So I got a request for this fic to go from SephxZackxCloud to SephxGenxZackxCloud. As I said, I'll take any suggestions. So here we go.
Just wondering, does anyone have any suggestions for Angeal?
Pairings: SephxZackxCloud, TsengxReno (Eventual SephxGenxZackxCloud, TsengxRufusxReno)
-o-o-
Sephiroth counted on his eyes in many situations. He had been in places that he couldn't hear any movements that were being made, and had to trust his eyes.
Now seemed to be the one time he couldn't. Not with the friend he thought was dead standing in front of him and the voice of another friend coming from the bedroom.
He considered for a moment, then was in the house and well on his way to the bedroom in scarcely a heatbeat. He saw Angeal standing over Zack and Sephiroth threw him back into the wall. He hit with a solid crash, waking Zack abruptly and startling Cloud awake.
Genesis ran inside the room as Zack whirled, positioning himself in front of Cloud. He froze when he saw his mentor.
Sephiroth stalked over to his loves and pulled a blanket around Zack, who had exposed himself unknowingly. Then he wrapped Cloud in a thin sheet and held him in his arms as he turned to face the men who had gone missing years ago. With Cloud in his arms, he had less of a chance of striking them.
"What do you want?" he asked in a chilly voice.
Angeal ignored him in favor of addressing his student. "Pup... Puppy, calm down. We're not here to fight. We just saw you two and had to drop by."
Zack's face twisted up and Sephiroth thought he might cry, but he composed himself. Cloud shivered a little, so he tightened his grip and began rocking him ever so gently. A glance at Genesis showed that he seemed to be facinated by the bundle Sephiroth was keeping hidden from hm.
"You leave me. You leave me all alone," Zack growled. "And come back after years, just to 'drop by?!?" Zack shot to his feet, holding the blanket around him. "I missed you, thought you were dead for years, and you just show up! And you preached about honor!"
Sephiroth went over and put a hand on his shoulder, then passed him Cloud. Zack sat down and let Cloud cling around his neck, and held the sheet around Cloud so neither of the AWOL Generals could see him.
"I believe we should talk," Sephiroth said evenly.
"Not me," Zack grumbled. "I'm tired and he needs rest."
Angeal took a few steps forward. "Who is he?" he asked, reaching to pull the sheet away from the bundle's head.
Sephiroth grabbed his hand and nearly broke it. He growled ferally. "We talk. Now."
Genesis came forward and pried Sephiroth's hand from his best friend's arm. Sephiroth whirled, intending to hit the man, but was stopped by a weak, tentative grip on his forearm.
Cloud had reached out to hold him back, sleep making him weaker. The sheet covered everything but his hand from the missing Generals, but Sephiroth could see twin sapphires peering up at him with concern.
Sephiroth unhooked the hand and kissed it. He turned back to the others. "We need to talk. Out."
Genesis looked like he might argue, but Angeal dragged him out. Sephiroth left the room last, closing the door behind him. He wordlessly lead the two to the low table that he had spoken with Godo at.
They each took a seat. Angeal and Genesis waited for Sephiroth to speak.
"Why did you leave me?" he asked, not looking at them.
Genesis squirmed. He felt bad for leaving Sephiroth behind. Sephiroth had been left for the scientists when they went missing.
"We had to get away from Shinra, Seph. The monotony, the endless pain... it was getting to us," Angeal answered.
"But I was there too. I could bear it. And you left your pup too, Ang."
"But Hojo wanted you alive. Ever since our scientist died, Hojo hasn't cared whether we live or died. He would have killed us, or at least Genesis."
Sephiroth understood. Hojo hated both of them because he thought they were flawed. He especially hated Genesis. On more than one occasion he had heard Hojo mutter about exterminating failed specimens.
"You could have told me."
"You would have wanted to come," Genesis added. "We would have never been let go so easily if you had been with us. And if we had taken you, you wouldn't have Angeal's puppy naked in your bed right now," he teased.
"Or the one you hid from us," Angeal put in, a cautious smile on his lips.
Sephiroth understood why they left. Zack would probably need his own heart to heart with Angeal before he forgave them. But they hadn't meant any harm. "Stay here, I'll get him if you want to meet him."
Without waiting for an answer, he stood and made his way to the bedroom. He found Zack, now dressed, helping a sleepy, confused Cloud dress in pajamas. Sephiroth smiled at the paw print design on the shirt and the chocobo and mog pattern on the pants. He held his arms open and had them filled with puppies. Angeal's and his.
"Cloud, love, would you like to meet them?"
Cloud looked up, and Zack did too. Zack's eyes were accusing, and Cloud's were confused. "I don't know, should I?"
"You should," Sephiroth said firmly. He took both of their hands and led them out. he and Zack both stood with and arm around Cloud when they presented him to the men. Genesis undressed him with his eyes, and Angeal's own eyes widened.
Cloud looked at the floor, blushing madly. He still couldn't talk to strangers. Eventually he peered up at them through his blond spikes. "H-hello."
