"More water?"

"Uh, yeah, thanks."

Cloud smiled awkwardly at his companion as their waiter refilled his glass. It made a gentle tinkling noise as it was set back on the tablecloth, because it was fancy crystal, because this was a fancy restaurant.

Because he was on a date.

"So what were you saying?" he asked when Lieutenant Klar—er, Damon's—glass had been filled as well. "When you were a Third?"

The man started talking again and Cloud tuned him out as he glanced around the establishment and tried to figure out how the hell he'd gotten there. Well, it was obvious—Klarke had asked him out, and Cloud had agreed, of course.

But Cloud had gone from swearing off casual sex to suddenly on a goddamned date, the first of his life. It wasn't as bad as his dinner with Zack's partners, but he was hardly comfortable.

"I'm sorry, but I think I'm swearing off the…casual sex thing." Cloud rubbed the back of his neck, unbearably awkward. He glanced up, apologetic, to find that his old instructor was tilting his head in thought.

"Oh?"

"…Yeah. It's not for me, I guess. I want something more serious."

As uncomfortable as it was to say, and although there were a number of men and women in the military who thought differently from him, Cloud said it with his head held high, because Zack had told him to. 'There's nothing wrong with it,' Zack had assured him, 'You do you. Fuck everyone else.'

Klarke wanted to fuck, which is why he found him after his last class of the day like he had four of the other five times they'd hooked up, but Cloud had to end it. He was over it, he'd told himself. The immediate gratification wasn't worth the stress and worry. Orgasms weren't worth the existential crises as he tried to figure out why no one could fucking measure up to Zack Fair. He'd miss Klarke, in a way, but not enough to continue putting himself through it.

"Let me take you out, then."

Cloud hadn't been expecting that response at all.

"You're sweet, and, well, I've enjoyed our time together. Want to get dinner sometime this week?"

This was that meal, but it was a birthday brunch (not that Damon knew it was his birthday), and Cloud was still surprised he had said yes. Zack was nothing but encouraging; he'd seemed strangely happy to dress Cloud up in a button-up that morning and send him on his way.

"You look great," his friend had told him, "You're gonna kill it. He'll love ya." He'd tugged Cloud close and ruffled his hair. "I really hope it goes well for you, okay?"

It felt like Zack wanted him to fucking marry the guy, which was weird, but he was trying not to dwell on it, not when Damon was clearly trying so hard. He never seemed to fluster but wouldn't stop talking, perhaps trying to make up for Cloud being so quiet. Cloud was always quiet, and Zack knew how to strike that right balance of enough talk to keep himself entertained but not so much that it grew obnoxious. The two of them did their own thing in silence all the time.

Cloud shook his head, trying to focus on the SOLDIER Second across from him.

The current Survival class was apparently a bunch of fuck-ups. Most of them, when dropped into the middle of the slums in their civvies, had been unable to find their way back to HQ. Wallets had gotten stolen, someone had been mugged, and a few students decided to visit the Honeybees while technically on the ShinRa clock, and were no longer part of the program.

"Yikes," Cloud muttered. "At first I wasn't so good with the city either but I'd like to think I wouldn't be that terrible."

"Your internal compass is spot-on," Damon said, nodding. "You know, I'm wondering if I can bring an old student back for our final this semester, when we head to Mideel. Your grades were stellar enough to swing it, I think."

"You want me to help out?"

Damon's boot nudged his calf under the table, and his voice dropped low. "What I really want is you naked and begging me to fuck you in my tent in the middle of the forest." His volume rose, "But yes—a Teaching Assistant for a few days from a peer who knows what they're doing could probably do this group some good. It looks like they'll need it."

Cloud ducked his face behind his napkin and Damon cracked a grin.

When the food on their plates was almost gone Cloud asked Damon a question that had been plaguing him for the few weeks they'd known each other. "Do you know Zack Fair?"

"I know of him, sure. I went on a mission with the guy once."

His expression was curious so Cloud elaborated, "He's my best friend. I'm just trying to figure out more about him, I guess."

"Oh, really? I always hear he's a great guy."

"He is," Cloud said softly. He poked at his food with his fork. "He's the first person who was nice to me when I got here. Zack's the best I've got."

Damon considered him, smiling gently at Cloud's expression. "I suppose you know who he's dating, then."

"Yeah. I'm aware they keep it pretty hush outside SOLDIER but I know. I met them recently."

"They're hard to get along with at first, but they're not bad guys. I don't know how Zack managed to wrangle in all three of them, but good for him."

