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Woo, look, another update. Fear!
Chapter One: Escape
Interlude One
Chapter Two: Clean Up
Interlude Two
Chapter Three: On the Run
Interlude Three-Part One
Interlude Three-Part Two
Interlude Three-Part Three
Interlude Three-Part Four
Chapter Four: Plans Begin
Interlude Four-Part One
The sudden ring tone of the phone startled Zack so much that he almost threw it off the side of the building. He had been holding it in his hand, but that was more so he’d feel it vibrate if he got a text. Reno had somehow dragged Zack into the middle of a dirty limericks contest between the Turks, and he had his phone set to vibrate when the next line of text came through.
But the -call- section of his phone was still set to ring, and he had almost flung the thing away on instinct. Which would have been kinda funny, trying to explain -that- one on a expense report. Besides, Seph would never let him live it down. He’d only shake his head and give that little “What did you do -now-, Zack?” sigh of his.
Especially since it was Seph calling.
After saving the item from his own instincts, Zack gave himself a shake and answered. “Hey, Seph. What’s up?”
“I was calling to inform you that you will have plans for your birthday.”
There was Cloud’s voice in the background saying Seph’s name in a long suffering voice. Oh, so cute. He had trained the other well. “That sounds nice and formal. So, am I being given official duties and that’s why Cloud’s huffing at you, or are they going to be fun duties you are making sound like official duties and -that’s- why Cloud is huffing at you?”
“Cloud is not ‘huffing’ at me, as you put it.” Sephiroth’s voice was still dignified, but Zack could hear the faint smile. Go him. He so won. “And in any case, Cloud has suggested a few ideas that we thought you might enjoy for your birthday.”
“Well, you might have to run them past Aeris first,” Zack said cheerfully, smile slowly growing as he listened to a scuffle on the other end of the phone. Hmm, wonder what set that off?
“Zack?”
Okay, and now it seemed Cloud had the phone. “Heya, Spike. What just happened?”
“I had to take the phone away from Seph. He refused to put it on speaker, and I’m the one with normal hearing.”
A swat of skin on skin, and Cloud -growled-. It sent little happy shivers up his spine, but Zack sat down on his natural reaction to make a smart assed comment. No, Seph’s boy now. Neither of them would appreciate it. Still, he was pleased. Cloud had just growled at Seph. So much better than a few months ago.
Then Cloud was talking again, and Zack listened. “Anyway, you said something about Aeris?”
“Yeah. You’d better clear any and all birthday plans with her. My girl might get grumpy if you guys leave her out of the loop.”
Stretching back out, Zack tucked his free arm under his head, giving himself a pillow as he looked up at the sky. While the surrounding land might not be pretty, the sky wasn’t so bad. As long as he looked straight up, Zack didn’t see the glow of the reactors. All he could see was clear blue sky. Which was a nice soothing thing.
In his ear, Cloud’s voice continued, though Zack could hear Seph grumbling in the background. Those two were just too cute for their own good. “Actually, Aeris is sort of helping us plan it. So she is in the loop.”
In the back, Seph had to add his own two gil. “She’s not in the loop. She -is- the loop.”
Ooh, snark. Seph had learned well. Zack gleed at how well his lessons had been learned. Now, time to reap the benefits and watch Seph exercise that dry wit on unsuspecting management. It would be glorious.
“All right, then. As long as I don’t have to look forward to no desserts and scowls because I went off and did stuff with you guys when she had things planned with me.”
There was a vague sound in the background, and Zack paused. “Spike, is Seph...snickering?”
“Um...no. Not at all. Just swallowed wrong.”
And Cloud was totally lying to him. He could hear it, even if he couldn’t see Cloud. “Spi~ike, what’s going oooo~oooon?”
“You’ll see. For your birthday. Anyway, don’t make other plans. We’ll see you when you get home, right?”
“If you guys haven’t holed up in your room again, yeah.”
They’d been doing that a lot lately. And thankfully Seph’s room had its own bath, or he’d probably never be able to get into there either. Still, he did miss seeing them, even if he was trying to give them plenty of time to focus on each other. Not to mention feeling like a perpetual third wheel when they started to be all fluffy cute. He’d spend more time with Aeris, but her mom kept popping up and giving him a look. Since he didn’t want to cause issues between those two, besides the one he already was causing, Zack had found places to lurk besides home and his girlfriend’s.
