I just wanted to apologise for this only being a one chapter update. I did mention to few people it would be two but that second chapter just doesn't feel quite right yet. Sorry.

I hope you enjoy it and please remember to review, thanks.

Meeting Tseng

Cloud woke to the wonderful aroma of coffee, to the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen and the feel of a warm soft blanket wrapped around him. It was a strange sensation for the normally troubled cadet, but for once he actually found himself to be at peace with the world around him. The memories of the previous night floated through his waking mind and he smiled burying himself deeper amongst the blankets, afraid to surface properly in case it all turned out to be a dream. The sofa shifted slightly as somebody's weight settled on it and Cloud instinctively tensed as if preparing for an attack. He held his breath as the cover was slowly lowered and looked up to see Zack's face smiling down at him.

"Time to get up sleepy head." Zack teased gently, noting the look on the cadet's face.

Cloud blinked before rubbing his eyes, clearing away the last of the sleep, his expression changing from being fearful of the situation to just being a little bit nervous.

"That's you're second cup." Angeal's voice could be heard scolding someone in the kitchen

"But it's so gooooooooooood," Reno's voice replied.

Zack laughed and Cloud looked up at him confused.

"Reno has a thing for coffee and Angeal has the best supply around." He explained, shrugging as if a little embarrassed by the knowledge.

"So you're awake." Angeal's voice cut in as he came into the room, carrying the fresh pot of coffee, closely followed by Reno. "Well come on them, breakfast is getting cold."

Cloud nodded and rose from the sofa stretching himself to release some of the kinks as he moved over to the table. The plate of food which was put in front of him was enormous and his jaw dropped at the sight.

"I can't manage all that" he protested weakly.

"Yes you can." Zack replied quickly, and then noticing how much was actually on the plate he changed his mind. "Well you can try ... but there's also more if you want it."

"Oh my god." Reno moaned in pleasure, his mouth full of something "What is this stuff?"

"It's apple and cinnamon bread, Angeal makes it himself." Zack announced proudly.

"It's delicious," the Turk managed before devouring another slice.

"Thank you." Angeal replied modestly, but clearly enjoying the compliment.

The atmosphere was once again pleasurable as they ate and Cloud enjoyed the conversations, which seemed to flow between them easily, focusing around what each had planned for the day. He even managed to eat more than he had thought and was delighted when Angeal offered to show him how to make the bread, which Reno and Zack had all but devoured. It was just as Reno was arguing with Angeal that he could handle the caffeine high of a fifth cup of coffee that the small alarm went off again. The room froze in an awkward silence and three pairs of eyes turned cautiously towards Cloud.

"It's ok," the blonde said smiling nervously. "I'll just go and ... and then I'll come right back."

"If I had thought about it earlier one of us could have gone to get them and saved you the trouble." Angeal noted evenly.

"It's ok." Cloud said moving away from the table and heading towards the door.

"You want some company?" Zack called, already rising to his feet behind the cadet's moving figure.

"No, it's ok I'll just be a minute, well maybe ten, but I'll be back soon."

With that the door could be heard opening and closing quickly as the blonde disappeared from the apartment.

"You think, maybe one of us should go with him?" Reno asked hesitantly.

"No, he can do this himself." Angeal informed them both. "It will also give him a chance to have a little bit of space from us."

"He's getting better though, right?" Zack asked nervously.

"Perhaps? He seems better and last night was a pleasant change from his normal state."

"It was like a different kid," Reno agreed.

"Is it because of the medication?" Zack asked, his dislike for the necessary tablets very clear.

"There has certainly been an improvement since he started taking them, although I believe last night had more to do with you than the medication." Angeal informed the soldier reassuringly.

"Me?"

"Yes I believe so."

"But I didn't do anything."

"I imagine that nearly losing you has made him realise how important you are to him, however angry he may have been before."

"What if he's only feeling this way because of the drugs? What if it's not permanent? What if he ..."

"Zack!" Angeal cut in forcefully

"I'm sorry I just ..."

"You are doubting him again." The commander warned sternly. "He is just as confused about all of this as you are, but it's normal and has nothing to do with the medication he is taking."

"Are you sure?"

"Zack man, the kid hardly left your side in the hospital. Angeal had to get one of the doctors to prescribe something so we could get him to go to sleep. The kid's like a machine, I bet even Tseng or Sephiroth couldn't have gone that long without at least a nap."

"You drugged him?" Zack asked in disbelief, having missed the point of Reno's story completely.

"It was the only way to get him to rest." Angeal admitted in frustration. "Whatever Cloud feels for you it is strong and affects him greatly, you should not question it."

"I can't believe you're giving me relationship advice." Zack tried to joke, but the humour was lost to the seriousness of the conversation.

"Zack. I've known how you feel about Cloud for a while, maybe even longer than you have, they way you talk about him and react when he is around shows that you have strong feelings for him. I also believe that he feels the same way about you, but both of you need to get past this defensive wall you seem to have built around yourselves. I only want you to be happy and if being with Cloud makes that possible then I am going to do my best to make sure you both realise what you mean to each other."