Cloud laughed. "Yeah, I was freaked out when I got introduced. Especially because—" He paused. "Well. Never mind."

"Because you're in one of their fan clubs, aren't you?"

Cloud was, but that wasn't what he had been about to say. "Yeah," he answered, acting shy.

"I bet Rhapsodos loved that."

"Only Zack knows, but he might have told them. Genesis is an interesting guy."

Damon laughed. "Huh."

"Really flirty."

"So I hear."

They smiled at each other, and then Damon asked, nudging him under the table again, "When I make First you'll join my fanclub, right?"

Cloud snorted. "Like you'd ever have any fans."

Damon looked shocked and Cloud dropped his fork, waving his hands awkwardly. "Oh, I was messing with you—sorry. Of course you'd have a fanclub."

That was the sort of thing he would say to Zack. They acted like they hated each other all the time, only to giggle about it and smile like fools. But that was because Cloud was extremely comfortable with Zack, and as much as Cloud had been confusing Damon with Zack in his head the entire evening (and the entire time they'd known each other) he was not his best SOLDIER friend.

He had to be better about remembering that.

The awkward moment was smoothed over, but something bothered Cloud the rest of the meal. Now that he had started thinking and talking about Zack he couldn't stop; every time his handsome ex-teacher smiled the blond could not help but recall the similar one Zack always cracked whenever he saw him.

The meal itself was not as good as what Angeal and Sephiroth had prepared him, either. It was a weird, sudden thought.

Damon tried to pay for it all though, and even though Cloud bullied his way into splitting the check the SOLDIER held his hand the whole way back to HQ. He murmured to him and kissed his ear and Cloud found himself flirting back, even though he, at the beginning of the day, had been unsure if he was going to allow himself to.

He had told Zack and Angeal he wanted a boyfriend—a Gaia-damned relationship to replace the many hookups he'd been having. They were fun, but something was definitely lacking, leaving him unfulfilled in the way that he had been with Zack. Damon wasn't his boyfriend—this was only a first date—but half of Cloud wanted him to be. The other half, his pessimistic side, knew already that it was pointless.

Cloud shook himself. Of course it was going to be impossible to find someone who he felt as connected to. That didn't mean he should give up before he even really tried. Right?

The infantryman's fingers hooked around the straps of the rather goofy-looking suspenders Damon was wearing and pulled the older man closer to him on their shared seat on the train. Cloud was sitting against the window and Damon playfully squished him against it. Their lips met, but not long enough to unduly bother anyone around them on the train—though it was pretty empty at this time of day, around one in the afternoon.

The Second was utterly fascinated with Cloud's ridiculous hair and Cloud with Damon's; the tight, dark curls, cut very close to his head, tickled his palm as he coasted a hand up to cradle his head, easing and directing him in for more kisses.

Klarke was fun, he really was—but he was no Zack, Cloud concluded as they entered HQ again. It shouldn't have mattered, because obviously he wasn't Zack Fair. It did, though. For whatever reason.

It wasn't enough to stop Cloud from murmuring "Absolutely" when Damon invited him back to his place. It was so bizarre, getting fucked in a bed—the first real bed that he'd been in since his time with Zack that wasn't a cramped ShinRa bunk, not a classroom, and not some other precarious location.

And although bizarre, the sex itself was good. Damon was a more serious lover than most Cloud had been with, and was no-nonsense in the way he got Cloud out of his clothes and spread him out on the sheets. It was fucking hot though, it always was. The SOLDIER fucked him with his tongue again, and although Cloud had come a long way since the first time someone had rimmed him he couldn't hold back the hot flush on his cheeks as he arched up towards the ceiling.

When Damon slid inside him later with a low groan and a nip to Cloud's bottom lip the blond sank his fingers into the man's wild spikes of hair and tugged. Except no, he didn't, and they merely coasted along the fuzzy curve of his skull again, fingertips brushing the mark above his ear from a piece of shrapnel on a mission years ago that hadn't healed right.

"You like that?" Damon murmured to him, his voice low, and right in his ear—like a real lover. Cloud drew his knees closer to his chest and moaned helplessly. He did fucking like it, he loved it—even though he, in preparation for this date, had told himself that he wasn't gonna do it. Sex was supposed to be off the table for a little while, but here he was.