Thus, the inclusion in the dirty limericks contest.
There was a faint sound on Cloud’s end, and Zack wasn’t sure if it had come from Cloud or from Seph. He wasn’t even really sure what the noise was, just that it sounded pained. “Spike?”
“We’ll be out. Promise. Anyway, thanks for the food. Tell Aeris we said hi.”
Which Zack would do. Next time he saw Aeris. Never mind that was where he was now, in theory. Theory was wrong about a lot of things. “I will. You guys make sure to eat. I don’t want to come home to find that the food I slaved for by waiting all of twenty minutes in line go to waste. Got it?” His voice softened. “Besides, you and Seph have been running yourselves ragged. I need to buckle down and make sure you guys are taking care of yourselves soon, or else all my hard work will be for nothing.”
“Corruption, Zack. Not hard work. The word you are looking for is corruption.” Something in Seph’s tone, which he could hear clearly past Cloud’s breathing, made Zack frown. What was going on?
“In any case, we’ll see you later. -And- we’ll eat. Happy?” Cloud again.
“Thrilled.” Zack grinned into the phone again.
“Anyway, later.”
The phone clicked, Cloud having hung up on the other end. Pulling it away from his ear, Zack studied it for a long, long time. Hmm. He wondered what had triggered that conversation. It had been odd, even for Cloud and Seph, and they were the masters of odd conversations.
Something was up.
And he’d find out what it was. Eventually.
Actually, it sounded like fun, and he did make a mental note to turn down any invites he might get from his other friends on the days around his birthday. If Cloud, Seph, -and- Aeris were conspiring, it would be something he’d want plenty of time to sleep after. His girl was good at finding things that would cheer him up.
Ooh, maybe he’d finally get all three of them in a room together and they could talk. He’d been working hard at that, and it still hadn’t come to pass, but here was to hoping.
Resting the phone on his chest, mostly to save it from almost being flung over the edge again, he tucked his other hand to join the first, pillowing his head.
He had sneaky methods of interrogation to come up with. Nothing simple would work on Cloud and Seph, after all. Thus, sneaky.
Grinning, he watched the blue of the sky as ideas tumbled around in his head.
///
Aeris was in a foul mood. Three days before his birthday, Zack and Sephiroth had both been called to a job in Junon. While not as far as some places, it might as well be the moon for all the ability Aeris had to get there.
Zack had been apologetic, and Sephiroth, according to Cloud, had been rather put out as well. Cloud himself had been quiet, and Aeris felt bad for him as well. She knew he had gotten the days off, approved by Sephiroth, of course. And now he was all alone. Hopefully, he’d come down, and they could call Zack together and wish him happy birthday.
Muttering to herself, she worked on her plants, putting her frustration to work mixing up the compost pile.
So when Cloud let himself in, she was a bit...mucky.
His snicker was her first clue he was there, and she gave him a glare. “What was that for?”
Holding his hands up, Cloud just smiled at her. “You’re all dirty. Not seen that before.” The grin brightened. “But you need to clean up. If you don’t, we’ll never make Junon by nightfall.”
She started at him, eyes going wide. “What?”
The grin he gave her was pure Zack, and she couldn’t help but grin back. “I got a bird. Could only get one, but she’s a good bird, and we’re both light. She can get us to Junon by tonight. And I know I got the next few days off.” The look he gave her was hopeful, and Aeris considered.
She didn’t -have- to go out, and as long as her mom knew where she was....
“We need to stop by my house, so I can clean up and let Mom know.”
Cloud was nodding, and he was smiling, that sweet, bright smile.
Zack had such good taste.
The fact he had laughed at her state was totally forgiven when Cloud offered a hand to help her up.
“Let’s go visit our boy.”
His cheeks went red at her words, and Aeris smiled.
Okay, -now- he was forgiven.
///
“You are going where?”
Elmyra frowned at her daughter, who was packing in a hurried manner. Part of the frown was due to the Shin-Ra trooper who was currently in her kitchen. Aeris had been collecting dangerous admirers again. The rest was her daughter was going somewhere. Without warning.
“Junon. I told you it was Zack’s birthday, right?” A nod was Aeris’s answer. “Well, Cloud is taking me to go see Zack. Isn’t that sweet of him?”
Elmyra wasn’t sure about that. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Of course.” A smile from her daughter. “Seph will be there, and he is very safe to be around.”
