Chapter 20: Burning Bridges

Zack swallowed hard as his fingers clenched in his pant leg. The smell had invaded his senses, sending his blood to boiling as he shifted on the couch. That smell. He knew that smell. He shifted his jaw as he felt his teeth elongate, inhaling deep to get control as his eyes raked over the Omega's form.

Rufus scoffed at that, hand sliding up Kadaj's leg. "Do you see that? Do you see what you did to him?" He grabbed Kadaj's chin, drawing his eyes to Zack's, and Zack saw how they had a distinct mako glow. "Just smelling you got him like this...imagine if he tasted you? Imagine if he fucked you? What would he be willing to do for you then?"

"You're a SOLDIER?" Kadaj questioned, curiosity peaked on his face. "My brother left to become a SOLDIER. Do you know him?"

"Your brother?" Zack forced out the question, nostrils flared as his fingers dug into his skin to gain back some control.

Kadaj raised an eyebrow at that, looking over questioningly at Rufus. "Is my brother not SOLDIER yet?"

"No pet, he's not a SOLDIER yet," Rufus murmured, laying his chin on Kadaj's shoulder as he watched Zack. "Zack here knows him though, don't you?"

"Cloud?" Reno interrupted. "That's Cloud's brother?"

Rufus glanced over at the interruption. "I've seen you somewhere before, haven't I?"

"I get around," Reno agreed, motioning to Zack. "What's wrong with him?"

The Vice President watched him curiously. "Right, he hasn't gone through his first heat yet. He wouldn't affect someone like you."

"What do you mean you're Cloud's brother?" Zack asked. "He doesn't have siblings."

Kadaj furrowed his brow in confusion. "What do you mean? Of course he does. He has—"

"That's enough," Rufus interrupted, hand wrapping around Kadaj's shoulder. "You know the rules, right?"

Kadaj glanced over at Rufus. "Do I get to see my brother at least?"

Rufus gave a cold smile that caused a shudder to creep down Zack's spine. There were knives in that smile. There was death. "Perhaps. If you behave."

"He's not a goddamn dog," Zack bit out, recognizing the tone as the same one they used on Cloud. Like he was a fucking pet and not a human. Like they hadn't fundamentally abused him in every way.

Kadaj blinked at him, worry covering his face. "It's okay," he assured him, not at all phased by being talked to in such a way. "Do you want me to calm you down?"

The smile only grew across Rufus' face as he reached out, throwing back another shot. "I think that's an excellent idea. Why don't you take the young SOLDIER to one of the rooms in the back?"

A growl bloomed through his chest before he could help it, anger spilling over at the complacent nod Kadaj gave. "He's not a whore either," Zack managed through clenched teeth. "What is wrong with all of you? How can you treat other people like this? Like they're somehow less than you, because of what? A smell? Their sex?" Zack stood up, sweeping his hand across the table side service. "You think you're better than him because of your name?"

Kadaj stood up as well, smiling placatingly at him and reaching out to grab for his hand. "I don't mind, really," he assured him. "I like your smell too."

"You should mind!" Zack snapped at him, hating himself for losing control as he saw fear in those eyes. He turned his wrath on Rufus instead. "You're a bad person. You're all such disgusting people."

He needed to get Cloud away from this. He needed to convince Sephiroth to run. It was the only way. Cloud didn't remember. He didn't remember anything, but if he had? Nausea swirled in his stomach at the way Kadaj was squeezing his hand to try to calm him even now. Had Cloud been this way? Had he been raised to think he was meant to please anyone if they said so? The way he had been on that station...telling Zack everything he needed to in order to prevent hurting him. It was the same. It was placating. ...Soothing him because he was an Alpha, and because he thought he had to.

Zack ripped his hand away from Kadaj's, running both through his spikes as the alcohol started to come back up his throat in a gurgle. "If I took you back to that room right now, could I fuck you?" Flashbacks to leading Cloud to that room in the slums filled his head. To insisting that he spend the night.

Kadaj glanced nervously over at Rufus, before looking back to him and shrugging. "If you want to."

"Why?" Zack growled in disgust. "Why would you let me? You just met me."

Kadaj knitted his eyebrows. "You're an Alpha. Does Cloud not treat you as such?"

It took his breath away as he realized what he had done by taking Cloud to bed. He realized the sin he had committed over and over again as this mistreated human gave him something he wanted. Something he wanted more than anything. He was just as bad as the Shinras.