"I don't want to screw this up again." Zack admitted quietly as Angeal's words sunk in.

"Then listen to him this time and trust in him." Angeal pointed out, his tone both gentle and firm.

Zack nodded solemnly and began to pull at the piece of bread in his hands, his heart and mind conflicting over his emotions. A second later and Angeal's hand was roughly fluffing through his hair in a comforting manor. The action managed to draw a short protesting moan from the soldier which was accompanied by a small smile on his face. The curve of lips grew a little more as Reno added his own form of affectionate support by playful punching Zack on the shoulder, before stealing the remain piece of bread off his plate.

"Hey." Zack whined good-naturedly.

"What? You were just pulling it to pieces, seemed a waste," the Turk defended as he shoved the last piece in his mouth.

It was only after they had finished eating and cleared the table that the three men realised Cloud had taken too long and began to worry.

In truth they had every reason to be concerned, even though they didn't know it yet, because Cloud was in trouble. His mad dash to Zack's apartment had been uneventful and he had quickly swallowed the despised little lumps before leaving to hurry back. It was only as he made his return trip across the compound that something stopped him, the sound of familiar names being mentioned drawing his attention like a bee to honey.

"You're kidding," the voice responded in disbelief.

"No saw him myself."

"Leaving Commander Hewley's apartment?" the voice questioned unconvinced.

"Yep, not more than ten minutes ago and the kid was in a hurry too."

"Wow, that's unbelievable."

"Humph!" A third deeper voice grunted.

"What?" voice one asked sounding a little annoyed.

"Oh come on, isn't it obvious?"

There was a silent pause as the small group of men considered the options.

"You don't think the commander is sleeping with the blonde kid?" voice one asked in surprise.

"Why not? That's probably how Lieutenant Fair got his position."

"You can't say that about the Lieutenant" voice two responded angrily.

"Yes I can. He may be good but if it wasn't for the commanders one-on-one time he would still be in third" the deep voice said bitterly, his emphasis on one-on-one time being almost spat out.

"But isn't the blonde kid staying with the Lieutenant?" voice two asked clearly confused.

"He was, they had an argument," voice one informed them both.

"So where is he staying now?" voice two asked.

"Ummmm I guess he was staying at the commanders," voice one offered.

"See," voice three all but cheered in triumph. "Either the commander is doing the kid or the lieutenant, hell both could be giving the kid one and each other for all we know."

"Kane you can't say that," voice one protested in mild panic. "If anyone hears you ..."

"I can if it's true," the one called Kane interrupted angrily.

"But you don't know if it's true," voice two protested weakly.

"Then what other reason does a grunt have for doing a runner out of the commander's apartment so early in the morning?"

Voice one and two remained quiet, unable to answer this question with any other reasonable possibility.

"Exactly!" Kane stated. "Kid's gonna sleep his way to the top, just like Fair." A sudden gasp of delight could be heard as Kane seemed to realise something wonderful. "This proves it, all those rumours about them being more than mentor and pupil were true, that Fair was screwing around with Angeal to climb up the ranks."

Cloud had been standing quietly listening, his breathing becoming quicker as his heart beat faster in his chest, as the men's words had soaked into his mind. The cadet began to shake as his body was filled by a whirlwind of emotions, as confliction thoughts and feelings burned through him. He was used to people saying things about him so he didn't care what they said, didn't let their opinion of him matter, but it was the disrespect for Zack and Angeal which ate away at his control.

The blonde was on auto pilot as he walked around the corner to face the men, his body drawn up fight, fists clenched tightly at his sides. Voice one and two and Kane looked up to see the thunderous teen standing before them, the boy who's blue eyes burned with violent fire and who's voice came out cold and even.

"Kane?"

"Yea," the second class soldier on the far right answered without thinking.

The next second the soldier was on his back with blow after blow falling in a steady stream against his body.

The two other soldiers stared in shock for a moment unable to believe the scene which played out before them. They were third class soldiers themselves and even with mako enhancements weren't suicidal enough to take on a second class and expect to win. They were frozen to the spot as the cadet launched himself at the more experienced and superior officer knocking him down to the floor landing several fairly impressive punches to the man's body before the soldier regained his senses. They watched as the second class soldier retaliated to the attack by lashing out, his fists connecting with the cadet's face and chest with simultaneous blows. There was a grunt of pain from the blonde as he was sent flying off the soldier's body to land in a heap a few feet away.

"Well don't just stand there!" Kane shouted, spiting blood from his mouth as he spoke.

The two soldiers acted quickly grabbing Cloud by both arms, pulling him off the ground to stand shakily on his feet in front of the second class soldier. None of them had expected the cadet to still be able to fight, let alone crazy enough to try, so were caught by surprise when the blonde suddenly lunged forward and managed to kick Kane in the chest once more. This time when they held him, their grips were tight enough to cut off the circulation to his arms.

"You little shit!" Kane spat, his voice filled with rage.

His words were followed by a back hand to the cadet's face which had Cloud's head snapping violently to one side. When the blonde's face came back round to meet his again, Kane was pleased to see the split lip and blood which now marred the boys chin.

