HELLO! Sorry for the long wait, but here it is a new chapter and it is extra long! :D Please forgive me for updating so slow, I'm working on it really, but luck is not on my side.

Unfortunately, this is un-betaed so there are probably lots and lots of mistakes and I don't know if I really got some jealousy going around in this chapter :( God I fail so much!

Still hopefully you guys will still read this !

SPECIAL THANKS TO: akatsuki-tenshi-kitsune, ejsoul, UltimateNinjaOfDoom, Princess Turk, xxLivingPuppetxx234, Yuffie's Ninja Insanity, lemonlimediddies

[JEALOUSY]

Cloud has been in Midgar for two months now, and things were going both ways, good and bad. Zack has been great. Always showing him around, acting like a kid and made him smile more during this mouth than what he had in his entire life. However, the doubt and wariness were still there. The biggest problem though, was that he was getting this strange feeling whenever Zack was around. Sighing, Cloud shook his head. He didn't have time for this. Right he was in middle of training, he couldn't afford to be distracted.

Somehow, he couldn't help but be disappointed though. Zack had at least two days off each month and during the first month he would bring him with him, whenever he was off, regardless of Cloud's schedule. Just like last time...

The night before Cloud was sure that he had set his clothes for the morning at the end of his bed, so he would prepare faster, and get out of the room before the others were awake to pick at him again, but it seemed like that people just couldn't leave him alone. There was nothing special with him so why couldn't he blend in with the background? It would be better to be ignore and lonely than to be bullied and still be lonely. At home he would at least always have his mom by his side, and here he got... he got Zack.

Zack had somehow made him his friend, even without his consent, not that he minded. He was his first friend after all. The first one to give him the extra hand he had always needed. What bothered him the most though was that Zack barely knew him. That was why he couldn't understand why Zack was showing him that place.

"Come on, Spike!" Zack exclaimed and dragged Cloud enthusiastically after him.

"W-What? Zack!"

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you." A wide grin was painted on his face, something that would make people think he was just joking or something. But his eyes shone with sincerity. Without further protest Cloud let himself get dragged by Zack. He knew he probably was in trouble already for being late to class, though Zack had probably already done something to get him out of trouble, hadn't he? Cloud knew he should have said no, but something told him Zack would be fairly disappointed and sad if he refused, though he didn't know why he (Zack) would be.

"Who could let anything bad happen to you anyway? You are so adorable with that Chocobo-head of yours and those eyes would beat my puppy-eyes any day. Yup, people can't help, but go 'awww' and want to hug the lights out of you." Unable to filter out Zack's rambling as Cloud was pulled out of his thoughts, he couldn't help but blush. Zack said he was adorable, but he didn't want to be adorable so he didn't know why his face was heating up. Did he say 'my puppy-eyes'?

/

Seemed like Cloud had repeated his statement, only to make him scratch his head sheepishly. "Ah, nothing." Like hell I'm going to tell him, Zack thought. He didn't need another one reminding him how much like a puppy he was. Puppies were cute, he couldn't agree with that, but how could he be described as cute. No, the words that would fit him would be cool, sexy, hot or handsome, maybe all three of them. So no he definitely wasn't a puppy.

"-ack?" Zack came out of his private ranting to a worried-looking Cloud. Sighing he took Cloud in a headlock, messing up his hair.

"I'm right here, just spaced out a bit, like you tend to do all the time." That kid really worries too much for someone who was suppose to be 14 years old. Cloud glared at him, but it came out as a cute pout instead. He was incredibly cute and a great guy. It surprised him how a guy so nice and perfect could have so low self-esteem. Luckily, he was too determined and stubborn to give up on his dream, and he would be one heck of a SOLDIER when he made it. For now though, Zack had to try and worm his way pass the shell of his. Sometimes he found Cloud and Sephiroth so similar, both had problems when it came to interacting with others. Seph, he could understand, but Cloud... Zack mentally slapped himself, right now he should make sure Cloud enjoyed himself and try to coax out some smiles. If he was lucky maybe he could make him laugh.

"Come on, Chocobo-head, I'll show you Fenny, I swear he is the only one who agrees and listen to me."

