Soooo sorry it took me so long. I ran into a wall :(

Zack tracked him down three minutes later, five new SOLDIERs in tow like a row of ducklings, looking awkward and uncomfortable, and judging by the mischievous glint in Zack's eyes he was doing his best to encourage it. Cloud almost felt sorry for them.

Until Zack directed that look his way, then he was too busy looking for an escape to feel sorry for anyone.

"Hi, Cloudy! Just the guy I was looking for." His grin turned up an extra notch making the blond certain that whatever was about to be suggested, he would want no part of it. "It's time to celebrate!"

"Uh, sorry Zack, I'm not feeling up to-..."

"Bullshit. You're not getting away from a little social interaction, especially not when it involves indigestion of copious amounts of booze. Have you seen Angeal? I wanna invite him too."

"Uh." Well, since he was just coming from his office, lying just seemed ridiculous. About that at least. "Yeah, actually, but he was buried in paperwork, I don't think he'd agree."

"Aw, man! Angeal's the shiz when you finally get him drunk, though! It'd've been awesome. Oh, well. C'mon, Spiky, we've already warned the bar that SOLDIERs will be arriving. They should've stocked up enough to get even our kind drunk." His smile turned dreamy. Obviously he had started early. Great. And here Cloud had been hoping for some time alone to plan. Or think about what needed planning. Everything was just so much more complicated when you were actually planning a fight; information may have been power, but fighting with information was a lot more intricate. Was there no way to make this simply a one-on-one fight? Just him and President Shinra? Or Hojo for that sake, he could work with that and would be so much simpler. And a guaranteed win besides.

Holding up his hands in defence, Cloud began backtracking. "I really don't think that's a good idea." He had gotten drunk. Once. With Tifa. Repeating that embarrassment while in Zack's company was really not on his to-do list, especially not when in this mood. "Besides I'm under age," technically, "and, uh, I think..."

"Bosh and fiddlesticks!" The, to put it mildly, weird exclamation made Cloud halt just long enough for Zack to grab a hold of him and begin dragging him down the hall. "You're a SOLDIER. SOLDIERs aren't under age, ever. We just don't do under age, yanno? We're the Guardians of Peace, Protectors of Children! ...That's not something we can do if we're under age."

Still struggling, but probably not as hard as he should, Cloud replied easily. "We're also the face of the ShinRa Private Enforcing Unit. Shouldn't we, you know, make good examples?"

"Bah. SOLDIERs get drunk rarely enough that we're still all goody. Besides, if we never indulged we'd go mad."

"...I guess." No. This was where he rally should have put his foot down and refused to go. He really should have. But when had he ever been able to? When had he ever been able to just say no and stand by it? Never, it seemed, as he remembered countless times when he had been talked into something or other against his better judgement. Or worse judgement, in some cases, but even so, surely he should be able to 'just say no'.

"Hey, hey, Strife!" Curly called from the back. "We heard all sortsa rumours about you. Is it true you beat, uh..." It seemed like Curly had just then remember that the SOLDIER Cloud had supposedly beaten was the one leading them. Zack sent the thoughtless Third a smile with more teeth than anything else. Curly took a step back.

Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, Cloud cast an apologetic look at Zack, who simply raised an eyebrow and grinned again. "Don't worry about it, Curly, my good man. I've been training with Cloud all fall; if he couldn't beat me now he's got mako, I'd have been worried," he said, catching the brunet in a headlock. "But that doesn't mean it's okay to just shout it out, you hear? I've got my pride too. And ways to get my revenge you can only dream of!" And he promptly began digging his knuckles into Curly's curls, making the other squirm to get free.

Cloud observed this, trying to figure out if the Zack from his... other memories had been so childish, but the time between signing up for ShinRa and getting away from Hojo's experiments had always been hazy, like trying to see something through binoculars that weren't quite focused.

He reminded himself that this Zack had not gone through the same shit. And he'll never have to, the blond reassured himself.

The walk to the bar was fairly uneventful, Zack had the rest engaged in a game of Rate the Dames (a name he had undoubtedly figured out himself) while Cloud distanced himself just a bit, not willing to play along.

