on the other end talking, maybe he'll finally fork the phone over to your little stud muffin…"
"He's not a stud muffin…and he's not mine just yet…" Sephiroth rolled his eyes as he let his head fall back, "…DON'T you EVEN remark on that…"
"Wha…? I didn't even hear a single word you jus said…darling," but there was in some way, shape or form, a Cheshire cat sized grin starting to creep onto the man's lip glossed lips as he began to saunter out of the room, "I shall leave you to the lover boy, call me if you need any assistance, Sephy…"
The man rolled his eyes as he forgot his lips were near the mouthpiece of the cell phone, "Fruity little tart…I don't care if you're in my psyche…still as fruity as a fruit bat…"
"Me or yourself, sir," Zack had a look of utter wonder as he tried to play along with the caller, "You okay over there?"
"Yeah. Just peachy," Sephiroth sighed.
Zack's face cracked into a smirk as he hung up his end, but not before leaving a lasting impression, "HE LOOKS GOOD NAKED!"
A rip roar of laughter fell from Zack as the sound of a computer clattering to the phone, the yelp of a man about to find himself castrated and the phone being fumbled about amongst bodies, arms, limbs sofa cushions and a third party hand attempting to wrangle both the phone from crushed and parting the two men could be heard muffled over the mouthpiece. Sephiroth had every reason to be worried now as he heard muffled swears and threats of castration and posting of particular photos from a particular party where a particular person had gotten more then tipsy and had been conned into wearing a tutu and told say, 'I'm a fairy Princess, now, where is my fairy princess to get my kiss?'
Dear Gaia…what had he gotten himself into?
"GIVE ME THE DAMN PHONE!"
"LIKE HELL I WILL!"
"ZACK! CLOUD! CHILL OR NEITHER ONE OF YOU IS GETTING THE DAMN PHONE!"
"YOU'RE DEAD ZACK FAIR, YOU GOT THAT, D-E-A-D. DEAD!"
"…Um, is this is a good time?" Sephiroth grimaced as he saw the alter ego flitter back into the room as if he was an apparition or ghost that could come and go as he pleased, "…Hello?"
Angeal took hold of the phone as he kept both men in headlocks separately underneath both arms, "Just give me a few moments to get them apart and I'll hand you over to Cloud…sorry about Zackary…he doesn't know when to behave like the ill tempered and untrained Puppy he is…"
"I AM NOT A PUPPY, DAMN IT!" Zack squirmed, cursed and flailed under his Mentor/Lover's arm, "LET GO OF MY HEAD, ANGEAL!"
"Not till you learn to calm down and apologize to Cloud later," Angeal pulled his attention away from the phone as he released the Pup before putting the phone against his chest as he caught the man by the collar of his shirt, "…If you apologize nice and sweetly to Cloud later, I'll make it worth your wild later…"
Zack pouted as he ruffled his friend's head as he walked off to the Living Room to go clean up the mess they had made, "Sorry about that, Spiky…"
"None taken…"Cloud muffled out as Angeal released his head and shoved the phone into his hands.
Sephiroth took a few seconds to prepare himself to hear the voice he wanted to hear, "Things alright over there?"
"Heh...just peachy. Zack doesn't know when to keep his opinions and views about me away from others...especially when he's trying to get me "laid" as he puts it..."
The man could only chuckle, he remembered someone else who was tryign to do the same to him, "I can understand that feeling, but, if things are still too crazy for you this week, we can set something up for, two weeks from now?"
"Sounds like a good idea," Cloud nodded as noticed that Zack was waiting on bated breath for what was goign to happen next, "See you in two weeks, then?"
"Yes, until then, I guess this is good bye for now."
"Yeah..."
Both phones hung up on either end, leaving one another wondering, what had they just done? Had they just...set up a date? Zack was still struggling to get out of his lover's embrace when he saw that Cloud was silent.
"So, what's going on? You two set up a date? Or what?!" Zack struggled harder but he knew Angeal wasn't going to give up as he pulled Zack into the Living Room to clean up the mess from earlier.
Angeal listened to Zack squirm and try to get out of his grasp, "Angeal, are you listening to me?!"
