Ah... What to say about this chapter? Well it's long overdue and it's all my fault. I am sorry. But in all fairness my classes are KILLING me. This week has been amazingly easy, so here is the latest chapter!
By the way, I have a new idea for a fic (FFVII of course) and I'm going to try to work on it and when I have a fair amount done, I'll post it to see what you think.
And no, I do not own Final Fantasy 7, thanks so much for reminding me that I'm broke.
-o-o-
"Clo-oud," Genesis whined from his chair near the door. Cloud gave him a brief glance and immediately turned back to the fruits. "How much longer?"
"A minute later than when you asked last," was Cloud's matter-of-fact answer.
Things were blessedly quiet for a moment until-
"But you said you didn't know," Genesis pointed out.
"Yes. One minute later than 'I don't know' o'clock."
Genesis gave up with reasoning and settled for an unamused stare. The owner of the store was sitting behind the counter, fanning himself with a newspaper. When Cloud and Genesis first arrived there had been some other people, but when Genesis began his whining they quickly finished up their business. After that Genesis decided he was tired and demanded a chair. When told to sit on the floor he moved his obnoxious behavior to the next level and actually resorted to stamping his feet.
Cloud felt sorry for the owner. He seemed like a nice guy, it was a shame he had to deal with someone like Genesis. That eventually led to him being sorry for himself because Genesis would not stop talking.
Cloud shot him a dirty look and set down the fruit he had been examining. He took a deep breath as if to calm himself and promptly went after Genesis.
-o-o-
On the way back to the room he was sharing with Zack and Sephiroth, Cloud was grinning more widely than he ever thought possible as Genesis trailed behind him, wisely keeping his mouth shut and pressure on his bleeding wounds.
Cloud swung the bag and hummed as he entered the inn and climbed the stairs at a speed Genesis almost couldn't match. He quickly moved down the hall and opened his room. He entered with a huge smile and a quick hello as he took in the overly innocent expression on Sephiroth's face and chose to ignore it.
Sephiroth and Angeal were sitting at the table and Zack wasn't sitting as much as he was sprawled over the table. The two fully awake men gave Cloud answering smiles of their own. Those smiles dropped off their face quickly as they saw Genesis' face.
"What happened to you?" Angeal asked worriedly, standing and walking over to gently take Genesis' hand off his forehead. He leaned in close to inspect a dark bruise with a small cut over his eye.
"He had a realization that talking is okay, but not in large quantities," Cloud said with a smug air as he retreated to the kitchen to put away the groceries. Sephiroth and Angeal stared after him in surprise.
Genesis sighed and wrapped his arms around Angeal's waist and kissed him lightly. The man gave him a stern look that told him to tell them everything.
"We were at the store, I was talking... A lot, apparently... And Cloud just attacked me! He tackled me, I'll have you know!" Genesis whined. Angeal, at a loss of what to do, patted Genesis on the back comfortingly and looked to Sephiroth for answers.
"I don't know why he would do it, don't look at me," Sephiroth said, arching his brow. "Cloud is usually a very non-violent person."
"Of course I am," Cloud announced from the doorway. "But Genesis was practically harassing the poor store owner and me. He criticized everything!"
"I never said a thing about you!"
"Not me, but everything else! I was just shutting you up! How was I to know you had no balance?" Cloud demanded, looking very much like an aggravated chocobo.
"Here, Spike, just come here," Zack sighed and motioned for Cloud to come over. Cloud thought it over but shook his head.
"I have to make breakfast, do you mind helping?" Cloud asked hopefully, seeming to calm himself, if only slightly.
"Of course not, let's get started. But just to let you know, I'm not actually cooking. Things explode around me. It's a mystery," Zack laughed with a yawn.
Cloud pouted slightly. "It's not only when you're cooking, it's when you're around cooking."
"Details, details. What are we making?" Zack asked, ushering Cloud into the kitchen as the blonde answered.
"I apologize, Genesis," Sephiroth said at once. "Cloud is not prone to acts of violence but one of the downsides of him getting comfortable with you is that he is comfortable enough to show that he has more of a bite than a bark. I would have warned you if I had thought of it, but it seemed unlikely."
"What? He's done stuff like that before?" Genesis snapped.
"Yes, actually. That Turk friend of his? Reno? He broke his arm. It is my understanding that Reno had been grabbing Cloud's ass."
"He broke his arm?" Angeal repeated skeptically.
"It was healed not too long after, but yes. When Zack and Cloud met, Zack insisted Cloud learn basic self-defense for larger opponents. Reno isn't much larger, but he is taller," Sephiroth explained.
"Still, that kid doesn't look like he could hurt a fly," Angeal muttered.