"Little faster," Cloud breathed, because Damon was going too slow, like this meant something, and it was weird. He came twice, and even had a warm SOLDIER to spoon up behind him afterward. As his heart rate gradually slowed Cloud squinted at the far wall and tried to figure out what exactly it was that felt so wrong.

Cloud arrived at his own birthday party with his ass aching and a scowl on his face.

"Spiiiike!" Zack cried as he opened the door to his apartment. "Birthday boy is here, guys!"

His hard expression melted away into a sheepish smile as he moseyed inside Zack's home, rubbing the back of his neck. Zack wrapped an arm around his shoulders and tugged him inside, purposefully keeping him off-balance and stumbling along beside him, because he was an ass like that.

Cloud knew only half of the people in the room, but that was fine by him. It was a little strange having a birthday party with strangers, but Cloud had not invited anyone on his own, and left it up to Zack. Rather than a party for Cloud, it was more like a small gathering of Zack's friends. They would all chill and have some cake, nothing big. Cloud vastly preferred it that way.

"Introductions," Zack declared as he stopped in the middle of the living room. He stood behind Cloud and looped his arms around his ribs in a hug. He was tall enough to rest his chin on the top of Cloud's head. "Those three over there—you know them already. Smile, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth, leaning against a far wall and previously talking to Angeal and Genesis, obediently smiled at Cloud. It was stiff and awkward as it was on command and Cloud almost laughed. It was still so surprising to see that he—as well as the others—were here at all.

"Kunsel, Brian, Luxiere, Cissnei. That's Ian—hi Wendy—and Lazard. The Director's got a meeting in an hour so he can't stay long but he wanted to say hi."

Cloud managed polite hellos to all of them, and thanked them for coming. Cloud was slightly late, as he'd run into one of his COs on the way from the barracks who had some questions about his schedule, and it seemed they'd already broke into the drinks and food.

ShinRa, although a dynamic and occasionally very fun place to work, was tough. People died on the regular—this was the military, after all. Even those in administrative positions within the company had hard, long days. It did not seem like everybody knew each other, but they all knew Zack, and that connection was enough to bring them all together for a few hours to celebrate some random trooper's birthday. Zack Fair was magnetic like that.

Cloud, at least, had never been able to resist that pull, and stuck close to him for the first few minutes, awkward around so many superiors. Two people were in Turk uniforms, and the SOLDIER Trio was keeping to themselves against the far wall. He could feel their eyes on him. Zack, sensing Cloud's mild distress, pulled him into the kitchen. He handed him a cider and clapped him on the shoulder.

"How'd the date go?"

Evasively, Cloud replied, "Fine."

"Oh, come on. He boyfriend material?"

"I don't think so. I'm probably going to end it."

That derailed Zack's grin a bit, and it made Cloud feel bad. "He's great," he said, waving a hand dismissively, "But something doesn't feel right, you know?" He frowned. "I'm more disappointed that I slept with him again. I told myself I wasn't going to until I was in a, you know." He scuffed his foot. Relationship.

"Aw. Hey." Zack ruffled his hair, but did not retract his hand after, and massaged Cloud's scalp. He tugged the blond forward into his chest. The soft cotton of his t-shirt smelled so nice. "Once you start it can be hard to stop, don't be hard on yourself. It's alright that he's not the dude for you." Zack paused. "But man, I really thought you two were set! That's a little disappointing."

Cloud lifted his head to peer up at Zack, confused. He really had been gunning for Damon in a weird way. Over Zack's shoulder he watched as Genesis Rhapsodos strolled into the kitchen, and Cloud stepped away as he spotted them. The redhead propped one hand on his waist and looked, for the briefest of moments, entirely too analytical. Then his expression smoothed out into an easy smile as he came up behind Zack and drew him into a kiss.

"So you're the one who keeps drinking these," Genesis accused as he pulled away, and narrowed his eyes at Cloud. The infantryman blinked at the bottle in his hand and attempted to hand it back.

"I haven't taken a sip yet. Sorry, Sir."

Genesis snorted. "I'm kidding." He gently thwapped Zack with the back of his hand. "He doesn't know I'm kidding. You have work to do."

"It takes someone at least…I dunno, a decade to figure you out."

"You're sweet," Genesis flirted, and kissed him again. "And happy birthday to you," he told Cloud when his tongue had found its way back from Zack's mouth. "How old are we turning, hm?"

"Eighteen."

"Lovely. Come join us."

He followed Genesis back out into the living room, and Cloud sat on the couch. Zack was already deep in conversation with one of the Turks, the pretty redhead, C-something, and he turned rather awkwardly to Kunsel, sitting beside him.