He shook his head in disbelief, wishing he hadn't drank an entire liquor store before coming to this realization. "Kadaj, you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I'm not," Kadaj replied almost immediately. "I've never been with an Alpha before."

Rufus made a noise of disgust in his throat, standing up as well. "This has grown tiresome. You spoiled all the fun Zachary," he pointed out, and the son of bitch still sounded bored.

"How can you stand there and talk about any of this like it's fun?" Zack bit out. "You're a monster. You're a piece of filthy human waste." He made a move to step towards him, but Reno intervened as he shoved him back with both hands.

"Hey man, no need to get nasty," he told him, gripping the front of his shirt as he turned apologetically back to Rufus. "Sorry about him. He's just really drunk...and really butt hurt about getting dumped."

"Dumped?" Kadaj asked. "My brother dumped you?" There was honest confusion in his voice.

It was like knives stabbing into his back at the honest shock that Cloud would break things off with him. As if that wasn't done. It was the first emotion he had seen Kadaj show, and it was disappointment in his brother.

Reno gave a nervous laugh at whatever he must have seen on his face, hands clenching into his shirt to try to get his attention. "Let's not talk about the past. I'm more of a futuristic kind of person...and I see a nice comfy bed in my future. Come on Zack...think I'm too drunk to get up to the plate on my own."

"Listen to the pretty Turk, Zachary," Rufus pointed out. "Think you need to sleep it off and remember who you're talking to in such a manner."

"Who I'm talking to?" Zack asked, voice confrontational as he took a step closer as Reno tried to push him back. "Oh I know exactly who I'm talking to, you fucking psychopath!"

"Zack," Reno hissed under his breath, motioning around with his eyes as the Turks began to crowd in. "We need to go. Now."

Zack looked around, frowning as there were five Turks guarding the Vice President, all of which now had their hands on their night sticks. He needed to pick his battles. He needed to leave here now with Reno, and figure out the next step for not only helping Cloud, but for getting Kadaj out of this nightmare. He needed to be smart.

"Fuck it." Zack shoved Reno out of the way, before hauling back and punching Rufus Shinra as hard as he could in the face. He took a sick satisfaction at feeling that perfectly crafted cheekbone shatter against his knuckles.

"Holllllyyyyy shittttt," Reno managed, before Rufus' bodyguards swarmed. Zack gave Reno a shrug of apology, before grabbing for one of the broken liquor bottles and tossing it towards the group, twisting his wrist as the bangle on it lit up and it set on fire in the air.

He grabbed Reno's wrist, yanking him over the side of the railing as they dropped down the stairs during the distraction. He could hear them fast on their heels as he took off running out of the night club and into the streets of Wallmarket.

He skidded around the corner, narrowly avoiding hitting a stack of trash cans. He heard them fall over behind them as he glanced back to see three Turks on their heels.

"They're right behind us!" Reno pointed out unhelpfully, as Zack grabbed for the pole propping up the awning at a noodle stand. He swung around the pole, coming back to smash his feet against one of the male Turk's chest and sent him crashing into the other two.

He grabbed again for Reno's wrist, pulling him in the opposite direction as they ran up the stairs. He took the stairs three at a time, pulling the wannabe Turk along with him as two of the Turks were still after them.

"You're a crazy person," Reno managed. "You hit Rufus Shinra...you hit him!"

"Not helping," Zack supplied, looking around before spotting a thin board connecting two roofs. "Come on, this way." He let go of his wrist in order to keep his own balance, trying to move as quick as he could across the board. He fought to ignore how drunk he was as he teetered across the alleyway. He hopped the last five feet, looking back in relief as Reno got across as well.

Zack turned around as the Turks were halfway across, grabbing for the board. They both froze where they were, and Zack recognized the woman in front as the one who had let him in with Rufus in the first place. She must be just kicking herself right about now.

"Now listen," he started. "I don't want to flip this board. It's a pretty big fall, and you're likely to get severely injured, if not all the way dead. Don't make me do that."

"My life's ruined," Reno spouted behind him, pacing in anxiety. "They're going to kick me out. I'm never going to get with Rufus. I'm never going to be a Turk."

Zack glanced back at the redhead, grinning at him as he rolled his eyes, before looking back. "Ignore him. He's a bit dramatic. No need for this to be life or death. You turn around and walk away like you lost us, and I don't dump you over into this alley."