Elmyra felt herself go pale. “Seph?” She only knew one person her daughter called by that, and every time she mentioned the name, her heart would stutter.
General Sephiroth. Shin-Ra’s pet demon.
And now her daughter was going to meet the man face to face, all alone, surrounded by Shin-Ra.
“You aren’t going.”
Aeris paused, and she just looked at her mother. There was sympathy there, and Elmyra just shook her head. “I won’t lose you to them.”
“You won’t.” Aeris set down the bag she had picked up and moved over to hug her mother. “You won’t be losing me, Mama. Think of it as adopting boys. Really hyperactive boys.” She hugged Elmyra tight, and Elmyra clung to the girl. She had known that her daughter would grow up and fall in love one day, but not to a soldier. Especially not a SOLDIER. She never wanted her baby to go through what she had, and dating Zack opened her up to that.
“Mama, I’m going to go. It’s important. I love you, but I have to do this.”
There was a steadiness to Aeris’s voice that made the woman who had adopted her think of the girl’s real mother. Even dying, the woman had had a core of strength in her, and it was easy to see it had been inherited.
“I just want you to be safe.”
Aeris smiled at her. “I will be. Zack would never let me be anything but safe. If he needed to, I think he’d take on Shin-Ra itself to keep the people he loved safe.”
Elmyra sighed, and kissed the girl’s hair. “Be safe. That’s all I want.”
With another hug, Aeris slipped loose, grabbed her bag, and headed down the stairs.
She was going off with that trooper, to see her SOLDIER.
Elmyra watched as they headed out out the bird, not moving away from the window even long after they had vanished from sight.
Her baby was growing up.
She’d simply have to let go.
///
When they finally got to Junon, Cloud wondered if he was going to die of perpetual blushing. He had forgotten to factor -Aeris- into his plans for them getting to the town. Aeris, plus boredom, plus access to Cloud. That had led to a lot of teasing and flirting, and Cloud still wasn’t sure how to really deal with that.
Especially the kiss when they had finally gotten there.
That had flustered him to no end. And Aeris had just smiled and bounced in place while he had fumbled his way through getting the bird settled at the stable they had gotten to. After he had gotten her settled, he ran a hand through his hair, and nodded at her. “We should call and let Seph know we’re here.”
She grinned more. “Yeah. Let’s surprise Zack. Do you know where they are staying?”
Cloud nodded. Shyly, he offered his hand, smiling some as she took it and snuggled up against his side. “Well, then, lead on.”
Pulling out his phone with one hand, he sent a message to Seph. Another habit they had picked up from Zack. Texting all over the place.
It only took a few minutes for a reply back, and Cloud grinned. “He says they are expecting us, and should have a key ready. Plus, directions.” Studying them a bit, Cloud nodded, then texted Seph again.
Aeris kissed me.
He was still conflicted over that, and didn’t want to hide what had happened. Because if he did, bad things would happen. It was a given, knowing his luck.
This time, there was a longer pause between him sending the text and the reply. Long enough for him to fidget mentally, then Seph finally sent him a message back. Looking at it, Cloud blinked. Not the answer he had expected.
Well, she does date Zack.
Cloud wasn’t sure how to take that, so he just texted a question mark back. Aeris was looking at his actions, intrigued, but he kept her from seeing the screen. “Mine,” he said, sticking his tongue out at her. They found the hotel the other two were staying in while he was waiting for a reply. Settling into the rooms, he grinned as Aeris poked around the room. He’d been out of Midgar before, but if he remembered correctly, this was the first time for Aeris. Letting her explore the rooms with a grin, he looked at the new messaged that appeared on his phone.
She’s friendly.
He could just hear the dry tone that was said in. When Seph commented about Zack’s being friendly, he was talking about the fact that the man had three people he had slept with on a regular basis.
Had being the word they were there to fix. Poor Zack was never going to know what hit him until it did.
Though Aeris was there to help with that. If she didn’t make Cloud fidget himself to pieces over it first.
Mad?
This time the reply was faster.
No. Why would I be?
Absently, Cloud wondered what boring meeting Seph was currently ignoring in order to have this conversation. Zack was probably so proud of them both. And highly curious. Which would make for a hyper Zack later. He always got active when he couldn’t ask right away.
Because we kissed, and she’s not you.