"That one, over there, ten plus," Zack pointed out and gave the lady in question a wink. The others agreed trying, and failing, at subtly running their eyes over her generous curves. Cloud just snorted and very deliberately did not think of Tifa.

"'S good ta look at, sure, but I thin' I like 'em a li'l smaller, you know? Curves like that comes with an ego to match. Too high maintenance fer me," Abbing interjected and got a considering nod back.

"Oi, we're SOLDIERs now, Big-A, we can get whoever the hell we want!" Abbing rolled his eyes at the nickname. The SOLDIER who had spoken up had been on the other team during their initiation mission. He was brown-haired, so dark it was just shy of black. It fell far short of the blueish sheen Zack's own spikes carried, but with his shoulders and trim waist, not to mention those eyes, Cloud figured he could have been called almost as handsome if not for a nose protruding from the centre of his face like a particularly distracting, skinny mushroom.

"Psh, don't be ridiculous," the black-haired Second denied. "Women look at a SOLDIER, they'll compare him with Sephiroth. And very few compare with him, yanno? Him and his freak-eyelashes."

"Eyelashes?"

"Yeah, haven't you seen? They're like... an inch long! I swear, he's gotta figure out a way to trim 'em, yanno? Bet it's 'cause he's got so much mako; they don't get worn in the end or shed like the rest of us, they just keep growing! And growing, and growing and growing! Think about when he's a hundred years old and his eyelashes reach his cheek or his collar bone or stomach or some insan shit like that!" He flailed to emphasize his point. Cloud thought about it (even if it was ridiculous) and supposed there was some merit in it. His own hair had never had split ends, not after the experimentation, and it had been growing quite fast, no reason the same shouldn't work on eyelashes, even if Zack's picture was improbable at best. No way would a fighter allow his vision to be impaired like that.

The casualness changed when they arrived the bar.

Raucous laughter, glass clinking and a musical drone sounded all the way out onto the street, even when the door was closed. Obviously a great deal of SOLDIERs had already arrived at the party and hadn't waited for the guests of honour. Without hesitating Zack strode there and threw the doors open. He was welcomed by an enthusiastic increase in sound before the mass inside engulfed him.

Cloud shot a look at the other new SOLDIERs, finding them looking just about as terrified as he felt. Whatever that was in there, it seemed more like one organism, a living, breathing thing with no real consciousness just swallowing whatever hapless individual entering through that door. Feeling responsible for the younger (can I really think of them as younger?) boys, Cloud took a deep breath and marched up to the entrance. Abbing, Cron and Curly followed, clearly already taking cues from him, prompting the last five to follow suit.

The bar reeked of alcohol, sweat, and a vile mix of several women's perfumes underlaid with an unappetizing odour of old puke and piss coming from the bathrooms in the back. Lovely, Cloud thought, wrinkling his nose, barely even noticing that he was being whisked further into the bar, the shock of sound and smell making him disorientated. Luckily, enhanced senses also came with enhanced resistance or the entire batch of new initiates would likely as not have fainted as soon as they stepped inside.

Remembering his comrades, Cloud looked around and noticed for the first time that he had somehow been singled out and separated from them. That could not be good.

An hour later and he was certain that it was not good, and after two hours he had forgotten why that was.

Every single SOLDIER, it seemed, wanted a word with him and every time they dragged him from whoever had been talking with him, they thought they'd cement their new 'friendship' with the 'genius' with a shot or two. And SOLDIERs did not take no for an answer.

Now mako may make him somewhat resistant to most poisons, and that included alcohol, but having shots forced down his throat every five minutes would get even him drunk. And he was absolutely sloshed.

"Make... make a mental'ote," he slurred to the smirking SOLDIER, who were the last to have cornered him. "Note," he enunciated carefully. "When'sh, 'at yo're fightin' dragonsh, 'se legsh a' prallitachilly ampi..imper.. very hard. 'Se shtomach yo' gotta hit, 'se shtomach!" He emphasized his point by jabbing a finger at the guys solar plexus and glaring up through his bangs. The effect, however, was somewhat spoiled by the fact that he wasn't entirely able to focus, his eyes crossing the slightest bit. "Gotta pish," he announced and left the highly amused SOLDIER. Surely the guy had introduced himself at some point, but like everyone else, he had forgotten it amidst the multitude of other names and the booze he had been forced to down.