"Do you think it's that easy?" the Turk asked. "He's going to come after you for what you did."

Zack shook his head. "He's going to get over it. I'm a SOLDIER, first class, lady. We don't run cheap." He shrugged. "Something tells me Daddy won't be all that thrilled his son wasted that much gil on a barfight."

A look of annoyed disgust came to her face, arms spread out as she looked warily down at his hands on the board. "You don't know Rufus very well. He's vindictive."

"It's still not worth your life," Zack argued. "Just go back and pretend you lost us. Don't make me a murderer."

"You're a SOLDIER," she pointed out. "That's what you were made for."

"Yeah?" Zack questioned sadly. "Well, maybe I don't want to be a SOLDIER anymore. Maybe I want to be a hero."

"You chose the wrong profession," she assured him, glancing behind her at the other Turk. He seemed young, looking barely older than Reno as Zack could see his knees wobbling in terror.

"Cassie," Reno pleaded. "Please. We can just walk away."

"Cassie?" Zack asked. "Your name's Cassie?" She gave a slight nod, looking irritatingly to the side in thought. "Well Cassie...you don't want to die here, do you?"

Cassie turned slowly on the board, and Zack gave a sigh of relief before she reached for the young Turk's shoulder. "Are you going to talk if we walk away?"

The dark mop haired kid shook his head emphatically, and Cassie gave a sigh before yanking to the side and throwing the poor kid off the side of the board.

"No!" Zack screamed as that messy hair hit face first on the concrete below, and Zack saw brain matter splatter across the pavement. Cassie had walked calmly back across the board as Zack stood up, turning shocked violet eyes towards the woman who was just staring at him in distaste. "Why did you do that!?"

Cassie shrugged. "He would have talked." She motioned to the mess below. "For the record. That's on you. Reno, make sure you're on time tomorrow to ammunition training. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," Reno murmured, voice quiet as he turned away from the scene.

"I see your disgust, SOLDIER. Press me on it. See where that gets you." She turned away from him then, walking down the stairs and away from the body she had just left behind.

Zack went to the edge of the building, looking down at the broken body underneath and knowing it was all his fault.

So much for being a hero.

He glanced to the side as his hand was grabbed, and he saw the nervous anxiety on Reno's face. "Hey, we gotta go, okay? We can't do anything for him now. There'll be more soon, and they're not all as swayable as Cassie."

"Go where?" Zack questioned, feeling hopeless as all of his choices kept turning out to be wrong.

"The plate," Reno answered, squeezing the hand tighter. "We've got to get to Tseng and ask what to do...maybe even Sephiroth. Would he help us?" Zack didn't answer, couldn't look away from the brain matter coating the pavement. "Zack come on…" Reno pulled him this time. "We have to go." He did let himself be tugged along as Reno led them down some stairs and into an alley.

"I don't get it," Sephiroth managed, and Cloud smiled from the kitchen as he rifled through the freezer.

"What don't you get?" he asked, pulling out the icecream from the freezer as he searched for a spoon.

"The point," Sephiroth replied, lounging in the same chair Cloud had basically been living in for the past two weeks. His Alpha was frowning at the television as Cloud had insisted on watching a movie. "This seems like a waste of time."

He grinned at the actual puzzlement on the SOLDIER's face. "Is it? Don't like the plot? We can find something else."

"No," Sephiroth disagreed. "I mean in general. Why would anyone waste their time looking at a screen that tells them a story? Do they not have jobs? Training? Responsibilities?"

"You realize it's your tv, right?" Cloud asked with a raised brow.

"Shinra had it installed. I've never used it."

Cloud chuckled, leaning over the back of the chair as he kissed Sephiroth's cheek. "I was a lab experiment, and even I had tv. What do you do for fun?" he questioned, coming around to the front of the recliner.

He yelped as hands wrapped around his waist, yanking him over the side of the chair and onto his lap as Cloud struggled to not drop the container of icecream. "You?" Sephiroth answered with a matching grin, and Cloud started laughing as he rolled his eyes.

"Yeah well, I'll remind you that you're the one that put a stop to that." He had tried to coax Sephiroth to bed after the shower, and he had still refused. Now his mate was lounging in a pair of black silk pajama pants, and he was dressed in some of his boxers and a t-shirt as Cloud had suggested a movie if he was going to insist on being stubborn.