"Happy Birthday," the man said.

Cloud wasn't very surprised to see him wearing his helmet. He and Kunsel had interacted a few times before, as Kunsel was Zack's other best friend, and at first it had been almost hostile between them. Cloud had been insecure as hell, only having Zack to call his own in the entirety of ShinRa, and for Kunsel Cloud was the infantryman that had come out of nowhere and suddenly started sucking up Zack's free time.

If Zack had enough room in his heart for three boyfriends he most certainly could handle two best friends, however, so they made their peace with each other.

"Thanks."

"You do anything fun for your birthday?"

"Not really," Cloud shrugged. He'd had a date (although he hadn't told said date that it was his birthday because that would have been weird) and had worryingly thought about his best friend during sex with said date, so there was that. Not all of it had processed entirely yet so he refused to let himself think about it.

"Well, you've got all of us for a few hours, I guess."

"Yeah. I'm really glad everyone came. Even if I don't know most of them."

Kunsel laughed. "Once you make SOLDIER you'll get to know more people. Though Zack's pretty unique—only a few of us are on friendly terms with any Turks."

"Why?" Cloud asked, but Kunsel just shook his head. The two individuals in the black suits were conversing with others but it was entirely possible they were listening. He hadn't forgotten his panic over remembering that the Turks existed in the middle of sex with Damon.

As he surveyed the room he noted just how much power was crammed into the apartment. There were the Turks, SOLDIERs of various ranks—and that wasn't even counting the three powerful presences still chatting among themselves on the other side of the room who Cloud was deliberately avoiding looking at—and the Director of SOLDIER himself, who was… trying to get his attention.

"Strife," Lazard greeted once Cloud focused on him. He held out his hand and Cloud shook it. "I was told you're interested in SOLDIER."

"Yessir."

The elder blond nodded approvingly. "Glad to hear it." He handed Cloud a card, and the blond went crimson, stuttering awkwardly that the man didn't have to. Lazard waved him away, wished him a pleasant birthday, and turned back to the conversation he'd been having with Zack. (This was the first card Cloud opened that night, a couple hours later, to find that in the card Lazard had given him a five Gil gift card to the ShinRa gift shop—these were the rewards always given when infantry or SOLDIER participated in surveys or tests the company wanted data for. They probably had thousands sitting in a storage room somewhere. He supposed it was the thought that counted.)

Rather than spending time focusing on Cloud, as he had feared, everyone seemed determined to drink themselves into oblivion as quickly as possible. Half the people present were in uniform, having duties to attend to late that night, and the rest had things to do the next day. It was amazing that the four people Cloud actually wanted there all had managed to get the evening off.

He suffered the awkward 'happy birthday' conversation with everyone there, slowly making his way around the room. Once it was out of the way things got easier, however; he leant back into the couch and was content to watch everyone else interact. It was what he did best, provided he wasn't with Zack. Then he liked to do the interacting.

His eyes cut to his friend; Zack was laughing at something Kunsel had just said, his face happy. They had certainly interacted, all right.

Cloud abruptly stood and made his way into Zack's kitchen, slightly wobbly on legs that hadn't borne his weight since he'd finished his fourth—or maybe fifth?—drink.

General Sephiroth himself was sitting alone at the kitchen table, and he looked up as Cloud entered. The blond smiled awkwardly at him and brushed past the table to the fridge. He rooted around in it for a while too long, trying to figure out what to do. He and Sephiroth had exchanged less than five sentences, including that dinner when Cloud had first met him properly. He didn't want to go back out there though, not when Zack was…being Zack.

He straightened up eventually and poked around in a nearby drawer for one of Zack's bottle openers. Sephiroth was staring at the half-empty bottle—a fucking handle—of whiskey in front of him but he said simply, "You may sit, if you wish."

He'd be hard-pressed to turn down an invitation like that. Cloud sat beside Sephiroth, his movements hesitant. The General still hardly glanced at him, preoccupied by whatever he was thinking, as Cloud scooted the chair in. It made a grating sound against the floor that made Cloud wince and Sephiroth's brows draw together.

He took a sip of his cider—the last one in the fridge, Genesis was going to be huffy, he knew it—and decided to use the opportunity to get a good look at his superior. Sephiroth was an incredibly recognizable figure, of course; Cloud had memorized his features many years ago. Up close and in person he was especially striking, though. He was older than he had been when Cloud had sat in front of his TV and tried to pretend he wasn't infatuated with him, and that age had done nothing but good. The cut of his jawline was sharper and his narrowed eyes studied his bottle with a wise, burning kind of intensity. He'd never thought he'd be this close to this man.