Genesis made a quiet noise that only the mako enhanced heard. It sounded suspiciously like a squeal. Angeal shot him a look that told him to stop his childish antics. He sent back a look that said, "Who me? Whatever do you mean?"
Cloud, once again imtimidated by the men his loves spoke so highly of, began inching back. Before anyone could stop him, he raced out of the room. Zack was hot on his heels.
Sephiroth looked at the door. Then he looked at his best friends. "You could have said hi," he told them, sounding like he was pouting.
Angeal had to agree with that. "Will the child be back?"
"He's not a child," Sephiroth snapped. It was clearly a touchy subject.
"Will the jail-bait be back?" Genesis asked lazily.
Sephiroth snarled at his friend and Zack gave him a glare as he walked back in.
"He has a name, use it," Zack hissed. Angeal moved his hand to pat Zack's head like he used to, but Sephiroth snatched the younger SOLDIER back before he could. After a tense moment, Sephiroth relaxed.
"Zack," Angeal said slowly, still eyeing Sephiroth. "We can't use a name we don't know."
"His name is Cloud Strife. He is-"
"Jail-bait," Genesis finished.
"A cadet," Sephiroth hissed. "I will have to hurt you if you continue calling him that."
Zack kept his head for once. "Seph, go find Cloud," he whirled on his older lover.
"But-"
"We don't want a repeat of the Heidegger insident. Cloud is hiding somewhere, go find him."
Sephiroth threw one last hateful look at the auburn haired man before obeying Zack. Zack turned on the man himself. "By Midgar standards, Cloud's underaged. But he hails from a backwater mountain town called Nibelheim. There isn't an age of consent there at all, and it applies to him because he's still technically a resident."
Angeal ruffled his hair like he used to, and Zack's face scruched up for a moment as if he might cry. "What happened with Heidegger?"
Zack's face smoothed out. "He was yelling at Seph about how Cloud's underaged or whatever, and Cloud tried to tell him that he wasn't. Heidegger hit the kid and busted his lip pretty bad, which is why he has stitches. Sephiroth went crazy on the guy and mauled him. When Scarlet tried to step in, he broke her leg. Later on they were both fired for attempts to intimidate a Shinra official or something."
"I can't see the fat man giving up his lackeys so easily," Angeal pointed out.
"This is why Turks are awesome," Zack began and saw them make faces. "What?"
"Turks are a SOLDIERs nightmare."
Zack stuck his tougue out at them. "Not anymore. Seph made a treaty with Tseng, the leader of the Turks. Anyway, your bashing Cloud's bestest friend forever by hating Turks."
Genesis was still grumbling. "Turks are barbaric-"
"They saved my life," a small voice said from the doorway. They turned to see Cloud tucked safely under Sephiroth's arm. Cloud blushed at the attention, but held their eyes.
"So why were they fired?" Angeal asked, trying to ignore the fact that Genesis was mentally molesting Cloud.
"Tseng pointed out that Cloud's mother could sue for injuries unrelated to his training... Genesis, get your eyes off of Cloud. Pervert."
Cloud blushed and Sephiroth snarled. "Eyes off before I take them off myself."
Cloud turned and wrapped his arms around the silver haired general. He held on tightly and Sephiroth was touched by the open display of affecion. As always, his eyes softened and he regained him temper.
"Cloud... Are you tired? Do you wish to sleep?" he asked, stroking the blond hair.
The cheek pressed against the silk fabric nodded and Sephiroth lifted him up and carried him to their bedroom. He was back in a moment, putting an arm around Zack's waist. "There is a guest room down the hall. You may use it. Goodnight." He picked Zack up with the same intentions he had picked Cloud up with. he left before they could say a word.
Genesis broke the silence. "Guess he has dibs on both of them..."
"Genesis, I forbid you to touch either of them."
"What if they want it?"
"Sephiroth would kill you."
Genesis shrugged and walked out the door and down the hall. "Time for beddy-bye time!" he called to Angeal, who followed him after a moments hesitation.
Genesis, who had been hoping to hear the three going at it, was sorely disappointed that night.
-o-o-
Genesis and Angeal were met with a great wakeup call. Cloud, dressed in a light robe, slowly opened their door and slipped in with a tray of food. Angeal almost drooled at the food after all his time hiding in the wilderness with none of this. Genesis licked his lips, but not at the food.
"I'm sorry about this, but Zack didn't want you at the table," he said shyly, offering the tray.
Genesis's eyes finally went to the tray. "Why Cloud, you made this? For us? I feel so honored," he teased.
"I make Sephiroth and Zack breakfast everday, and I always make extra in case someone stops by. At Shinra, Reno and Tseng usually dropped in for breakfast everyday," Cloud assured them, unaware he was being teased.
They made faces. "Turks?" Angeal had to ask.
"Yes. Why don't you like them?"
"Turks are evil," Genesis declared mullishly.
Angeal finally relieved Cloud of the tray and set it on a desk. He easily pulled the bed over so Genesis could sit cross legged on the bed while eating. As for Angeal, he took the chair and positioned it at one of the sides.