/

"This is Fenny," Zack announced proudly, and Cloud did nothing but stared at him. He was looking at a motorcycle.

"This is Fenny?" The words came out as a mix between a statement and a question. His face showed confusion and amusement, who would name their vehicle? Well, it was better than meeting a person though, Cloud thought. He was always afraid Zack would introduce him to some of his friends. Zack was the type of person, who would befriend with any- and everyone. You would rarely found people like him, and Cloud was unsure if his friends would treat him like Zack.

"This is him alright." Zack grinned widely and proudly. "He is cool, isn't he? Damn great, especially when you need to rant. He will listen to everything, and won't interrupt you." Cloud couldn't do anything other than staring blankly at his friend. Zack realized that he was talking to a motorcycle, didn't he? Cloud shook his head at the thought he shouldn't be surprise. Knowing Zack, this was probably totally normal to him. So he settled on a little comment.

"Nice."

"Nice?" Zack's eyes widened before rolling, but his lips curved upwards. "I'll show you that he is definitely more than nice."

That was a promise Zack kept dearly, Cloud thought as he hung onto Zack. He could barely hang onto him, and he didn't know why he felt blood rushing to his face when he tried to hold onto Zack tighter though. At least it was going too fast for him to notice the motion sickness. Luckily for Cloud, Zack turned the speed down a notch, before showing a grin.

"Is he still just nice?"

"Okay, okay! He is more than nice!" Cloud exclaimed loudly. Surprising Zack stopped. "Why are you stopping?" He looked at him confusingly.

"You haven't shouted-" Zack ignored the 'I didn't shout' comment. "Like that since the first time we met. Thinking about it, you have never shouted at me since you realized I'm a SOLDIER."

"I didn't shout." He muttered his face twisted in a grimace that only made it appeared as if he was pouting.

"It's a shout because that's the loudest you have talked ever since I've gotten to know you." Zack nodded to himself. "Yup, yup definitely a shout." Sighing, he drew a hand through his hair. Even with all the wind from the ride, it still stood up as messy as ever. Knowing fully well that anything he said would go through Zack's deaf ears, Cloud settled on asking him where they were heading.

"Nowhere." Came the blunt answer.

"Huh?" Before Zack answered he took Cloud's arms and wrapped them around his waist.

"It doesn't matter where we are, or where we go. It's enough only to stay together, right? Cause we're friends." With that said, they drove on. They didn't do anything other than driving around, but still Cloud was in quite a good mood and the motion sickness was forgotten for the time being. Whether it was because of the wind or Zack was still unknown (for now).

/

Maybe he should just settle that Zack was really his friend. He could only hope that Zack didn't any other motives. Then there was this weird feeling too, but before he could think further. Suddenly, none other than Burk & Co pushed him to the ground, but Nathan wasn't with them.

"You can't afford to have your head in the sky, Cloudy." The mocking started again. This time Zack wouldn't be there to help him. He really shouldn't have started to depend so much on him, because in the end no one would be able to help him.

"You can't afford that and Sergeant Fair isn't here so you can bribe him with your services." Shaun laughed. Cloud pushed himself up from the ground grumbling to himself.

"They don't even know that they dishonor Zack when they're assuming that he can be bribed." They were also insulting him, but he was already used to it. However, they had no right to insult Zack. He has been nothing but wonderful to him. "You two are just doing this because Commander Hewley and Sergeant Fair aren't present, but you forget that Sir Sinclair is still here." Cloud stated only to be gutted down by Shaun.

"What do ya mean about that, hah?" Burk hissed, grabbing Cloud by his collar. "You are just sad that no one is here to save you. That Turk definitely won't bother, he should just mind his own business." Another fist was raised to strike him. Cloud shut his eyes; relaxed his muscles to decrease the pain, but the pain never came. Instead flame-red blinded his sight as he opened his gaze.

/

"What's going on here, yo?"

"Nothing... Sir," Shaun reluctantly replied. Burk snarled, thinking that the redheaded Turk wasn't worth the title.

"Oh, don't think I don't know what you're doing yo. We might not have enhanced senses like SOLDIERs, but our senses are still above normal people like you cadets." Reno grinned, taking in the furious looks from the duo with pleasure. They were playing right into his hands.