On his way to the toilets he spotted the other initiates, huddled in smaller groups. Traitors. Leaving him to deal with all the SOLDIERs all alone when he'd really like nothing better than be alone. So he could think. Or something. Where was Tifa anyway? She wasn't at the bar, maybe she... oh, that was right. Tifa didn't exist. Except she did. But she wasn't Tifa, not really, because he had to save Zack.

He blinked, wondering if his thoughts were so confusing because he was drunk or if he was confused by his thoughts because he was drunk. Or if anything he thought made any sense at all. Ever. Maybe it didn't and that was why he was always thinking. Or brooding as Tifa called it. Except the Tifa that called it brooding didn't exist and instead there was a smaller Tifa who called him her bestest friend but now he had a better bestest friend called Zack, who would never let anyone else tell him who he could be friends with.

Hadn't he already thought this before?

And what guy took this long to take a leak anyway? He had been waiting for far too long and in a moment another SOLDIER was gonna corner him and force another (no longer) vile drink down his throat and he would never be able to get a break long enough for his metabolism to process at least some of the alcohol in his system and then maybe the world would make sense.

Finally the door opened and out traipsed some tiny blonde girl in a miniskirt and a top in some shimmery material. She didn't even have the decency to look guilty over having used the men's room, just shot him a coquettish smile and a wink before sashaying back out into the crowded bar.

Cloud shook his head and entered the toilet, not noticing the sudden hush behind him.

A young man stood in the door, casually leaning against the frame and letting the cold night air waft in past him. He wasn't invited, he knew, not that it was a private party as such but Turks and SOLDIERs generally kept apart and even if he kept it casual, there was no way top-trained military elites such as these could confuse him with an office drone. He knew the way he moved betrayed his skill in close combat, the same way the SOLDIERs could not possibly disguise themselves as anything but highly lethal. Not even if you removed the mako glow.

Ignoring the temptation to flip the bird in the SOLDIERs general direction the Turk strode towards the bar, raising his hand to flag down one of the voluptuous barmaids. It pleased him that even with the bar full of SOLDIERs, he still got instant service. Perk of being a Turk.

The beer was cold and sizzled as it slid down his throat; not the best of its kind, but decent enough at that, he mused, staring into the now half-empty pint and ignoring the SOLDIER who sat down next to him.

"Yo," he quipped, as though he, too, were oblivious to the undercurrent of enmity surrounding him. The SOLDIER eyed him shrewdly for just a moment before throwing a nod at the waitress, who instantly came over. The SOLDIER, leaning over the bar and with a hand light on her shoulder, said something into her ear which made her giggle and throw him a coy smile before she went and retrieved a bottle of hard liquor and two shot glasses.

"Yo, yourself," the SOLDIER finally answered, turning on the stool. He was nothing but a large boy, the Turk thought. Features still smooth and still carrying a little baby fat on his cheeks, black hair spiked with a few locks hanging down into his eyes. Well, that pretty face answered the question of why he got service as fast as a Turk; the kid's ma probably had as little resistance to those luminous eyes as the girls behind the bar did. "I bet," the kid continued, oblivious or ignoring the Turk's close scrutiny, "I bet that I can out-drink you. All those rumours 'bout Turks? They're bullshit. No way a Turk has enough resistance to drink a SOLDIER under the table." The SOLDIER was slurring a little bit, not enough that someone who was also tipsy would notice, but someone who was stone cold sober would without a doubt. And maybe he wasn't exactly Cissnei, who could drink a dragon down, but he wasn't a weak drinker either and sure the rumours might be a little exaggerated but this kid was already tipsy at the very least and he knew a few tricks.

Besides, the idiot had hurt his pride as a Turk

"You're on."

Grinning, the young SOLDIER poured into the two shot glasses, before picking one up and without so much as a 'cheers' downed the liquid.

Lifting his own glass, the Turk was halted by a sudden shout from behind. Who, in this gathering knew his name?