"You'd be surprised," Sephiroth said absently. His attention was on the opening kitchen door and he smiled at Cloud as he crept out. Cloud walked slowly to Genesis' side and his eyes remained glued on the floor.
"I-I'm... I'm really sorry," Cloud said quietly. Zack pushed the kitchen door open and peered out worriedly. "I really am... Don't... Please don't hold it against me. I promise that I'll never ever make you unhappy again..."
"Kitten..." Genesis reached over and pulled him into his lap. "I'm not happy about getting hit, but I don't want you to feel like this. You really could have just told me that you wanted me to shut up. If you had outright told me, I would have been quieter."
"I won't... I won't hurt any of you, no matter what," Cloud promised. "Never. Never again."
"Cloud," Sephiroth's cool voice cut through the self-hating haze in Cloud's mind. He finally looked up. "That's not something that you should promise. Yes, you reacted badly. Yes, Genesis is a little hurt. But if you swear to never hurt to us, we could hurt you. You wouldn't be able to make what you want clear if it interferes with what we want. Do you understand? You would get hurt. If one of us wanted it, we could push you into things your uncomfortable with."
"But I have to. I don't want to hurt any of you..."
"We'll be fine. Mako, remember?" Zack piped up. "What made you hit Gen anyway?"
"I don't know," Cloud responded, squirming on Genesis' lap until he could look behind him at Zack. "I was just angry for some reason. I shouldn't have been..."
Zack's eyes narrowed slightly until he smoothed it off his face. He grinned with a careless shrug.
"You probably just looked at him. His face would infuriate anyone, I'm sure," Zack laughed. He strode forward and picked Cloud up. Without another word, he retreated to the kitchen.
"He's grown up," Angeal sighed longingly, wishing he had been there to see his puppy turn into the guardian he was now. "Zack is so much more mature than he was when we left."
"I suspect our leaving must have had something to do with it," Genesis sighed as well.
"In part," Sephiroth allowed, lowering his voice. "Mostly it was Cloud. Zack met him before anyone else. Zack was Cloud's first friend, actually. Zack sees to it that Cloud has a great friend and is happy because of that. Before Zack, only Cloud's mother loved him. Zack only... wants to ease Cloud's heartache. If that means acting like he is a mature adult, he will."
"How did they meet?" Angeal asked curiously.
"SORRY!" The kitchen door banged open and Zack raced out of it laughing. "Sorry Spike! I didn't know it would catch fire!"
Still laughing, Zack seated himself at the table. "So what are we talking about?" Zack asked them pleasantly.
"I was asking how you met Cloud," Angeal volunteered.
"Oh," Zack laughed. "That's a REALLY good story. You see, I had a day off and little did I know the cadets were given liberty that day. So I'm like, 'What to do on suck a horrible day?' because it was acid raining and the rain woulda ate me up if I tried to actually do anything, so I decided why not go to get some food? The cafeteria food isn't that good, but its food, so hey, who cares? So by this point I was wandering around and I was closer to the cadet mess then the SOLDIER ones, so I'm like 'Sweet, I can go see all the little troopers in their funny looking uniforms' and I start heading over there.
"So when I get to the cadet complex, I had to stop and try and remember where everything is and I just couldn't remember. So I just started wandering around again; I figured I'd get there someday. Then I found some double doors so I'm thinking that I'm there only when I open the doors, it's the library. By this point I was pretty hungry so I went in to ask if anyone could take me to cafeteria, and you'll never guess who I saw!"
"Cloud?" Sephiroth asked dryly.
"Yeah, you must be psychic!" Zack laughed. "Anyway, Cloud was there, only he wasn't reading or anything. He was sitting on top one of the bookshelves organizing books on top. So I thought it was pretty strange and I went over to him and asked him what he was doing and after some blushing and stuttering and stammering I got that he was helping shelve books and he was too short to reach the top shelf so he boosted himself up there and he was shelving the books that had to go there. So I forgot I was hungry and we just started talking and when he was done the rain had stopped, so we went out for dinner."
Cloud peeked in just as Zack was done with his story. "Hey, breakfast is done. After this we can go!"
-o-o-
After they had all finished their breakfast and retrieved their weapons, the men assembled near the edge of Gongaga and when Sephiroth nodded at him, Angeal led the way out of town and presumably towards the zoo.
Sephiroth fidgeted and debated with himself as they walked. Finally he made a decision and called out to Cloud to stop and told the rest to go on without them for a little. Zack gave him a warning glance and Angeal and Genesis just shrugged it off. When Sephiroth was sure they were gone, he turned to Cloud and embraced him.
"I love you, you know that, right?" Sephiroth asked.
"Of course, I love you too," Cloud answered, surprised. "What's this about, Sephiroth?"
"I looked at your poems," Sephiroth confessed in a rush. "I'm sorry, but I was curious. I rather liked them, if that's any consolation."
