Variable Convergence

Sephiroth opened his eyes, then quickly shut them again as a stabbing pain bloomed between his eyes. This had to be a hangover; he'd occasionally heard other SOLDIERs complaining about them after a night spent drinking. Sephiroth himself had never before actually managed to consume enough alcohol to get himself drunk -the level of his Mako enhancements made it very difficult- so a hangover was a new experience for him. He groaned, slapped a hand over his overly-sensitive eyes and shuffled off Genesis' couch towards the kitchen. Hangovers were a product of alcohol-induced dehydration, so water should ease the pain in his head.

The Silver General stumbled into his colleague's kitchen clad only in a crumpled pair of black leather trousers and poured himself a glass of water out of the tap. Then another. And another.

Five minutes later the thumping headache had subsided to a faint background buzz, allowing Sephiroth to actually notice his surroundings. Lined up three deep on all of the kitchen worktops were a multitude of empty bottles, their labels announcing the high alcohol content of their contents. Former contents. Vodka, rum, liqueurs of various kinds and even a few smaller bottles of rare dumbapple cider, the kitchen alone contained enough glassware to stock a bar and Sephiroth could see more bottles in the living room through the open door, clustered around the coffee table and lurking behind the couch. How much had they actually drunk last night anyway?

That idle thought set his memory grinding and he blushed slightly pink as the previous evening's events danced through his mind. Thank Gaia they'd done all their drinking inside closed doors: he did not want his fanclub to ever find out that the Silver General was physically affectionate when he got intoxicated. The alcohol had lowered his inhibitions to the point that he became positively clingy, which was only marginally better than Genesis' abrupt mood-swings that bounced back and forth between maudlin, giddy and comfort-seeking and far, far worse that Angeal's cheerfully meandering philosophical monologue.

It had taken the three of them four hours to get drunk and consistent maintenance thereafter to stay drunk, but they had succeeded to the point that Sephiroth had spent the second half of their drinking session snuggled up against Angeal as the Dark General rambled about how important honour was and why finding out his true parentage and background affected that. Meanwhile Genesis had switched between happily toasting his new family, bemoaning the lies his foster parents had told him and joining the other two on the couch to cuddle close and hum contentedly. Sephiroth suspected the redhead had been a lot drunker than either Angeal or himself to act like that.

Everything had started winding down around three in the morning when Sephiroth had for some reason or other decided to call his mother. Instead of being angry at getting a drunken PHS call in the middle of the night Valentine -he couldn't call her Vincent; the name just didn't work on her- had listened patiently to his drunken rambling, asked if he'd been drinking and on receiving confirmation agreed to come around to Genesis' apartment and tuck him in to bed as per his slurred request. She had arrived on the doorstep a little while later, black-clad and red-caped with metallic gold coverings on her boots that matched the gauntlet on her left arm and somehow steered both Angeal and Genesis into the apartment's lone bedroom and got both of them into the massive double bed with very little fuss; the Silver General suspected she had used a Manipulate Materia.

Valentine had then found a pillow and blanket for Sephiroth to use and tucked him in on the couch, which was both comfortable and long enough for him to stretch out on. She'd even given him a goodnight kiss on the forehead and wished him sweet dreams, which was the kind of motherly thing Sephiroth had never experienced before. He would treasure that moment forever even if he never, ever admitted it out loud.

Genesis had been right, though Sephiroth would probably never tell him so; getting drunk had helped. He didn't intend to repeat the experience any time soon though.


As Sephiroth became aware of pained noises coming from the bedroom there was a quick knock on the apartment door. Curious as to who it might be and still not entirely sober, the Silver General wandered over and unlocked the door. "Yes?"

"Er, down here," said a rather young voice. Sephiroth looked down. There was a boy aged twelve or thirteen standing in the hall well below his usual line of sight with a bulky carrier bag hanging from each hand and the most defiant blond hair the Silver General had ever seen. The boy looked like he had a chocobo crest grafted to his skull.