"You little fuck, you think you're better than me? You can sleep with whoever you like, but you will never be a soldier because you're weak. You hear me ... you're weak!"

His last words were shouted in Cloud's face but the cadet didn't even flinch, his eyes remaining locked with the soldier's throughout. The third class soldiers had never seen anything like it and were just beginning to panic, not knowing how to deal with the situation when a cool calm voice cut through the air.

"What is going on here?"

"Sir" the men chorused automatically, drawing themselves up to attention and forcing the blonde to do the same.

The soldier's responses were enough to pull Cloud from his enraged state and his head came round, away from Kane's, to glare at the new arrival through narrowed eyes. His gaze fell upon a man he didn't recognise, a man with dark hair tied back in a small ponytail and wearing a suite very much like Reno's only smarter.

"I asked a question." The stranger spoke evenly, clearly annoyed at not having it answered.

"Nothing sir, just a soldier matter sir," Kane responded flatly.

This response was clearly the wrong one as the new man's face darkened and Cloud saw something predatory dance within the eyes which looked upon them.

"I may not be a soldier but I am still your superior so you will answer my question."

"The cadet attacked the soldier sir." One of the third class soldiers quickly responded, hoping the answer would be enough. But it wasn't.

"Why?"

The soldiers suddenly froze as if afraid to answer the question, knowing exactly who the stranger was, realising the danger involved in disclosing the information he wanted. None of them could admit to what had really happened, because clearly the blonde had reacted to what they had been saying. They knew that if anyone else found out about what they had been discussing it would mean serious trouble, but they also knew it would be foolish to attempt lying to this man. The stranger seemed to sense this as well and suddenly focused his attention on the cadet.

"What is your name?"

Cloud's anger had been slowly fading away to be replaced by nervous fear and now that the unknown mans attention was on him he began to feel uneasy. But the cadet was not weak like Kane had said and he stilled himself against his enemies, drawing on every ounce of strength within him, and raised his head up to meet the man's eyes.

"Cadet Strife, Sir" he replied evenly, as the grip on his left arm tightened painfully.

"Good, I'm glad someone here understands how to answer questions and soldier I am aware of what you just did. If you continue to threaten the cadet like that I will have you demoted to janitor, do I make myself clear."

"Yes Sir."

"Good now let cadet Strife go."

"Sir?"

"Do not question me again," the cool voice breathed with deadly fire.

The resulting action involved Cloud being unceremoniously dumped on the floor as the men released him and moved a few steps back.

"You are to report to the infirmary and wait there until you are relieved, do you understand?"

"Sir, there's no need ..." Kane began to protest before he was cut off.

"Do you understand?" the cold voice demanded, its tone very clearly indicating the danger involved with not following the order.

"Sir, yes sir" the men chorused, before turning and heading towards the ShinRa building where the infirmary was located.

Cloud watched from his place on the ground as they walked past him, their looks clearly warning him to keep his mouth shut. He looked down at the ground and sighed inwardly suddenly feeling very tired, the weight of so much pressing down on him, while the taste of blood lingered in his mouth as a physical reminder of what they had said. The cadet was so lost in his thoughts that he had forgotten about the stranger who now stood looking down at him and jumped when the man unexpectedly spoke.

"Strife. You would be the boy that Reno was assigned to protect."

Cloud hesitated before nodding, his eyes coming up to meet with the strangers. The man watched with mild fascination as the blonde studied him, the young man clearly assessing the danger and trying to read him. He was also a little impressed that the cadet's eyes actually meet with his own, as part of this processes, the blonde clearly strong willed even in his low rank.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself," he offered holding out a hand. "My name is Tseng and I am Reno's superior."

Cloud didn't respond straight away and the Turk watched with interest as the cadet slowly picked himself up off the floor and brushed his hands against his trouser legs to clean some of the dirt off. He quickly noted that the blonde was stalling, that throughout the pretence of wiping his hands, the cadet was still weighing up the facts trying to decide if he could be trusted. Tseng inwardly smiled, it appeared that Reno's comments about the boy not being like the other cadet's was true.

There was a moment more of hesitation before Cloud took the offered limb and Tseng was pleased to note the strong confident hand shake he received, even thought it was clear from the cadet's physical state that he was still nervous.

"Cloud, Cloud Strife sir."

"Well Cloud, now that we have been formally introduced would you mind telling me where Reno is?"

Tseng watched as the cadet looked away nervously, clearly hesitating to answer in case he got the Turk into trouble.

"Cloud, Reno should have been here with you. As he is not I can only imagine that he is either unconscious, incapacitated or simply incompetent. I would much prefer to see him alive and well than have these options to consider."

"He's at Commander Hewley's apartment," Cloud informed the Turk nervously.

"Then I believe we should go there now, don't you?"

Cloud silently nodded in agreement and together they began to head towards the commander's living quarters. Neither of them spoke as they made their way, the Turk being too preoccupied with his thoughts concerning the situation and the cadet starting to feel the pain of his new injuries.

(Big thank you to Riku-Aura777 for reviewing and letting me know about my poor punctuation. I went through it again have corrected some mistakes so hopefully I've fixed it now.)