A rather petite blond made his way towards them through the crowd, or maybe he just looked petite because everyone around him was either tall or burly or both. And because he was so young, the redhead noted, when he got close. Younger, even, than the muscular teen he was drinking with. Which could only mean he was the new little prodigy everyone was talking about. Cloud Strife. Well, well, well. There was jailbait, he supposed, and then there was jailbait.

Why would Cloud Strife know his name? Maybe he had heard it wrong. He didn't have SOLDIER hearing and the bar was rather loud, but the reaction to the shout had been instinctive.

His new SOLDIER buddy had turned as well and was waving the blond over, although the kid, the more kid of the two, was already coming over anyway.

"Hey, buddy!" the black-haired SOLDIER greeted, clapping the other on his shoulder with an enthusiastic smile. You'd think the blond would have fallen over from the force, he really didn't seem like SOLDIER material, but the stumble seemed more induced by liquor than anything else. "Came over ter drink with us? Thissis my new buddy, uh... I didn't get your name, Turk, I'm Zack, by the way." The hand was removed from blondie's shoulder and extended forward.

"Name's Reno, yo," he replied and took the hand with some trepidation. So his suspicion that he was sitting with Zack the Puppy was correct. Great. The guy wasn't exactly known for his great restraint. Then again, he wasn't known for being violent either, just... excitable. And brilliant with a sword. So the fact that the two prodigies had teamed up was true as well, even though Strife, according to the latest batch of rumours, was better. Good to know that Fair wasn't the jealous type.

He did have restraint too, Reno noticed, as his hand wasn't crushed in the handshake. It was firm and slightly sticky from sweat, but not crushing and not limb. He had always hated those limb handshakes some of the office workers gave whenever he was forced to work with them. They always thought that carrying favour with a Turk would help them (and it sure as fuck was more conductive to continued living than not carrying favour with a Turk) but they all seemed like they'd rather not touch him at all, as though they suspected he might not wash his hands after he took a dump.

"Nice ter meet you and all that. Thissis Cloud, mind if he joins?"

"'M not drink'n wishyu," the blond slurred, blinking like he couldn't quite focus on Reno's face. "Ev'ron here wanna drin' wish me, an' I had 'nuff." Which was rather obvious, Reno thought, amused, considering that even aside from the slurred speech, just then, with no discernible cause, the kid pitched forward, face colliding with the Turk's chest before he caught himself on the bar or Reno caught him, whichever came first.

"Easy there, kiddo."

"'M notta kid." He hoisted himself back up, trying for and failing at an intimidating stare. "You're more kid th'n I am. Can' be more'n twen'y. Reno." He said the name like he was testing it or tasting it. Or making fun of him.

"Uh, Spike? You're fourteen or did you forget?"

The blond blinked, like he was confused. "Oh, righ'. I am." He sat down on the chair next to Zack, leaning slightly on the other teens back while the Second Class turned to Reno, violet eyes shining with amusement.

"You still haven't downed that shot, Red," he pointed out, tapping a finger on the counter. Cloud seemed to have almost fallen asleep already against his back, but the older teen seemed not to mind the close contact, hunching forward a little.

Either the two had a really close relationship, were lovers in secret (or not so secret?)o r they just had a weird idea of what constituted as normal physical contact. Maybe a combination.

Reno threw down his shot and promptly got a new one. Zack had already filled his own again and they threw down the second without exchanging another word.

"So," the SOLDIER asked then, shifting a bit to avoid his friend's until then impending slide to the floor. "What'sa Turk doin' at a SOLDIER party? Pickin' up gossip?" The tone was playful but the was a glint in the young man's eyes that warned Reno that he better have a better reason than spying. Of course, Turks were always spying, it was practically on their contract to know everything there was to know going on. Interesting or not, relevant or not, the Turks knew it.

"Naw," he replied with a certain nonchalant air he knew would either piss the SOLDIER off or make them best friends forever when he finished the sentence. Sorta. Maybe not. Not if the comfortable way Cloud Strife was leaning against him meant anything, but it was close enough. "If I meant to pick up anythin', I wouldn't of agreed to drink against a SOLDIER, ya get me?"