"Hell if I know…" Angeal shrugged as he wandered into the Living Room, "If you need us…you're going to have to wait…I've got a Puppy to punish…"
Zack pouted as he half heartedly flailed, "Not a puppy…"
"Says you," Angeal said as he lightly pinched the raven haired man as it seemed to silence him until all that could be heard were the now and again yelps of not being ready that were then replaced by soft moans, gasps and moans which would later be replaced by a now and again giggle or soft scream.
Sephiroth composed himself, "Guess that could've gone one of two ways..."
"Oh, do tell, sweetie."
"It could've gone into a tornado of Hell with him claiming he didn't want anything to do with me...maybe even have his friend or friends tell me off."
"And the other way," the inner voice spoke up as he poked at Sephiroth, "What's the other way it could've gone, sweetie?"
Sephiroth sighed as he pocketed his phone and ran a hand through his hair, "He could've turned into one of those psycho fans I have."
"But he didn't turn those ways, he just has a lot on his plate right now, heck, he even looked a little frazzled when he met you at the Cafe this afternoon."
"Heh, either way, I guess all I can do now is..." a phone rang from the other end of the room, "Now what?"
Reaching into his pocket, he saw that it was the young man again, "You said you wanted to talk about something? Can we meet...this evening? At the Cafe from earlier?
"…Oh my gosh, Cloudy dear…are you asking him out on a da-" the alter ego shut up as a he saw the dark glare the real Cloud gave him as he made a motion of zipping his lips and throwing the key away.
Sephiroth took a second to realize what the young man was asking, "I thought you were busy the rest of the week?"
Cloud glanced back towards the Living Room where he heard the sounds of Angeal and Zack watching something on the television in the Living Room. Typical of anytime they got together in the heat of the moment. He needed to find a way to cover his tracks for why he had turned the man down earlier. Going towards his own room to talk in private, he found he could talk to the man without interruption.
"I was, but, I just need some time out of the apartment...kind of give my room mates sometime together. And I just need to get out...Being this close to happiness just...Heh..."
"How about seven o' clock tonight? I need some breathing room too, I just got through writing my latest novel and can use sometime out and about among the public in a way. And I don't think we really had an opportunity to really talk," Sephiroth began to walk the room, "It would be nice to get a fan's opinion on my work. Most of the women I talk to about my Work is just my House Cleaner and my Editor. Most of the fans I have, I can't begin to understand what they're saying."
Cloud couldn't help chuckling, he was imagining a brood of female hens hen pecking at him in their wild clucking at seeing him, "Try sharing an apartment with a childhood friend and his boyfriend. Not an easy night when you have to listen to them trying to keep quiet when they're...going at it."
Both men seemed to shudder on either end of the line, but, something in the back of each of their minds, the idea of coupling with one another in that way, seemed just right. But then again, both were new to realizing that they had feeling for the same sex.
Nonetheless, there was no harm in going out with another guy to talk, right?
At least, that's what he thought, and then again, that's how Zack ended up finding himself on the other end of a relationship with Angeal.
"Then I guess...we're going to see one another tonight at the Cafe? Same table and place as today?" Cloud inquired as he nervously chewed on his lower lip.
Sephiroth took a moment to recount what had been said, but he couldn't help imagining a scene from out of one of his tales. Instead of a woman waiting on a mystery date, he saw himself in place of the woman, or even the young blond. And in each scenario, one was waiting for the other. Like star crossed lovers that were looking for one another of the years. Trying to shake the image out of his mind, he returned to the call on the phone.
"Yeah, that should be a good place to meet. Then I guess I'll see you this evening, Mr. Strife."
Cloud fainly smiled on the other end of the line, "I guess I will, Mr. Maximus..."
"…Well, that went well…"Sephiroth shrugged the call off as he slumped into the sofa of his Living Room, leaving his phone to sit on the end table, "He seems interested enough."
"But did you even bring up what this meet up is about, Seph darling?" the inner ego was at it again as he daintily sat down on the sofa beside the man, "Or are you just going to wait to pop the question to the man?"
