School holidays and my head hurts.

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII nor its characters. I also don't own the ideas taken from Love Monster.

Cloud eventually found himself in Aerith's house, with the half phoenix bustling around getting tea and some snacks to serve him. Once she had everything ready she brought over a tray with two steaming cups of tea and some cookies. She settled down in her seat beside him after placing a cup and the plate of cookies in front of him. "So, how has everything been going with the red general?" She questioned as she took a small sip from her cup.

"It's been fine. He put a limiter on me though."

Aerith nodded her head. "Doesn't surprise me. When I first met the generals, they suggested doing the same with me, but the Turks are already keeping an eye on me, so Hojo can't really get his hands on me without them finding out."

"It's probably one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever had put on me." Cloud frowned at the thought of it. Even now it was irritating the hell of him. Aerith laughed at that.

"It's for your own safety. If Hojo found out that you were a white crow and he had easy access to you, he'd lock you away faster than you could blink."

Cloud gave Aerith an odd look. "You sound like you know this from experience."

Aerith gave him a secretive smile and Cloud immediately dropped the subject.

"Also, Zack found out."

The half phoenix's look turned to one of surprise. "How did he take it?"

"He was kind of disappointed with the fact that I didn't tell him sooner."

She nodded, already expecting that reaction from the wolf.

"He then suggested that I tell the others, which I said no to."

"You know they all know about me right?" Aerith questioned. "If they can keep themselves from telling the world about me, I'm sure they can do the same for you."

"Didn't you just say that Hojo already knew about you being a half phoenix?" Cloud questioned and Aerith nodded her head. "Since you already have the Turks on your side then it wouldn't really matter who they told anyway."

"That wouldn't stop crazy people in the slums from trying to attack me or trying to make me cry to collect my tears just to see if they head healing factors. The generals could easily just blurt it out to one person and I'd have people coming at me from all over Midgar."

"How are the Turks stopping Hojo from grabbing you anyways?" Cloud questioned.

"Hojo's mainly stationed in the lab in Shinra. If I was to disappear from the slums, that would be the first place that the Turks would check and Hojo would have no other choice but to release me on their orders. My abilities aren't that great anyway, so Hojo doesn't want to bother going through the hassle of dealing with the Turks just to get to me."

"You know you're not really giving me a good reason to even bring up the subject with the generals." Cloud pointed out.

"What I was trying to get to before we brought up the subject of Hojo, was that the generals have never even mentioned the fact that I'm a half phoenix to anyone. If they're able to do that for me, then I'm sure that they can do the same for you. Not only that, but they could probably protect you better if they know that they need to look out for you."

"I'm still nervous with both Zack and General Rhapsodos knowing about me. What makes you think that I'll be comfortable with General Sephiroth and General Hewely knowing as well?"

"I'm sure you can handle another two more people knowing, and besides, Sephiroth has a position in a much higher place. If he knows about your abilities then he could probably pull a few strings and get you into SOLDIER faster than you thought you'd be able to."

"That's what Zack said." Cloud pointed out and Aerith nodded her head once again.

"He has a valid point."

"But how can I trust them?" Cloud questioned.

"You're trusting Genesis and Zack at the moment. They haven't told anyone yet have they? Nor have they tried to use you for their own means."

"But they could." Cloud pointed out.

"But they haven't." Aerith retorted back.

Cloud just sat back on his seat, folding his arms with a small pout on his face. Looking very much like the young fledgling that he was.

Aerith sighed. "I'm not telling you to tell them Cloud. That's your own decision whether you want them to know or not. I'm merely saying that it might be better for you in the long run if you told them in person. After all, what are you going to do if they find out about you only after you got into SOLDIER? You know that First Classes rely on the fact that they should be able to trust each other with anything right?" She questioned and Cloud sighed in defeat.

"Would you trust the generals if you were in my position?"

"Technically I am in your position and I already trust them." She replied easily.

"And you're not just saying all these things to me because you know that both Zack and General Rhapsodos feel guilty about keeping my secret a secret from the other two generals are you?"

Aerith frowned a little at those words. "I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't. I can admit to not liking the fact that those two have to keep something this big from the others, but I can see your reasoning for it. That's why I told you that it's your decision. You don't have to tell them if you really don't want to."

"But it's partially beneficial to my own interests if I do right?"

Aerith nodded her head in agreement.

Cloud sat up in his chair and finally picked up his cup of tea and took a small sip from it. "I'll talk to Zack and General Rhapsodos about it again later, whenever they're both at home at the same time. If I do end up telling them, then I hope I don't regret it in the long run."

Aerith smiled as she reached over to grab one of her cookies.

"You won't."