"And let me tell you about something," Reno smirked, "Never underestimate a Turk. We know great places to hide bodies." and he enjoyed the way their faces were drained of colors, but the blonde's reaction bothered him. He (Cloud) just regarded at him with wariness. There was definitely more to him than meets the eye.

Finally getting a good look at the guy, Reno was a grateful that he was trained to school his expressions. This guy was gorgeous. Blond, spiky hair covered his head and made him just as cute as a baby Chocobo, or cuter. He also had white and milky skin, and wasn't too thin or too sturdy. Maybe a bit short for his age, but that just made him more adorable. He was a jailbait that was for sure. If he hadn't already come out of the closet, this guy would have made him gone willingly. Those eyes! They were familiar! It was the baby blues, Reno thought, nearly grinning widely. Instead, he faked a cough and turned his attention back to the two bullies. He would have time to study the baby Chocobo later.

"Now you two take your spying buddy at the door and run 100 laps. Commander Hewley has left me in charge so do it now yo!" Both Burk and Shaun reluctantly dragged themselves towards Nathan, cursing Reno inside their heads and gave Cloud the 'this-ain't-over' look. "And where are you going yo?" Reno turned towards Cloud and saw that he was trying to join the punishment. That kid... really, he was either stupid or he loved to feel miserable. Hopefully, it was the first.

"I..."

"Arg, don't yah 'I' me. You should know that as long you didn't do anything wrong, you don't get punished. Got it?"

"Yes, Sir!" Reno sighed as he saw the cadet getting all worked up again.

"Chillax, I'm no SOLDIER, I'm a Turk and I don't like to be call Sir-" Not by someone as cute as him, it made him feel old. "Just Reno yo. That reminds me, you're Zack's Choco!" He could see the cadet cringed at the nickname, making Reno glee with delight. "What was your name again? Spike? Chocobaby? Chocobohead? Cloudyhead?"

"It's Cloud!"

"I see that you have some guts. Let's see how you'll do up against me! I'm warning yah, I ain't weaker than Zack."

/

Sephiroth strode down the empty halls with his face free of emotions like usual, but those who knew him outside the general front. It was not like he was really different from what he normally was. His sour mood was as earlier sad not visible on his face, but the way he walked and the surrounding air around told you all you needed to you.

Normally, people would say that he had a bad day, but with Sephiroth you'd never come across the word normal. Angeal would say that it was totally normal for him to feel this way and say that he was normal like everyone else, (well as much he could). Genesis would said "Oh the mighty General can't actually have a bad day," or something along those lines. Zack would turn his bad day into the 'Zack annoys Sephiroth'-day, which didn't really make a difference.

That puppy was more trouble than anyone or anything else. Now he was probably with his buddy, instead of annoying him, Sephiroth thought, maybe a bit bitterly. It was weird for him to feel bitter, or anything for that matter. Bitterness was one of the few emotions he could feel, the feeling that always came when the word childhood was mentioned. Zack has never raised those feelings within Sephiroth. It was usually amusement and annoyance that came with Zack.

If that wasn't enough to kick-start the drums in his head, a certain redhead did. Reno has been ranting to him about Zack's new friend. Complaining, that Zack would either spend all his time with the cadet or when he wasn't with, he would talk nonstop about the said cadet. It was weird though, when Reno came to him today, he babbling like Zack would about that blonde little cadet. He described him nearly exactly like Zack would do.

What was so special about that cadet that made Zack and even Reno like him? Even Angeal has said that he had lots of determination despite being physically weaker than everyone else in this year's bunch of cadets. Sephiroth, as he was the General, he had access to every file about everyone in the army including cadets. He has of course checked out the cadet's file and found out that he was just a very young boy with a weird name, who would call their kids Cloud? There wasn't a photo attached to his file, which was a mistake because there normally would be photos of everyone. This was a miss, but Sephiroth had a pretty good idea about how he looked like from Zack and Reno's descriptions of him. What he didn't expected was that the descriptions didn't do Cloud any justice, no words would.