An awkward silence hung in the air between them until, "…Never mind what I just said…that came out wrong, Seph darling…"
Sephiroth had all but forgotten about the fact that he had just met this young man, and he had this new story idea swimming around his mind. And he had gotten it into his mind that he was going to pitch the story to this stranger. How was he going to tell this young man that just in the brief time that they had met, and realized that they were possibly falling for one another, that, he had come up with a tale based on them? Even though there wasn't a "them" just yet. It was too much, too soon. Placing his head in his hands as he sat on the nearby sofa. He needed time to think, and the flirty little gay man in his subconscious wasn't helping him any. He wish he could just shut him up long enough to think.
As he began to think, he almost found himself laughing at it all.
It was bound to happen...Genesis was gay enough for all of us...
"Hey, sweetie?"
Cocking his head up slightly, he acknowledged the voice, "Whose Genesis, sweetie? You thinking about someone else other then that cute little blond you're meeting tonight?"
"Genesis is...he's...he's someone from my past I don't want to talk about. He was one time thing in High School, my best friend and then...he..."
Realizing that Genesis was a tough topic, the voice backed off, offering up a change in topics,"I'd say that phone call went well without my interference, Sephiroth…" the man's alter ego reappeared as he sat down alongside the seemingly happy the man, "So, you going to bring up the new book project to the man or are you going to scrap it all together and keep with the same old dribble to appease that psycho bitch of an Editor among other things she is?"
"I'm going to pursue, but, its going to have to be kept under the radar away from Raechel and my usual fans. If they found out that I was now pitching for a different team..."
A soft chuckle left the subconscious lips, "Yeah, yeah, I know what you're laughing about. Laugh it up laughing boy. But I think...this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship."
"If not, a beautiful relationship between two beautiful people."
Cloud slowly closed the phone as he saw the man's caller I.D. disappear off his phone as it was replaced by the happy faced cloud, "ZACK! ANGEAL! I NEED YOUR HELP!"
It had seemed, in an odd way, Cloud did have a date. For the first time, it wasn't with a girl, but with a silver haired God that wrote the books he appreciated and loved to the deepest of his core, "I NEED YOUR GUYS ADVICE ON WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE MEET UP WITH SEPHIROTH TONIGHT!"
Cloud raced up to the bedroom door as he slammed on it, still screaming at his roommate and his roommate's boyfriend, "I COULD USE YOUR ADVICE RIGHT NOW YOU GUYS!"
"…Coming, coming…"Zack grumbled as he wrapped the bed sheet about his waist and swaggered to the door as he opened it a crack, "If the apartment isn't on fire and if you aren't bleeding profusely, then it can wait, can't it?"
Zack was about to make the one mistake he was going to regret. As much as he wanted to help his best friend, he wanted time alone with his boyfriend and Cloud's drama moment. He knew shutting the door in his friend's face was going to resort in Cloud making Zack's life a living Hell. Upon opening the door, Zack found that Cloud was in a bigger panic then the day he had come up to Zack telling him that he had a date with an old friend. The day he had heard that news, it had only spiraled out of control and downwards.
But this look on Cloud's face was fright out of the fact he was going on a date with a man.
His best friend really need him right now as he brushed a hand through his hair, while keeping a hold on the sheet, "Give a minute to get some pants on and then I'll help ya, Spiky."
Angeal stepped out of the bedroom, dressed in a pair of pants as he threw Zack's at his head, "Don't bother, Zack, any advice you could give is just going to scare him and we all know you aren't the best at talking about such matters as this."
"So," Angeal started as he held Zack at bay as he looked to a disgruntled Cloud, "You've got your first date with a guy?"
"…I might…have a date…with the guy that not only had my book hostage this afternoon, but who else is the author of it…"
"What?" Zack and Angeal both asked the question at the same time as they eyed their roommate up and down.
"…It may sound out of place, but…I don't know if that's what it is…isn't that what you do with another guy when you want to talk about the run in you both had that afternoon?"
Zack was the first one to make any kind of sound as to understanding what was going on, "I knew it! I knew something was up with you on the ride home! You're coming out of the closet!"
Cloud gave a soft embarrassed shrug of his shoulders as a faint hint of blush came on the face, "…Surprise?"