Fair snorted and sent him a look that Reno would have called flirtatious except that every rumour there had ever been about Fair pecked him as straight. If you discarded the rumours that Strife had whored himself to recognition, and they certainly were familiar enough with each other for something like that to have happened except that if it really had happened it was much more likely they'd try to avoid that kind of intimacy in public.

Clearly the whatever-they-were-drinking was kicking in.

When the redhead next tried to grab his glass he just missed and caused the clear liquid to spill down the counter and onto the already sticky floor. Good thing he wasn't the one who was supposed to clean up after this.

"Sorry," he apologized and let his voice slur a little. "Can I have another? What are we drinkin' anyway?"

Pouring again, Zack smirked. "Mother's Love," he replied, the smug bastard. Well, shit, no wonder he was already feeling it.

Leaning against Zack's back, Cloud was not so much sleeping (that would just be too awkward and besides the bar was loud) as he was waiting for the toxins to get washed out of his system so he could think straight again. Zack's back was warm and steady, the SOLDIER expertly avoided sudden movements that could dislodge him as though they did this all the time.

He was Zack's friend, he mused, maybe he should warn him that Reno cheated? Then again, Zack had been the one who got him to come here, knowing what they did to the new guy. Guys, really, since they had been nine, it was just that Cloud was a much more well-known new guy, singled out after his bout with Zack and the Firsts apparent interest.

"Yanno, Zack?" He slurred, head lolling a little. He wondered faintly why it felt so familiar to lean against the other, but the thought was fleeting and disappeared as soon as he tried grasping for it.

"Yeah?" His back rest replied while pouring yet another shot. The pouring wasn't so difficult, but shooting down a shot without displacing his friend had proved rather tricky. It was funny though. He would never have pecked Cloud to get all touchy for any reason. Not even drunk.

"Uh..." Cloud continued, wondering what he had been about to say. "Your back'sh real comf'tabel." It had maybe not been what he had been about to say, but Zack didn't know that. Cloud didn't even know that himself. He giggled slightly at the thought but quickly stifled it when he realised what he was doing. "I'm real dwunk."

"You sure are," Zack replied, amused.

"What's you two love birds whispering 'bout?" Reno broke in, slamming the shot glass back onto the counter.

"Reno's cheating," Cloud replied, loud enough for a non-SOLDIER to hear it in the din.

"Am not!"

"'Sh too. Tha' shot 'tally went on th' floor. Splash!" He giggled again before bringing up a hand to silence himself. This was exactly why he abhorred getting really drunk; he got so silly and he giggled. Giggled! Men were just not supposed to giggle. Ever.

"Wha'?!" Indignation was all but coating Reno's tongue if you were to believe the look in his eyes. "How can ya say that? Ya weren't even facing this way, yo."

"Don' nee' to. Tha' shot 'u spilled b'fore 'sh to hide it."

"Ya can't be serious, man, blamin' me fer a li'l accident like that. Tha's jus' ridiculous."

Cloud giggled again. It was funny how Reno reversed to his roots when he got cornered. Still not as bad as he had probably been right when he got off the street, but recognisable if you were listening for it.

"Hey, Cloudy? Yanno, I can look after myself here."

"But you don't know Reno's tricks!"

"C'm'on, Cloud! Just because you know some tricks, and I'd like to know where you know them from by the way, but it doesn't mean that Reno's copying them."

"Of courshe he ish! Ever'won kno's he goesh all shee.. all sh.. all shtreet shmart when's at he'sh lyin'."

"Right. Everyone knows that. Silly me." Zack cast look towards Reno, a mix between apologetic and amused. Reno shrugged in response and smirked, pretending like he didn't know exactly what the little twerp was talking about. But if 'everyone' knew it then that was really, really bad. Not that he was bad at lying, he usually didn't feel cornered enough to slip, but the mini-SOLDIER gave him the absolute creeps even drunk and giggling as he was. "Sorry Reno," the big SOLDIER said as he stood and dragged his friend up with him. "I think Cloud's gotten a little too much, I should get him back to his bed before he falls asleep for real or another SOLDIER decides to pour more drinks down his throat."