"A person has to stand by their principles, Cloud," Sephiroth informed him as the Omega rolled his eyes.

"Right," Cloud agreed, dipping the spoon into the chocolate icecream as he brought it to Sephiroth's mouth. "So now we're watching a movie." Sephiroth stared at him in annoyance, before slowly opening his mouth and accepting the icecream. "Good?" Cloud questioned, pulling the spoon back as he took a bite of his own. "Definitely need to sneak down to the kitchen for mint chocolate chip," he pointed out. "I'm craving mint for some reason. Maybe because of the—"

"Don't leave me," Sephiroth spoke quietly, and Cloud's smile faded as he tilted his head to look at the almost fear on his face.

"What?" he asked, worried as he knitted his brow. "Seph...I'm not going to leave you."

"If he wanted you back?" Sephiroth asked. "If he would take you back, and if he would take you away from all of this. Would you go with him?"

"No," Cloud answered softly, not sure when he had become so certain as he set the icecream on the floor as he shifted in the chair so that he was straddling his mate. He cupped Sephiroth's cheeks as the other looked beyond self-conscious, which was not something he was used to seeing come from him. He could feel pain and guilt radiating from him. He tucked the hair behind Sephiroth's ear as he frowned at him. "Seph...I'm not going to leave you," he repeated. "You bit me, remember?"

"Yes," Sephiroth agreed. "I bit you."

"And I bit you back!" Cloud snapped at him, not about to let Sephiroth go down that road. "I didn't have to. I wanted to. We already went through this!" he bit out in frustration. "Zack's never going to not be important to me, but I'm here with you. I love you. I'm carrying your goddamn kid. So stop thinking I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be!"

"Cloud," Sephiroth spoke placatingly, pushing up on him, and Cloud slammed him back down.

"No," Cloud snapped. "You both do this shit! Is this some SOLDIER macho game or something? You're an Alpha, so I clearly can't manage to help myself from spreading my legs for you?" He pushed on his chest as he glowered at him. "Do you have so little respect for me?"

Cloud slipped off the chair, grabbing for the melting icecream as he walked back into the kitchen and slammed it angrily back into the freezer. He stomped down the hall, cheeks hot with anger as his temper seemed to be flaring more and more lately.

Sephiroth had gotten up as well, crossing his arms over his chest as Cloud came back with a pillow. "What are you doing exactly?" the Alpha asked, grinning in amusement, which only made Cloud bristle more.

"Going to sleep. Since you have such strong moral principles," he said mockingly, tossing the pillow at Sephiroth who caught it easily mid air. It only made Cloud glare harder as the SOLDIER actually laughed at him. "You can sleep on the couch!"

"You're hormonal," Sephiroth spoke, still grinning at him.

"And you're an asshole," Cloud bit right back, but his anger was beginning to fade exponentially at the happiness he could feel radiating through their bond. Cloud sighed, taking a deep calming breath as he realized how crazy he was just being as his hand went to his stomach with a frown. "You're still sleeping on the couch."

Sephiroth walked over to him, grabbing the back of his head and dragging his face up to his. Cloud sighed into the kiss, relenting as he began to kiss back, all of the anger leaving him as Sephiroth seemed back to normal again.

When they pulled away Cloud leaned in close as arms wrapped around his waist. "Go to bed. I'm fine sleeping on the couch. It will give me time to finish this enthralling piece of art you picked out for me to watch."

Cloud snickered against his chest, smacking him playfully as he pulled away. "You're so weird," he managed, leaning up for one more kiss just as there was a knock at the door.

Sephiroth pulled back with a frown, glancing over to the clock. Cloud followed his line of vision as it was almost 3:00am. "Stay," he told Cloud, who rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of that suggestion. As if his plan was to run out the door as soon as it was opened.

"Do I get a treat if I listen?" Cloud questioned playfully, causing Sephiroth to roll his eyes as he got to the door.

"You're such a brat," he managed, before he slid the door open, and Cloud saw all the amusement fade from his face to be replaced by the normal stoic mask he showed the world. "Zachary," he greeted, and Cloud's stomach immediately tied in knots.

He rushed over to stand behind Sephiroth, eyes widening as Zack was on the other side with Reno. "What's going on?" He looked between the two, not understanding why they would ever be together and at Sephiroth's door at 3:00am.