Cloud stood there and just stared up and him blankly.
"You know that there are some things that I would like to keep private, right?" Cloud asked blandly.
"Yes, I'm terribly sorry, I didn't think..."
"That's what I thought. So you liked them?" Cloud asked, continuing to walk.
"Yes, they reflect you very well," Sephiroth nodded and strode to catch up.
"I know I shouldn't be embarrassed, but it really isn't a thing guys do..." Cloud said shyly.
"That's because we men have no talent," Sephiroth laughed. "We're so much better at just swinging weapons around and hoping to hit something. Congratulations, you can hit things with sharp bits of metal AND be cultured and refined."
"Well when you put it that way..." Cloud laughed as well and they caught up with the others.
"So what's up?" Zack asked curiously.
"Sephiroth was apologizing for violating my privacy," Cloud said lightly.
"Whoa man! Not okay!" Zack barked at Sephiroth, who lowered his head in shame.
"Nah, it's cool. I forgave him. So why's Genesis in a headlock, Angeal?" Cloud inquired.
"Okay Seph, I forgive you too..." Zack assured him.
"Oh, Genesis just didn't learn his lesson. He was talking a lot," Angeal explained.
"Was not!" Genesis exclaimed. Cloud laughed at him.
"No way! Jamison did WHAT at Junon?" Zack exclaimed, deep in conversation with Sephiroth.
"It's true," Sephiroth nodded.
"Jamison was there before we left, wasn't he?" Angeal asked Genesis.
"I don't know," he answered. "I just want you to let go of my head now, please."
"I didn't know that was even legal!" Zack exclaimed.
"I'm not letting you out until you swear not to talk our ears off," Angeal scolded.
"Also, sergeant Cauten did as well," Sephiroth confided.
"I have rights just like you! I can speak freely and I will! Kitten, you agree, right?"
"No way! Spike do you believe this?"
"Don't ask him-"
"-don't believe me?"
"It's not-"
"-do what ever I want!"
Cloud laughed as he tried his best to keep track of both conversations and didn't stop when they all looked at him as if he were crazy.
"Do- Do you guys even know what you sound like? When you're all talking like that, it's confusing!" Cloud managed to speak through the chuckles.
They all still looked confused so Cloud just shook his head and continued laughing at them.
-o-o-
"Well I'll be damned," Zack said, staring up at the sign. "There IS a zoo. Huh. Fancy that."
"You okay Sephiroth?" Cloud asked anxiously, looking up at the General.
"I will be. May I carry you?" Sephiroth answered, not looking down from reading the sign.
"Of course. It's only Zack that can't carry me because it's weird when he does it," Cloud explained.
"Hey!" Zack called, hurt.
"Sorry, it's the truth," Cloud apologized, climbing into Sephiroth's waiting arms.
"Meanie," Zack pouted until he was swept up into a position similar to Cloud's. He looked up and found Angeal smiling down at him.
"You should be carried too, if Cloud gets to be. You're not that much older than him anyway," Angeal said.
Zack relaxed in his former mentor's arms, wishing it didn't hurt so much to love him. He didn't even know if this was the real Angeal. He tried to ignore his doubts and smile back and it seemed to work.
Sephiroth paid for all of them, ignore the admissions worker's stares. He hated when people recognized him and reacted as if he was just an animal that had escaped his cage. His unhappiness faded as the worker's eyes were drawn to Cloud when the cadet waved at her.
She noticed she was staring and hurried to get the tickets. She handed them to Sephiroth, not looking up again, which suited him just fine. He turned around and found that Zack had wriggled out of Angeal's hold and was already racing ahead to see the animals.
"Me and Gen are going to just wander around," Angeal told him. "That way you can deal with Zack and relax with Cloud. If you need us, we'll be around."
"I'm not sure whether to thank you or curse you," Sephiroth remarked.
"A little bit of both, I would guess."
"A fair estimate. We'll be off," Sephiroth nodded to both of them and set Cloud down. Cloud moved forward and gave them both kisses on the cheek.
"See you," Cloud called cheerfully before darting off after Zack.
Sephiroth laughed and walked the way they both ran off. Angeal and Genesis walked the other way and Sephiroth was alone for the moment.
He slowed slightly, reveling in the quiet he had for only a moment. He allowed himself the right to a few deep breaths to calm his fraying nerves. His childhood had taught him to fear cages and enclosures and here he was, heading to stare at animals locked up just as he was as a child.
He stepped out onto a paved path and craned his neck in search of his lovers. He found them both leaning over a railing looking down into what he assumed was an enclosure. He took a deep breath and ignored the rising fear enough to step forward to Zack's side. He leaned over a bit and peered down as well.
A group of lionesses, Sephiroth though before correcting himself, a pride of lionesses. They were crowded against the wall and basking in the sunlight. They all looked well fed and healthy.