"Sure, okay." He blinked, coming back from his stupor. Fuck, if he was slipping this much then it was probably for the best that the two were leaving. "You runnin' Fair? Too scared to drink with someone older'n you?"

"Psh, hardly, you can't be more'n a little older than me anyway. Seventeen?"

"I'm nineteen, you dumbfuck." But with no real heat behind the insult, only a stupid or suicidal man would rise to the bait.

"Yeah, right. Maybe another time, then."

Maybe he shouldn't have agreed to a drinking contest with Zack Fair, he was totally off his game; Mother's Love was notoriously SOLDIERs Only drink (capital and everything) and even SOLDIERs were careful with the stuff. Well, Fair hadn't been, but then, Fair hadn't known that Reno was cheating. The little spiky-haired bastard had though. Weird.

Outside, Zack was trying to prompt his friend to walk on his own, not even bothering to hold back his grin at Cloud's complete lack of grace. Taking pity, he put an arm under the other's, holding him up while they traipsed slowly back to headquarters.

"Yanno, Zack, 'u're my friendesht besht ever. I really don' want 'u to die, yanno? I don't wanna, wanna-."

"Hey, I'm right here, buddy, and I'm not gonna die, okay?"

"No. I'll make shure 'f it! I'll protect 'u thish time!"

"Uh, yeah. You do that, buddy." They walked on in silence, Zack wondering how the hell Cloud suddenly got such an idea and Cloud stumbling along besides him with the most horrible feeling of deja vu.

Angeal stared down at his hands; strong hands, broad, calloused from sword training even though he only used his hands more often than not. Hands he had used to kill and, on occasion, capture. Hands owned by ShinRa. And he had never before realised exactly how much.

With a furious yell, almost a scream, he buried the right one in the wall all the way up to his wrist. The white tile had splintered and a piece had almost hit him in the eye. Would have if he hadn't had SOLDIER reflexes. He suddenly felt sick again.

Well, ShinRa could just go fuck themselves! See if he was ever going to lift a finger of these hands for them ever again, see if he would fight in their thrice cursed war!

He got up from the floor of his bathroom and went back into his office to pace. Cloud had of course left. He could be somewhat grateful for the space that provided. And time. To think.

What was he supposed to do now? If he wasn't with ShinRa... there really weren't all that many other things he could do and... and Cloud needed his help and had admonished caution. With a sigh, the burly First sat down on his chair, comfortble, best you could buy for money, just like him, except Sephiroth was the best but the sentiment was exactly the same. With a sigh he let the tension drain. Throwing a temper tantrum like this wasn't him at all anyway, it was more up Genesis' alley. Oh, Planet, what was he going to tell Genesis and Sephiroth? How was he going to hide something like this? He was a horrible liar and besides they were both, especially the general, hyper aware the second someone was lying to them.

Right. He didn't have to lie. They suspected nothing, they would have no reason to ask for it and if they ever did he was just going to have to tell them because they were his friends and lying to your friends was just dishonourable. Not something he either could or would stomach.

That also meant that he definitely could not run; they would suspect something immediately and even if they didn't, they would be the ones ShinRa sent after him. There was no way the multi-million gil corporation would just let him go, would let any of them go. Valuable resources and all that.

It all meant he could only hope they would be able to hide it long enough.

Zack looked down at Cloud, snuggled up against his pillow. His friend had refused any sort of covering, despite his room being slightly cooler than at least what Zack preferred, but the kid was an oven in his own right so it would probably be fine.

He turned away and stretched his back. It hadn't taken long to hoist the new Third back to headquarters, especially as Cloud's haze cleared a little on the way. There would likely still be plenty of time to get back to the party if he wanted to, he had been hoping to get laid and a voluptuous redhead had been sending him eyes all night.

He spared another thought for Cloud's morbid declarations. It was nice to know that Cloud valued him of course, but he wished his friend hadn't mixed death in to it. When the rainy season in Wutai cleared and the war began anew there would be plenty of death. No reason why they should meet their troubles halfway.

NB! Okay. So. Seriously. I need a new title for this fic, because right now, with the way it's progressing, the reason why I chose this title in the first place has become moot. A little help maybe?