Sephiroth finally turned to him, and his strange pupils were blown wide.

"I thought SOLDIERs couldn't get drunk," Cloud blurted.

"Incorrect," Sephiroth replied, and that much was plain. The man was wasted.

Cloud glanced warily again at the half-empty bottle. Sephiroth offered it to him, and although whiskey wasn't Cloud's favorite he accepted—only a fool wouldn't. He took a swig from the neck and remembered something from childhood, when everyone was an embarrassing little shit; that's an indirect kiss.

He passed it back and hoped his expression didn't give him away.

"SOLDIER metabolisms process alcohol extremely quickly," Sephiroth explained. "The average recommendation for a non-enhanced person is one standard drink per hour." He took a sip from the bottle, seemingly unconcerned with the taste. "SOLDIERs will get very highly intoxicated from one drink, but the effects will only last about fifteen minutes – less so the more enhanced you are." Another sip. "I will finish this and be sober by the time we go to sleep."

"…Wow." Cloud had to double check he wasn't gaping. "That's badass, Sir, if you don't mind me saying."

Sephiroth's brows furrowed as he studied him. Cloud had never been subjected to such close scrutiny, and it normally may have made him shy away, but Sephiroth held an awesome power. He couldn't drag his gaze away, even if Sephiroth's eyes were slightly unfocused and glowing more than usual as the mako inside him processed all the alcohol inside his body.

"Thank you," he said finally, and blinked, releasing him from the spell.

"Welcome," Cloud mumbled as he tried to get his thoughts straight. "…Why are you in here, Sir?"

"You may drop the formalities."

"Oh. Okay."

Sephiroth squinted at him, as if daring Cloud to say 'Sir' again. "I no longer felt like being in there." He nodded his head in the direction of the living room, and some of his hair spilled over his shoulder. It was so damn gorgeous.

Cloud tried not to chuckle at his superior—Sephiroth was so very clearly drunk. Maybe most people wouldn't have been able to tell, and Cloud didn't know him very well at all, but his speech was more formal than it was normally, and his words were too clipped. He wished the man would relax a bit.

Kindly, Cloud asked, "Too big a crowd?"

"Zack, Genesis and Angeal are good with people," was the response.

He could see that. Sephiroth hadn't exactly seemed uncomfortable during his dinner the previous month but he hadn't really talked either. Zack had mentioned a few times how Sephiroth only seemed to relax in the presence of his lovers, and loathed the crowded, high-stakes board meetings he had to attend weekly. Cloud nudged the man's forearm with his knuckles and leant in earnestly. Desperate to make some sort of connection with his General he said, "Me neither. That's why I came in here."

At times Cloud could be a very complicated individual. Even Zack occasionally grew frustrated when Cloud retreated into his angry, aggressive shell born of years of loneliness in Nibelheim. When he was trying to be nice, however, or when he was happy, it shone through past his usual indifferent mask; he looked into Sephiroth's gaze and tried to convey that he was serious.

Sephiroth seemed to correctly gather that Cloud was not making fun of him, and spoke the truth. "You may stay in here with me, then."

"Cool." Cloud's mouth pulled into a frown—cool?—but Sephiroth ignored it.

"Are you having a pleasant birthday?"

"It's okay." Cloud curved his back and leant over the kitchen table, propping his chin up on his forearm. "I had a date this morning, but it didn't so go well."

Sephiroth just watched him, taking another long swig of the whiskey. The long column of his throat, working as he swallowed, was terribly distracting, so Cloud looked away. Confiding in strangers wasn't so bad. "I like him, and I think he's willing to, you know, date me and all. And that's what I'm looking for, even—I told Zack and Angeal I wanted that. But even still it doesn't feel right, or like it's enough. You know?"

"No."

Cloud blinked, thrown off by the blunt response. Sephiroth continued, "But I am extremely spoiled. I remember the days before I knew Angeal or Genesis, and they were—terrible." The General paused, remembering something. "…But since then I have been quite happy. It is very rare that I feel like something is lacking, though I suppose it does happen."

"What would the four of you ever feel is missing?" They had it all, it seemed—money, fame, each other. It was hard in the military but if anyone could handle it it was these four.