Days had passed for the School teacher, agonizing they were having to watch the object that had passed his peripheral vision and had set all sensors on high as to find a way to approach the young man without coming off as a dirty old man that only wanted to find some reason to place the boy over his knee and spank him for punishment among other things. His eyes were gazed off to the ceiling as the students did their class work, but his daydreaming was broken the sounds of quiet whimpers and whispers from a desperate toned youth. It seemed the Teacher wasn't the only who had his eyes on the young youth, a brash young man that sat behind the object of the Teacher's interests was attempting to peek down the back of the youth's pants, finding reasons to drop a pencil down the crack of the boy's pants. Just to find just cause to reach into the boy's pants and grope or at least fondle the youth, have a little fun with him to the point that there was devious, self absorbing grin gracing itself on the torturing soul's face. It sickened the teacher and at the same point and token; it made a pit of jealousy build up in his soul, he didn't want to have to punish the torturing soul with corporal punishment which was placing the boy over his knee, drawing down his drawers and paddling the whelp. No, the little brat would probably get some kind of pleasure out of his middle aged school teacher paddling him into…He couldn't think on what could happen.
"Mr. Jackson, if you are done with your work, then I suggest that you stick to reading the pages listed on the board and stop torturing young Mr. Hawthorne," the teacher's eyes never once left the youth that had had his attention since the first day of school, "Or must I remove you from that seat and place you into a corner for the remainder of the class period?"
All eyes moved onto the tormentor as he took the high road and moved his seat where he started with the new class assignment; once this had been achieved, the classroom fell back into a state of normalcy as if the incident had not occurred. Hidden from the other student's faces, a small, apologetic but yet, grateful smile graced itself onto the quiet formed youth at the back of the room; his lips seemed to form a silent speech pattern as he mouthed the words 'Thank You' to the Teacher. A simple nod of understanding and return of greeting went unnoticed by the other students as the softly quiet and to himself youth returned to his studies much like the rest of the class.
Sephiroth sat back as he admired the monitor as if it was his own personal idol, "Pretty proud of yourself of there, aren't you big boy?" the alter ego was back as he looked over Sephiroth's shoulders at the new work, proud of how far the new to the gay man's scene author had come, "Not half bad…but, when are you going to get the almost Ichabod Crane school Master get together with the little youth he's eying like a snake eying a tasty little mouse?"
"…When I'm good and ready to," Sephiroth closed the monitor down, only after saving the work, "…You just…"
"You just…what? You just can't rush things…right?" the alter ego cocked his hip out as he watched the man wringing his hands together, "Darling…you're going to do fine…this isn't some date or something…it's just a meeting between two men to talk about a business proposition."
He wanted to believe all of that, but at the same point, "…I'm scared out of my tree that he isn't going to want to go along with helping be my Publicist among the other things that Raechel does for me now with this new material…He's going to think I'm some sick person…"
With a roll of the alter ego's colorfully painted eyes, it sat down beside the worried man, "What's the worst he could do that Raechel could do? If Raechel were to get her hands on the this work in progress…she'd probably go as far as to cleanse your soul of the impure thoughts of believing you're gay…For all you know this guy may swing both ways."
"…You better be right," Sephiroth glared at the alter ego that had all but become his muse, "If you're wrong, you are getting a thousand bolts shocked through you."
"What on this green Earth could yo-…Oh…Never mind then, darling…" the ego patted the man's cheek softly before returning to his perch upon the arm of the man's sofa as he watched the man start to dial Cloud's phone before hanging up, "Now what are you up to?"
He didn't want to do it, but, "I'm calling Raechel…I'm cancelling the Book Tour and committing myself to this new project. She can take her share of the book sales and apologize to the stores and locations for the cancellation…she can make up some stupid reason why I had to cancel my Tour."
"You are surely a dangerous man, Sephiroth…Willing to give up the chance to travel yet again just to chase after a cute little piece of tail."
"…Just shut up and stay in my mind where you belong for the rest of the night before I slip up and say something I'll later regret tonight."
The alter ego did just as the man asked as he zipped his lips, metaphorically speaking as he slipped away into the man's subconscious, "Hello, this is Raechel, Publicist to the Authors of the Stars, who is this?"
…No going back now.