I didn’t mind that you kissed Zack. Only that you wouldn’t kiss me.
Cloud snorted. That had been a fast reply. Then he got another one from Seph, and it made him drop the phone for a moment. He had to rescue it before Aeris snagged it, and he huffed at her.
“Greedy,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him this time. “I’m going to take a shower real quick.” She bounced out of the room, bag in hand.
As she shut the door, Cloud looked back at the phone.
I think Zack would be happy if you two kissed more.
Cloud wasn’t so sure about that. Though...if this worked, it would be nice if Aeris wasn’t left out. She was like having another Zack around. Plus, she was Aeris. It wouldn’t be nice to leave her out.
We’ll talk when you get here.
And they would. Because it was going to be an interesting next few days.
Cloud smiled.
Putting his phone away, he went to find a phone book.
There had to be something here that all of them would eat. And it was Zack’s birthday, so Cloud had to find something Zack really liked.
Then, present time.
Hopefully, it all went well.
Chapter Wordcount: 2,835
OGToF: 42,914
Chapter One: Escape
Interlude One
Chapter Two: Clean Up
Interlude Two
Chapter Three: On the Run
Interlude Three-Part One
Interlude Three-Part Two
Interlude Three-Part Three
Interlude Three-Part Four
Chapter Four: Plans Begin
Interlude Four-Part One
The sudden ring tone of the phone startled Zack so much that he almost threw it off the side of the building. He had been holding it in his hand, but that was more so he’d feel it vibrate if he got a text. Reno had somehow dragged Zack into the middle of a dirty limericks contest between the Turks, and he had his phone set to vibrate when the next line of text came through.
But the -call- section of his phone was still set to ring, and he had almost flung the thing away on instinct. Which would have been kinda funny, trying to explain -that- one on a expense report. Besides, Seph would never let him live it down. He’d only shake his head and give that little “What did you do -now-, Zack?” sigh of his.
Especially since it was Seph calling.
After saving the item from his own instincts, Zack gave himself a shake and answered. “Hey, Seph. What’s up?”
“I was calling to inform you that you will have plans for your birthday.”
There was Cloud’s voice in the background saying Seph’s name in a long suffering voice. Oh, so cute. He had trained the other well. “That sounds nice and formal. So, am I being given official duties and that’s why Cloud’s huffing at you, or are they going to be fun duties you are making sound like official duties and -that’s- why Cloud is huffing at you?”
“Cloud is not ‘huffing’ at me, as you put it.” Sephiroth’s voice was still dignified, but Zack could hear the faint smile. Go him. He so won. “And in any case, Cloud has suggested a few ideas that we thought you might enjoy for your birthday.”
“Well, you might have to run them past Aeris first,” Zack said cheerfully, smile slowly growing as he listened to a scuffle on the other end of the phone. Hmm, wonder what set that off?
“Zack?”
Okay, and now it seemed Cloud had the phone. “Heya, Spike. What just happened?”
“I had to take the phone away from Seph. He refused to put it on speaker, and I’m the one with normal hearing.”
A swat of skin on skin, and Cloud -growled-. It sent little happy shivers up his spine, but Zack sat down on his natural reaction to make a smart assed comment. No, Seph’s boy now. Neither of them would appreciate it. Still, he was pleased. Cloud had just growled at Seph. So much better than a few months ago.
Then Cloud was talking again, and Zack listened. “Anyway, you said something about Aeris?”
“Yeah. You’d better clear any and all birthday plans with her. My girl might get grumpy if you guys leave her out of the loop.”
Stretching back out, Zack tucked his free arm under his head, giving himself a pillow as he looked up at the sky. While the surrounding land might not be pretty, the sky wasn’t so bad. As long as he looked straight up, Zack didn’t see the glow of the reactors. All he could see was clear blue sky. Which was a nice soothing thing.
In his ear, Cloud’s voice continued, though Zack could hear Seph grumbling in the background. Those two were just too cute for their own good. “Actually, Aeris is sort of helping us plan it. So she is in the loop.”
In the back, Seph had to add his own two gil. “She’s not in the loop. She -is- the loop.”
Ooh, snark. Seph had learned well. Zack gleed at how well his lessons had been learned. Now, time to reap the benefits and watch Seph exercise that dry wit on unsuspecting management. It would be glorious.