Sephiroth studied him. His lips thinned as he pressed them together in consideration. That hot, entrapping gaze swept over him from his head to his feet.

He answered, "I do not know."

Cloud swallowed, the air of the kitchen suddenly thick. "I—when is your birthday?" he asked, the first thing he could think of.

"I do not have one." Cloud raised an eyebrow and Sephiroth elaborated, a bit, "The date of my birth has never been revealed to me, and is on no documents that I am aware of."

Cloud leant back in his chair as he thought, balancing on the two back legs. "…I guess you'll just have to pick a day, then, if you haven't already. You have a favorite month?"

Sephiroth's serious expression gave way to a smile. It was small, but it was there, and his whole demeanor seemed to soften the slightest bit—Cloud hadn't even thought that could happen to this man.

"You didn't say you were sorry for me." Cloud started to stammer something, the empty, comforting words he had evidently neglected, but Sephiroth stopped him with a gentle touch to his hand.

"You're passing all of my tests, Cloud. I am glad."

It was unclear whether this was a drunken admission or not; Sephiroth had started using contractions again, which was probably a good indicator that he was comfortably intoxicated now and not trying to fight it. On the other hand, he didn't seem like the type who would care much about revealing something like that.

"Tests?" Cloud echoed.

"I have to make sure Zack didn't have sex with someone who doesn't deserve him."

Cloud was still leaning way back in his chair, a foot hooked around the table's leg, but tried to look composed. He met Sephiroth's stare head-on like he had the others' during that dinner. He was worth it; he had to be.

"What were the other tests?"

"You are kind," Sephiroth said, and paused to take at least five shots' worth straight from the bottle. Cloud's jaw dropped. He accepted the whiskey again when Sephiroth passed it to him. "You treat Zack nicely, and clearly make him happy. Although occasionally shy, you do what you must. You are extremely attractive. You passed Genesis and Angeal's own inspections. No record of terrorism or rebellion. As far as I can tell, you did not use Zack for any political or personal gain—other than the successful loss of your virginity, which was the objective." He took the heavy bottle from Cloud's lax hands, because it looked like the blond was about to drop it. "I'll keep the rest of the tests to myself, but I can divulge that you earned bonus points for staying to talk with me. I am grateful."

"It's no trouble," Cloud said, dazed—the end of Sephiroth's brief speech was all he could focus on. Something in the middle had short-circuited his brain.

"What's no trouble?"

Cloud yelped as the chair abruptly tipped backwards. It wasn't because he'd lost his balance, though; Genesis Rhapsodos had yanked on it and caught him just before hitting the floor. The SOLDIER tilted him back up until all four legs touched down.

"Cloud is keeping me company," Sephiroth answered for him, and tilted his head up for the kiss Genesis gave him. It was long, and the wet sounds of tongues sliding together made Cloud blush. He tried not to watch but failed; how many infantrymen could say they'd seen these two make out right in front of them? He got caught though, but neither man seemed very surprised to see Cloud blatantly staring. They didn't even comment on it.

"I was wondering where you two were. I was afraid we'd have a situation on our hands."

"No, Sir," Cloud said, going cold with shock. "We were just in here talking, I—"

"I'm kidding," Genesis said, looking at Sephiroth miserably, "He still doesn't know when I'm kidding."

Cloud wasn't so sure. At the very least he figured Genesis was giving him some sort of warning; he was the territorial one in the group, it seemed. That made him all the more curious about something he'd been wanting to know for a while, and he tilted his head as Genesis pulled out the last remaining chair (the others were temporarily in the living room) and sat on Sephiroth's other side. The Commander reached out and slid Cloud's drink, mostly untouched at this point, across the table so he could nurse it. He glanced at Sephiroth's whiskey, three-fourths gone at this point.

"You and Zack are both trying to stay drunk the entire night. That's so much work."

"It is," Sephiroth agreed amicably.

"You alright, dear?"

"Fine. Like I said, Cloud has been keeping me company."

"And what pleasant company it is." Genesis raised his eyebrows as he glanced at Cloud. He flicked his bangs out of his eyes with a shake of head and waited for Cloud to speak.

"Do you two mind if I ask a question?" They said nothing, so Cloud took it as a yes. "What did Zack say to you? When he brought me up the first time."

"Asking if he could fuck you?"

Cloud nodded. Despite the harsh word Genesis seemed happy to talk about it. He and Sephiroth looked at each other for a long moment, sorting out their thoughts.

"He was gentle about it," Sephiroth said, though Cloud had no idea what that meant.