"Reno isn't! And Tseng is really nice too!"
"You know what Turks do, don't you? They kill."
"I don't care."
"But-"
"Genesis, eat the food and stop harrasing the boy," Angeal ordered his friend and recived a grateful look from the blond for his troubles.
Cloud stood awkwardly for a while as the men ate. They discovered the food was delicious, and were wary of why Cloud was standing there.
"Uh, did you want to sit?" Genesis offered, perplexed.
Cloud sank awkwardly to sit on the extreme corner of the bed. He fiddled with the sash of his robe until the men were done. When Cloud reached for the dishes, Angeal pulled them away.
"Is there anything wrong, Cloud? Is there a problem with Zack and Sephiroth?" Angeal felt he had to ask after all the kindness the boy was showing them, even knowing they left Sephiroth and Zack alone at Shinra, one of the coldest places in the world.
"No," Cloud said, but he looked saddened. Angeal was forced to relinquish the dishes to the blond and they both watched as he walked out the door.
"That kid is damaged," were Genesis's first words. Angeal's slap to the back of the man's head was a close second.
"Don't talk about the person both Zack and Sephiroth love," he warned as Genesis pouted at him.
Zack flew in the room and shut the door quickly behind him. "The emperor is here, stay quiet and stay here," he hissed in a low voice before once again flying out the door.
When Zack arrived to greet the emperor from his 'nap,' he looked calm, cool, and collected. Yuffie had also came with the emperor, and Cloud knelt to chatter to the girl in Wutaiian.
Godo smiled at the sight, then faced Sephiroth. "I would like to invite you on a tour of our villiage. Of course, both of your loves are welcomed to come," he said.
Sephiroth had to decide; shun the fragile nation or leave his runaway friends for the day. It was the easiest choice he ever made.
"Of course. We'd be honored to," he said politely. Zack smiled up at him, and Cloud did too. He felt very good about his choice.
"Let us be going then."
-o-o-
As the sky darkened to night, Sephiroth, Zack, and Cloud returned home. It seemed Genesis did not appreciate being left alone all day in a room with Angeal. Angeal was just as upset, but he hid it better.
When Genesis began throwing around half-remembered quotes from Loveless, Cloud was confused. "W-what does that even mean...?"
Genesis stared at him in openmouthed horror, then shrieked at Sephiroth, "He doesn't know LOVELESS!?!"
When he was laughed at, he grabbed Cloud, not enough to hurt, but enough to drag him to a corner where he sat him down and in hushed whispers explained everything about his beloved play that he could remember. Hiding in the wilderness had dulled his memory of it, but he still loved it more than life.
What made everyone else laugh was that Cloud seemed utterly facinated. Genesis was thrilled, of course.
Genesis continued on with his lecture for a long time, taking no notice of Cloud's yawns and fights to keep his eyes open. In the end, Zack had to literally grab the boy by the sash and drag him away for Genesis to stop.
That night, Genesis was the one to put Cloud to bed. Under Zack's watchful eye of course.
-o-o-
"What was this morning about? Cloud seemed like he was avoiding you two," Angeal asked.
Sephiroth, dealing cards to Angeal, Genesis, an Zack, was the one to respond. "We had a stressful day yesterday."
"Cloud might have been raped," Zack added in a whisper they almost didn't hear.
The two AWOL SOLDIERs froze. "What?" Genesis asked dumbly. Sephiroth and Zack explained in hushed tones.
"Do you know anyway we might be able to test if he was?" Sephiroth asked his friends in desperation.
They both thought. "Well, if you use a combination of Sense and Cure materia, you might be able to see if the skin had been healed," Angeal offered.
Sephiroth nodded thoughtfully. "I might have those materia with me..."
Zack looked a little hopeful. "Then lets do it!" He stood and raced to the bedroom, Sephiroth following. Angeal caught Genesis before he could follow and made him sit down.
Cloud woke when his loves came in. They explained the idea and the concept to a wary Cloud, who grudgingly gave consent. He let Zack slip behind him on the bed, putting his back to the headboard. He lifted the cadet up and placed him on his slightly raised thighs. He carefully opened Cloud's legs and pulled down his underwear, exposing him to Sephiroth.
While they worked on that, Sephiroth found a gauntlet and equiped the materia needed to it. Turning, he caught his breath as he looked at Cloud. This was the first time he had seen the cadet open his legs fully. He had to remind himself that they had work to do.
Sephiroth sat on the bed and put his hands on Cloud to help spread his legs further. They both plainly saw that the blond was obviously aroused at their touches. Sephiroth gave him a sympathetic smile.
He put his thumbs at the edges of Cloud's opening and further spread him. Only then did he activate the materia. He scanned Cloud for a moment, then deactivated the materia. H shed himself of the gauntlet and looked back at his loves.
-o-o-
Moments later, Zack ran out of the room with tears on his cheeks. He went straight for his mentor and desperately hugged the man.