“All right, then. As long as I don’t have to look forward to no desserts and scowls because I went off and did stuff with you guys when she had things planned with me.”
There was a vague sound in the background, and Zack paused. “Spike, is Seph...snickering?”
“Um...no. Not at all. Just swallowed wrong.”
And Cloud was totally lying to him. He could hear it, even if he couldn’t see Cloud. “Spi~ike, what’s going oooo~oooon?”
“You’ll see. For your birthday. Anyway, don’t make other plans. We’ll see you when you get home, right?”
“If you guys haven’t holed up in your room again, yeah.”
They’d been doing that a lot lately. And thankfully Seph’s room had its own bath, or he’d probably never be able to get into there either. Still, he did miss seeing them, even if he was trying to give them plenty of time to focus on each other. Not to mention feeling like a perpetual third wheel when they started to be all fluffy cute. He’d spend more time with Aeris, but her mom kept popping up and giving him a look. Since he didn’t want to cause issues between those two, besides the one he already was causing, Zack had found places to lurk besides home and his girlfriend’s.
Thus, the inclusion in the dirty limericks contest.
There was a faint sound on Cloud’s end, and Zack wasn’t sure if it had come from Cloud or from Seph. He wasn’t even really sure what the noise was, just that it sounded pained. “Spike?”
“We’ll be out. Promise. Anyway, thanks for the food. Tell Aeris we said hi.”
Which Zack would do. Next time he saw Aeris. Never mind that was where he was now, in theory. Theory was wrong about a lot of things. “I will. You guys make sure to eat. I don’t want to come home to find that the food I slaved for by waiting all of twenty minutes in line go to waste. Got it?” His voice softened. “Besides, you and Seph have been running yourselves ragged. I need to buckle down and make sure you guys are taking care of yourselves soon, or else all my hard work will be for nothing.”
“Corruption, Zack. Not hard work. The word you are looking for is corruption.” Something in Seph’s tone, which he could hear clearly past Cloud’s breathing, made Zack frown. What was going on?
“In any case, we’ll see you later. -And- we’ll eat. Happy?” Cloud again.
“Thrilled.” Zack grinned into the phone again.
“Anyway, later.”
The phone clicked, Cloud having hung up on the other end. Pulling it away from his ear, Zack studied it for a long, long time. Hmm. He wondered what had triggered that conversation. It had been odd, even for Cloud and Seph, and they were the masters of odd conversations.
Something was up.
And he’d find out what it was. Eventually.
Actually, it sounded like fun, and he did make a mental note to turn down any invites he might get from his other friends on the days around his birthday. If Cloud, Seph, -and- Aeris were conspiring, it would be something he’d want plenty of time to sleep after. His girl was good at finding things that would cheer him up.
Ooh, maybe he’d finally get all three of them in a room together and they could talk. He’d been working hard at that, and it still hadn’t come to pass, but here was to hoping.
Resting the phone on his chest, mostly to save it from almost being flung over the edge again, he tucked his other hand to join the first, pillowing his head.
He had sneaky methods of interrogation to come up with. Nothing simple would work on Cloud and Seph, after all. Thus, sneaky.
Grinning, he watched the blue of the sky as ideas tumbled around in his head.
Aeris was in a foul mood. Three days before his birthday, Zack and Sephiroth had both been called to a job in Junon. While not as far as some places, it might as well be the moon for all the ability Aeris had to get there.
Zack had been apologetic, and Sephiroth, according to Cloud, had been rather put out as well. Cloud himself had been quiet, and Aeris felt bad for him as well. She knew he had gotten the days off, approved by Sephiroth, of course. And now he was all alone. Hopefully, he’d come down, and they could call Zack together and wish him happy birthday.
Muttering to herself, she worked on her plants, putting her frustration to work mixing up the compost pile.
So when Cloud let himself in, she was a bit...mucky.
His snicker was her first clue he was there, and she gave him a glare. “What was that for?”
Holding his hands up, Cloud just smiled at her. “You’re all dirty. Not seen that before.” The grin brightened. “But you need to clean up. If you don’t, we’ll never make Junon by nightfall.”
She started at him, eyes going wide. “What?”
The grin he gave her was pure Zack, and she couldn’t help but grin back. “I got a bird. Could only get one, but she’s a good bird, and we’re both light. She can get us to Junon by tonight. And I know I got the next few days off.” The look he gave her was hopeful, and Aeris considered.