"Zack brought it up during dinner—mm, you're right, Angeal made that meatloaf that night—and said something like, 'I have a really important request, and it's going to sound kind of weird, but I want you to hear me out.'" Genesis shrugged. "So we did."

"He asked if we remembered you."

"Did you?"

Genesis let out a little gust of amusement, his bangs shifting with it. "Of course we did. His cute infantryman who wouldn't make eye contact with us? Please."

"He talks about you constantly," Sephiroth revealed, his lips twitching into a smirk, "More than he probably realizes."

Cloud didn't know what to say to that. He pressed his palm to his cheek casually to hide half of his warming face. "And then?"

"He told us that you were having various issues and needed someone friendly for your first time. Someone who would be slow and considerate, and who you were close to."

Sephiroth nodded at Genesis's words and added, "We were slightly skeptical at first, but he answered our questions. The last thing he wanted was for you to have a bad experience."

Cloud rubbed at his forehead, feeling his belly erupt into butterflies. "Zack, he… he really cares, huh?"

"I would think you're a bit of a special case, dear." Genesis winked at him. "He cares about you more than most. But yes, he has a big heart. One of his best traits, though I don't understand it."

"Nonsense. He just acts mean, Cloud," Sephiroth advised, and his smile turned wicked as Genesis sighed loudly and glared at him.

"I have to intimidate the infantryman, because someone has to. Don't ruin my image."

"You're not that scary a guy," Cloud offered, rather hesitantly, but put it out there all the same.

Genesis looked pleased to hear it, despite what he said moments ago.

"Though I'll admit I was freaked out to meet you the first time. I was afraid you'd… hate me, or something. You really don't mind that I slept with Zack?"

That was the most important question of the entire night. Cloud's eyes flickered between both their faces as he waited for their response.

"It's not quite that I don't mind," Genesis said thoughtfully, and Cloud's grip grew tight on his jeans under the table. "I do 'mind.' Every time I look at you-" and his gaze swept over Cloud's body, from the gently-swaying spikes of his hair, buffeted by the spinning ceiling fan above, to his softly parted lips and the nervous swallow of his throat as he looked back, "-I think about how my lover fucked you in the bed I often share with him. He held you and sucked your cock, right? He did all the things an attentive lover should?"

When Cloud did not respond promptly Genesis raised his eyebrows, the gesture impatient. If Cloud had thought Zack was like a cat while fingering him this man put him to shame; there was no way to tell if the gentle smile playing at his mouth meant genuine amusement or was the eerie calm just before an attack. His gaze was locked with Genesis's and he couldn't tear it away. He breathed, "Yeah."

"And he kissed you as he took you in all those different ways we heard about?"

"…Yeah."

"And it was fantastic, wasn't it?"

"Y-Yessir."

"Well." Genesis tilted his head, coy, "That's good to hear. We're not angry, if that's what you're really asking, nor jealous, nor holding any grudges, because we trust Zack, and always have. You can relax."

Cloud did not relax, and continued to not relax for the next two minutes of absolute silence in the kitchen. Sephiroth did not add anything after Genesis's surprising…outburst, perhaps, looking uncomfortable and tending to his whiskey. He glanced at Cloud now and again. Cloud's sweaty hands trembled in his lap. Genesis seemed absolutely comfortable, sipping at his drink and continuing to fucking smile at the both of them like this odd, sexually-charged, hostile but-not-quite atmosphere was the most amusing thing he'd witnessed in a long while.

Zack saved him. He heard loud footsteps and then his friend came into the kitchen. "There you all are!" he exclaimed, and happily came forward to hug Sephiroth from behind. "I was worried." He paused, recognizing that something was off. "You two aren't bugging him, are ya?"

"Of course we are," Genesis answered, smiling sweetly.

"What? My respectable boyfriends? Harassing my Spike on his birthday?"

Angeal had followed Zack in, though at a slower pace, and ruffled Cloud's hair. He towered over Cloud while he was still sitting and the blond peered up at him. "I'm sure Cloud can take whatever we give him."

"I thought I told you to stop flirting with him, 'Geal," Zack protested. Cloud went stiff, awkward as all hell. Angeal's gently-scritching fingers were giving him the shivers too.

"Hey, don't get possessive," Genesis gently scolded, his pretty lips turning down into a pout. He hooked a hand around Zack's thigh and tugged him over. "I thought that was the whole point of all this."