"Hi, I'm Cloud," the blond said with a slight smile. "I'm Vincent's student; I heard about last night and thought you might like a cooked breakfast. Don't worry about getting to work: We sent Zack a message and he got Director Lazard to give all three of you today and tomorrow off, though he said that if you want more holiday you have to take it in turns."

Sephiroth just stared at the short blond on Genesis' doorstep who had just addressed him without either fear or slavish adoration in his voice. True the boy's face was a bit pink, but then again Sephiroth was only wearing his leather trousers and still looked rumpled and half-asleep. "You're Valentine's student?" he managed, stepping aside so this new phenomenon could walk inside. "She didn't mention you."

"Well you are her long-lost son so it isn't so surprising the conversation hasn't got that far yet," Cloud said lightly as he made for the kitchen, "and she doesn't trust easily as a rule. I've been her student for five years but I only learned she was a woman six months ago!"

"She told me almost right away," Sephiroth murmured as the blond lit the gas hob, produced a griddle pan from a bag and placed it on the heat before clearing away some of the bottles. "Are you training to be a Turk then?"

"Me? No, I want to be in SOLDIER," Cloud said cheerfully, lifting two covered jugs full of pancake mix out of his bags. "Vincent says I'm too open and idealistic to make a good Turk. Besides, I've got a knack for disproportionately big swords and Turks don't use them. SOLDIER is a better fit for my talents and any Turk skills I've picked up will just give me a bit more versatility."

"I see." Sephiroth was utterly entranced. Here was a practical, down-to-earth and friendly person who didn't dissolve into a puddle on incoherent goo when faced with the infamous Silver General and wanted to join SOLDIER for a sensible reason instead of the usual blatant hero worship or wide-eyed idealism. "How old are you?"

"Nearly fourteen," Cloud said, pouring out three glasses of orange juice. "I'll be applying for autumn enrollment, just after my birthday: Vincent's agreed to sign off the paperwork so I can get in despite being under age."

There were vaguely zombie-like sounds from the main room and Sephiroth handed over two of the glasses of juice to Angeal and Genesis as the duo stumbled into the kitchen. Genesis drained his in one go and held out the glass for more while Angeal sipped his drink more slowly. Cloud refilled the Crimson General's glass twice before the redhead finally noticed there was a stranger in his kitchen.

"Who are you, kid?"

"Cloud Strife, apprentice adventurer," the blond said cheerfully, spikes bouncing as he checked the temperature of the griddle. "I'm cooking pancakes. Want some? I brought three types of jam, two kinds of syrup and a load of stewed dumbapples for toppings."

Genesis grinned in appreciation and reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. "I don't care where you found him Sephiroth, you'll just have to share him," the Crimson General said grandly, totally unbothered by the fact that he wasn't wearing any more than Sephiroth was. "I'll go set the table." He left to hunt down cutlery while Angeal stayed in the kitchen, watching Cloud spoon pancake mix onto the hot griddle.

"You mentioned Vincent Valentine, Cloud?" the Dark General prompted.

"I've known her since I was eight and persuaded my mother to officially apprentice me to her when I was ten," Cloud explained as he flipped the little round over. "We've spent the past three years travelling all over and I though Sephiroth might like to hear some stories since Vincent's not much of a talker."

"I would like that," Sephiroth agreed. He liked Cloud already.

"Good," the blond said with a slightly evil smile. "How about the time we broke the bank in Golden Saucer and almost got thrown in jail? The story of how we actually got into Wutai despite there being a war on? Or maybe the con we ran in Mideel that time? Or do you want to hear about how Vincent got eight Turks to run around like headless chickens for over three hours in Costa del Sol without them ever finding out who was responsible?"

"That last one sounds entertaining," Sephiroth decided, lips twitching up in the corners at the images the blond's words had called up.

"Right then. This happened back in December. I'm still not entirely sure why she did it, but Vincent promised this bomb specialist that she'd get his Turk stalkers off his back for an afternoon, so..."


Sephiroth Valentine, meet Cloud Strife. Cloud, meet Sephiroth. Let the planet tremble in fear of what is to come!