(A little part of him recognized that these animals were better cared for than he was as a baby and young child. Hojo had not particularly cared for his happiness and he had forced Sephiroth to conform his appearance to his standards. It seemed even now that Hojo controlled his life as he dictated what he could do and what he couldn't.)
Seeing creatures in enclosures... Was not going to be as bad as he had anticipated. He felt two sets of eyes staring at him and he glanced over. Zack and Cloud watched him carefully. Zack looked cheery but concerned and Cloud just smiled a little at him.
"They seem happy," he commented. "It's... Nothing like how Hojo treated me."
"Fuck Hojo! You know what? He can go screw himself! I don't see why you haven't killed the son of a bitch yet!" Zack hissed at him, mindful of the other patrons approaching. Cloud frowned and nodded along.
"It's..." It's because Hojo had raised Sephiroth to fear him and even now he couldn't find the strength to kill the man. "I will kill him if he attempts to harm either of you."
"Right," Zack agreed skeptically, hunching over the railing. Cloud leaned around Zack to meet Sephiroth's eyes.
"Then by those standards, we can kill him if he attempts to harm you," Cloud reasoned and Sephiroth seemed to choke on the breath he had just taken.
"You," he wheezed. "You want to do what?"
"Yeah!" Zack enthusiastically agreed. "No taking that back Seph, I hate double standards."
"Then I will lock you both up! Neither of you can understand what he is capable of!"
"Okay, so he has a lab full of science geeks. We have SOLDIERs. And we have Turks. And possibly random people off the streets that have heard what kind of research Hojo does. I think between me and Zack and Random Stranger number 364 we can take him," Cloud said, looking down at the lionesses again.
"See?" Zack laughed. "We can take him. Stop worrying, we'll all be fine!"
Sephiroth had to find a way to explain what kind of things Hojo could do, but he couldn't bring himself to explain to the innocent young men beside him. How could they both fully grasp what Hojo could do to them when Zack had never been unliked and Cloud had never been tortured? Even if he could find the words, did he really want to?
"Oooh, Seph they say they have chocobos further in, let's go! They might steal Cloud as one of their own!" Zack exclaimed, darting away like a child. Sephiroth sighed and took Cloud's hand and followed his Second in Command.
-o-o-
Zack licked his lip and watched the women on the stage. The women were part of a group that traveled from place to place performing. Some danced, some sang, some acted... And this group did the kinds of things with their bodies that made Cloud blush and avert his eyes.
Cloud... He was sitting on the railing that Zack was leaned over. They were in a restaurant located in the middle of the zoo and they were sitting on the balcony as Sephiroth found food for them. Cloud, blushing like a virgin, sat with his back to the performance. Zack occasionally felt Cloud's eyes on him, but when he turned Cloud glanced away quickly.
Zack took a drink of a beer he had snuck and bought while Sephiroth and Cloud were busy getting orders together and thought carefully. Maybe Cloud didn't like him looking at other people or maybe he felt neglected. But that couldn't be it because they had met up with Angeal and Genesis and Genesis had spent every available moment flirting with Cloud and Zack.
Cloud shifted and Zack decided he was going to go crazy if he didn't know what Cloud was thinking NOW. He turned and pulled himself up on the railing and offered Cloud his beer.
Cloud accepted it and took a small sip. He had been told that his lovers would let him drink but only with someone and only a small amount. They were all still unspeakably worried for him because he was unenhanced.
"What's up, Cloud?" Zack asked. "You don't seem like you're doing so good."
Cloud looked up at him dolefully and Zack put an arm around the boy. Cloud snuggled into his side despite the heat and put his head on Zack's shoulder.
"Do you love me and Sephiroth?" Cloud asked mournfully.
"Of course," Zack answered at once, wondering where the question came from. "Why would you think I didn't?"
"You keep staring at those girls and they're so much prettier than me and it's just... The Wutai thing..."
"What? You mean having sex with multiple partners? I do that, but only with you and Seph, Spike. And Angeal and Genesis I guess. I'm not going to just have sex with other people and expect you to be fine with it," Zack scolded gently. "I love ya, don't forget that. I just... Like to look."
"So you're not going to leave us or something? I mean, you can look, anyone can look, but you won't be... Tempted?" Cloud asked nervously.
"Of course not," Zack snorted. "How could I be tempted when I'm dating you and Sephiroth for the love of- Oh! Hey Seph!"
"Hello. Are you both all right?" Sephiroth asked. In his hands he held a tray filled with any little thing that either of the boys showed any inclination to. Behind him, Genesis and Angeal held their own trays filled with food.
"We're fine," Cloud chirped up. "But I am hungry!"
-o-o-
Review please. It reminds me this story still exists.