Zack paused and then scoffed at him. "Yeah, yeah," he said, even as Genesis, still sitting, pressed his face into his stomach and gave him a kiss there. "Anyway, we're here to kick you out of the kitchen. Well, kick Cloud out of the kitchen. Shoo, Spike."

Cloud stood rather awkwardly, nodding, but to his surprise Sephiroth left with him. He followed his General out into the living room. There were only two other people present now, Kunsel and Luxiere, and they were discussing some ShinRa documents they had spread out on the coffee table. Cloud curled up on a chair, the same one he'd sat in while being interrogated the first time. He opened Lazard's card and placed it on an end table. He glanced up and caught Sephiroth's eye.

The SOLDIER had been quietly listening to Kunsel and Luxiere's conversation but focused on Cloud briefly. "I'm sorry if Genesis made you uncomfortable in any way."

The blond shook his head. "No, it's okay… I like him a lot." He spoke the truth, and then spoke a little flirtatiously, because he was tipsy, and why not? "And you too."

Sephiroth tipped his head in acknowledgement. "You are surprisingly pleasant company."

Angeal, Zack and Genesis returned with Cloud's cake. Cloud had spotted it in the fridge earlier but pretended he hadn't at the time. It was cute, obviously homemade, and someone—looked like Zack's handwriting—had written 'Happy B-Day Cloud' in squiggly blue. Genesis had a materia in his left hand and lit the candles with tiny flames from a fingertip on his right. They placed it on the coffee table, the other SOLDIERs having moved their work papers, and they sang happy birthday.

Zack was loudest, and everyone else seemed awkward. Sephiroth was definitely lip-syncing, Angeal was mumbling at best, and Luxiere forgot Cloud's name. Still, Cloud beamed and ducked his head in shyness and felt his whole body thrum with warmth. His mother stopped singing him this song when he became a teenager, because it was sad only having her around to do it, and he'd asked her not to. These people did a shitty job, but they did it.

The cake was just as good as he remembered. Angeal gestured Cloud over onto the couch and put a friendly arm around his shoulders. Cloud doused the man in compliments on his baking—without prompting, this time—and Angeal chuckled, tucking him a little closer, saying he was glad.

Zack came out later with a wrapped present and Cloud immediately began to stumble his words again like he had with Lazard, but the SOLDIER dropped it in his lap and made him take it. There was a cheesy card where Zack thanked him for his friendship, and all four had signed it. The gift, unwrapped with Cloud's slightly-shaky hands, was a set of three beginner Materia.

"You're trying out for SOLDIER, right? Anyone who goes from the infantry to SOLDIER needs to know how to use 'em, even if just a little bit, to get in. You can practice," Zack told him, nodding. "The gift's mostly from me but the others pitched in a little bit."

"Thank you," Cloud kept repeating, his eyes wide and awed, "Thank you."

The 'party' was mostly over after that. Luxiere left, and Cloud helped clean up. Genesis gave him a playful nudge with his hip as they washed and dried the dishes together, and Cloud grinned; for as unpredictable as the man was, he really did like him. Much to his amazement Sephiroth and Zack really were sober by the time they went to bed. Cloud, however, was not—people (Zack and Kunsel) had made him take a few shots after the cake, it being his birthday. Zack tossed a pillow on the couch for him.

Kunsel was already asleep in the nearby armchair so Zack didn't hesitate to pull Cloud into his chest in the middle of the living room. His arms were solid around his back and his cheek against the top of Cloud's head was so nice and comforting, so gentle.

"You had a good day?" Zack asked.

Cloud could feel the stares of the SOLDIER Trio, not ten feet away and waiting for Zack in the entrance to the bedroom, but he didn't care—he closed his eyes and leant into Zack's warmth, hugging him back.

"Yeah," Cloud answered. The answer was insufficient; he had, again, never been good with his words—but like the sex with Zack it seemed impossible to describe his contentment at the moment. Whatever this was, it was better than the sex he'd been having. Or at least really close to it.

He opened his eyes again and peered under Zack's head at the other three, who all looked sleepy and amused, but were still watching. He didn't shy away.

Zack bade him goodnight, as did the others, and they disappeared. For whatever silly reason, Cloud wanted to follow. Instead, he turned around, peeled off his socks, laughing quietly to himself at his poor balance, and collapsed on the couch.

"Goodnight Kunsel," Cloud muttered as he rolled onto his side. A particularly loud snore was his answer.

Thanks, all you babes out there. Happy non-birthday to Cloud Strife. :)