"Hey Cloud...Seph…" Zack greeted, rubbing the back of his head. "Mind if we come in and talk?"

Sephiroth didn't move to the side, continuing to watch the two as if he could read the situation out of their minds. "Sephiroth?" Cloud questioned, because obviously the two needed their help. The Alpha still didn't move, and Cloud saw the way him and Zack were staring each other down at the door. "Sephiroth," he said more forcefully, no longer making it a question as they were acting like idiots.

His Alpha did move out of the way then, motioning with his hand. "Won't the both of you please come in."

Zack and Reno pushed their way in, and Cloud bounced nervous on the balls of his feet as he crossed his arms awkwardly, looking between the three of them as Sephiroth closed the door behind them. "What's wrong?"

"What's not wrong?" Reno questioned right back. "You got any beer, Cloud?" Cloud nodded, motioning to the kitchen. "Good, I want one last drink before I die...maybe two...maybe all of them."

"Why?" Cloud asked as the redhead cracked open a bottle and began chugging. When he didn't get an answer he turned to Zack. "Why?"

Sephiroth was looking down, focused in on something. "What happened to your hand?" Cloud followed the line of sight and saw how Zack's knuckles were bruised.

"Got in a fight," Zack managed, exhaling as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I punched Rufus Shinra in the face."

"What?" Sephiroth bit out, at the same time that Cloud burst out laughing. He pictured every time he had to go up to that office and eat shit from his father, and it filled him with such incomprehensible joy that someone had punched the little bastard in the face.

Zack glanced over at him, and Cloud felt butterflies in his stomach as he saw a brilliant smile reluctantly begin to bloom across his face. "I'm glad you find it so funny."

"Please give me details," Cloud begged, noticing Reno out of the corner of his eye open another beer and start chugging. "Did he cry? Did he moan like a little bitch? Did you break his nose!?"

"Cloud," Sephiroth barked in anger, stopping his mocking as he looked over to his mate whose eyes flickered knowingly to the ceiling.

Cloud's jaw clenched as he realized his mistake, eyes flickering to the floor as he realized his mistake. The last thing he wanted to do when they were trying to keep a low profile to sneak out to Nibelheim, was to be caught on camera mocking the President's son. "Right."

He saw the way Zack was now glaring at Sephiroth as he moved to the kitchen to grab the SOLDIER a beer...because clearly he needed it as Cloud realized the implications of what he had done. Everyone knew the story of Rufus Shinra once having a man chucked out the top window because he beat him in chess. It was a wildly known rumor that Cloud personally thought was probably true.

"So you punched him?" Cloud questioned, voice calmer as it would look suspicious if he just stopped talking altogether. He handed Zack the beer. "Why?"

Zack opened his mouth to answer, but Reno interjected. "Defending someone's honor like a fucking moron," he managed, coming back into the room. "You didn't even know him!"

"That wasn't why," Zack argued back to Reno. "He just upset me."

"Yeah," Reno agreed. "I could see he upset you when your eyes started glowing and your teeth grew like some kind of werewolf!"

"I didn't look like a werewolf," Zack argued.

Reno scoffed dramatically, grabbing the beer out of Zack's hand and chugging it as well. "You most certainly did!"

"Did not!" Zack argued back, mouth tilting up in amusement as Reno upturned the bottle.

Sephiroth sighed in annoyance, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I can't imagine that it matters."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Right, well. I mean he's not wrong….entirely. There was this kid...from Nibelheim."

The bottom dropped out of Cloud's stomach as shock rolled through him. "What?" he asked, looking back and forth between Reno and Zack. "Who?"

The SOLDIER gave him a hesitant frown, obviously trying to think of what to say. "Your brother."

Cloud shook his head in confusion. "I don't have a brother."

"You met another Omega?" Sephiroth questioned, obviously quicker to put the pieces together as Cloud's eyes widened in realization.

"A hot one," Reno agreed. "Whatever an Omega means. He actually kind of looked like you, Sephiroth. Same eyes...silver hair. Totally different vibes though," Reno assured him, continuing without seeming to realize the tension in the room. "Like...I feel like you probably are the kind to have some kind of red room of pain...whereas he's like...tell me where you want me, Daddy."

"Stop talking," Sephiroth managed, putting his hand up.

"Why?" Reno countered. "I mean you asked."