/

While Sephiroth was busy keeping everyone away from him with his cold mode, Cloud was inconveniently attracting problems. After the gym class, Cloud was actually in a good mode. The sparring between him and Reno was fun, and as Commander Hewley didn't come, they were sparring the whole lesson. Burk & Co weren't as happy. On the contrary, they were furious. Without any warning, Cloud found himself buckling towards the floor, his arms went to his stomach, where the pain started to set.

"So Sergeant Fair wasn't enough for you, huh?" Burk hissed, kicking Cloud hard on his cheek. That was going to bruise, he thought, as his mind couldn't pay much attention to what was said and it was busy blocking out the pain.

"Yeah, you even got into a Turk's pants! That's low!" Nathan added, and not only words. Cloud could feel the pain spreading from his stomach and to his legs and arms. Soon his body would turn numb, and he really hated the fact that he was caught of guard and couldn't even save himself.

"Who knows, he'll probably Commander Hewley next and maybe even the General's." exclaimed Shaun, and started to make some real damage as he struck Cloud's right eye hard, making it impossible to open it.

Cloud moaned and whimpered with pain, but he refused to cry. He wouldn't let them have the pleasure to make him scream or cry. They would get bored with him after a while anyway, and he was right. The three of them left before anyone could have found them, leaving Cloud lying there with more damaged than ever. Maybe except that time, but he didn't want to think about that now.

He couldn't really think of anything else than the pain wracking his whole body. They got his other eye, which left him blinded. His arms wasn't twisted or broken, but his right hand and foot were. Bruises were already starting form all over his body. His fair skin toned with a blue hue, which would soon turned deep purple.

Propping himself up slowly, he leaned against the wall heavily. His broken hand was carefully drawn closer to his body, while he tried hard to not put pressure on his damaged foot. He couldn't see anything though, as his eyes were glued closed because of the impact of the hits. However, he didn't get far before he hit something... or someone... His good hand shot trying to steady himself, while figuring out what or whom he collided into. The hand didn't come across something solid, other than really soft, long hair.

"I..m s...ry, Ma'am..." On his way into unconsciousness, he didn't realize that there was no woman with an important rank, other than Scarlet and she didn't really have long hair. The only one who would fit the description was, General Sephiroth.

/

"Ma'am?" Sephiroth said in askance. He did not under any circumstances look like a female. The offender though, was passed out in his arms, leaving him speechless and no options to correct him. It was now when Sephiroth glared at the young person in his arms that he realized that it was the cadet Zack and Reno had been talking nonstop about. They never said he was like an angel. His golden hair shone leaving an afterimage of a halo, unfortunately, his golden halo was soaked with sweat. His fair and pale skin was stained with bruises, and just looking at them made Sephiroth's blood boiled.

With a swift move, Sephiroth gathered the boy in his arms, holding him securely. Normally, the correct action would be leaving the cadet at the infirmary, but they would never heal him with a potion or a Cure, as it was a SOLDIER's privilege only. Cadets were supposed to be trained hard, and this was a part to strengthen their discipline. Since Zack wasn't back yet, the only option left was to bring him with him to his apartment.

He opened the door with ease, and strode directly towards the living room. Laying the cadet in his arms down carefully, he immediately found his way to where potions and materias were kept. Unfortunately, he only had one potion left and no cure materias, as Zack and Reno always took them for their mischievous adventures. Still, it should be enough to cure most if not all of his injuries.

How to make him drink it though would be a problem, because he was still out cold. With no other choice, Sephiroth drank the potion. The only way he would be able to give him the potion was with the 'mouth-to-mouth' method. He leaned closer and just when he was less than an inch away, Zack stormed in into his apartment.

"Sephiroth! Have you seen-" Zack shouted before stopping in his track, looking from Sephiroth to the person on Sephiroth's couch, which didn't give Zack a clear look at the person. "Ehh, what's going on here?"

NEXT TIME: [Title still not decided]

So this chapter is like 1000 words longer than the others, and I'm sorry for leaving you guys kind of hanging at the end. But I won't update this story again till December probably cause I'm going to join NaNoWriMo! Where my goal is going to be writing 30 000 words in 30 days in November. Wish me luck cause I don't think I'm going to make it.

For those who don't know what it is can go here: http:/www(dot)nanowrimo(dot)org/eng/whatisnano