"Because you irritate me," Sephiroth stated plainly, turning to Zack. "This is a problem."

Zack crossed his arms, rolling his eyes in amusement. "Well obviously, Sephiroth."

Cloud stepped forward, not able to comprehend what he was saying. "What do you mean he was an Omega? And my brother? I thought I was the only one?"

Reno whistled out at that. "Boy, someone is full of themselves," he mocked as Cloud glared. "What? I only tell you this because I love you, but you acting like you're the one and only Omega in the world is giving you a big head, and I can't let your ego go that way."

"Stop. Talking," Sephiroth interrupted, staring at Reno in utter distaste. "Why are you even in my apartment right now?"

"He helped me escape," Zack supplied with a shrug. "He's in just as much trouble as me."

"Right, the punch," Sephiroth exhaled the top issue. "You're an idiot for losing your temper with the president's son."

"And you're a backstabbing jackass," Zack pointed out. "We all have our flaws." He shook his head. "You didn't see him, Seph. The way he spoke to that kid. It made me ill. He talked to him like he was some kind of sex slave. Like he was just there to serve me."

"Serve you?" Cloud bit out. "What do you mean serve you?"

Reno put his hand up to his cheek, pumping it as he thrust with his tongue. His hand dropped down to his side at the actual death glare Sephiroth shot him. "Right, I'm going to go find some snacks. I'm starving."

Sephiroth motioned towards his kitchen. "Make yourself at home, why won't you?" he asked with barely restrained fury.

"Thanks man," Reno stated, nodding. "You're not as big of a tool as everyone says you are."

Cloud's jaw clenched as jealousy pulsed through his body at the way Zack smiled as his eyes followed after Reno. "So you slept with this Omega?"

"Your brother," Zack corrected, smile fading as he looked back at Cloud's anger. "And no. Who the hell do you take me for?"

"Apparently someone who gets offers for blowjobs from random Sephiroth look-a-like Omegas!" Cloud pointed out, seething at the thought as he tried to control his anger as he knew Sephiroth was watching his every move.

"Oh Spike, don't you know you're the only Omega I want blowjobs from?" he questioned darkly as growling filled the room from his left where Sephiroth was glaring. Zack met the gaze. "Go ahead. Give me a reason to really get myself hanged."

Sephiroth and Zack stared each other down, and Cloud's stomach pulsed with pain at the anxiety. He put his hand to his belly, willing the pain away as he looked between them both. His Alpha's eyes flickered over to him, frowning in realization, before turning back to Zack. "We need to take care of this situation before we talk about anything else. You punched him, anything else I should know?"

Zack shifted, guilt coming over his face. "Someone died...A Turk. It was an accident."

"An expensive accident," Sephiroth murmured, hand coming up to his chin in thought. "I think I can fix this. We just have to move quickly."

"How?" Cloud questioned, looking back and forth between them.

Sephiroth sighed. "We give them something that they want. They don't kill Zachary and the irritating one in the kitchen."

Cloud knitted his eyebrows at that, hands wrapping protectively across his stomach. Sephiroth had promised him. He had sworn they wouldn't tell them if they could figure it out on their own. He couldn't. He couldn't go and tell them about their baby.

His Alpha's eyes tracked the movement, eyes flickering back up to his as he frowned. "Such little you think of me." He shook his head. "I have to go. Don't let anyone into the apartment while I'm gone."

Zack shook his head. "No," he denied. "I won't let them take away anything else from you because of my mistake."

"They're not going to take anything from me," Sephiroth spoke, and Cloud knew the message was for his ears. "Luckily for you, Rufus happens to be somewhat of a friend. He can be reasonable...for a price."

"What if the price is too high?" Zack asked him.

Sephiroth sighed, walking over to Cloud and leaning down to kiss him. Cloud stiffened, feeling Zack's eyes on them as he shifted in uncomfortableness, hesitantly kissing back as he knew it was what his Alpha expected of him. Sephiroth's hand cupped his face, drawing Cloud's blue eyes up to his own. "I know you won't, but try to get some sleep?"

"Like I could," he argued, meeting with Sephiroth's stern frown as he shrugged stubbornly. "I'll try."

"Sephiroth," Zack tried again, voice raw and scratchy with repressed anger. "What if the price is too high?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Sephiroth stated, pressing his lips to Cloud cheek before heading out without another look back.

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.