She didn’t -have- to go out, and as long as her mom knew where she was....
“We need to stop by my house, so I can clean up and let Mom know.”
Cloud was nodding, and he was smiling, that sweet, bright smile.
Zack had such good taste.
The fact he had laughed at her state was totally forgiven when Cloud offered a hand to help her up.
“Let’s go visit our boy.”
His cheeks went red at her words, and Aeris smiled.
Okay, -now- he was forgiven.
“You are going where?”
Elmyra frowned at her daughter, who was packing in a hurried manner. Part of the frown was due to the Shin-Ra trooper who was currently in her kitchen. Aeris had been collecting dangerous admirers again. The rest was her daughter was going somewhere. Without warning.
“Junon. I told you it was Zack’s birthday, right?” A nod was Aeris’s answer. “Well, Cloud is taking me to go see Zack. Isn’t that sweet of him?”
Elmyra wasn’t sure about that. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
“Of course.” A smile from her daughter. “Seph will be there, and he is very safe to be around.”
Elmyra felt herself go pale. “Seph?” She only knew one person her daughter called by that, and every time she mentioned the name, her heart would stutter.
General Sephiroth. Shin-Ra’s pet demon.
And now her daughter was going to meet the man face to face, all alone, surrounded by Shin-Ra.
“You aren’t going.”
Aeris paused, and she just looked at her mother. There was sympathy there, and Elmyra just shook her head. “I won’t lose you to them.”
“You won’t.” Aeris set down the bag she had picked up and moved over to hug her mother. “You won’t be losing me, Mama. Think of it as adopting boys. Really hyperactive boys.” She hugged Elmyra tight, and Elmyra clung to the girl. She had known that her daughter would grow up and fall in love one day, but not to a soldier. Especially not a SOLDIER. She never wanted her baby to go through what she had, and dating Zack opened her up to that.
“Mama, I’m going to go. It’s important. I love you, but I have to do this.”
There was a steadiness to Aeris’s voice that made the woman who had adopted her think of the girl’s real mother. Even dying, the woman had had a core of strength in her, and it was easy to see it had been inherited.
“I just want you to be safe.”
Aeris smiled at her. “I will be. Zack would never let me be anything but safe. If he needed to, I think he’d take on Shin-Ra itself to keep the people he loved safe.”
Elmyra sighed, and kissed the girl’s hair. “Be safe. That’s all I want.”
With another hug, Aeris slipped loose, grabbed her bag, and headed down the stairs.
She was going off with that trooper, to see her SOLDIER.
Elmyra watched as they headed out out the bird, not moving away from the window even long after they had vanished from sight.
Her baby was growing up.
She’d simply have to let go.
When they finally got to Junon, Cloud wondered if he was going to die of perpetual blushing. He had forgotten to factor -Aeris- into his plans for them getting to the town. Aeris, plus boredom, plus access to Cloud. That had led to a lot of teasing and flirting, and Cloud still wasn’t sure how to really deal with that.
Especially the kiss when they had finally gotten there.
That had flustered him to no end. And Aeris had just smiled and bounced in place while he had fumbled his way through getting the bird settled at the stable they had gotten to. After he had gotten her settled, he ran a hand through his hair, and nodded at her. “We should call and let Seph know we’re here.”
She grinned more. “Yeah. Let’s surprise Zack. Do you know where they are staying?”
Cloud nodded. Shyly, he offered his hand, smiling some as she took it and snuggled up against his side. “Well, then, lead on.”
Pulling out his phone with one hand, he sent a message to Seph. Another habit they had picked up from Zack. Texting all over the place.
It only took a few minutes for a reply back, and Cloud grinned. “He says they are expecting us, and should have a key ready. Plus, directions.” Studying them a bit, Cloud nodded, then texted Seph again.
Aeris kissed me.
He was still conflicted over that, and didn’t want to hide what had happened. Because if he did, bad things would happen. It was a given, knowing his luck.
This time, there was a longer pause between him sending the text and the reply. Long enough for him to fidget mentally, then Seph finally sent him a message back. Looking at it, Cloud blinked. Not the answer he had expected.
Well, she does date Zack.
Cloud wasn’t sure how to take that, so he just texted a question mark back. Aeris was looking at his actions, intrigued, but he kept her from seeing the screen. “Mine,” he said, sticking his tongue out at her. They found the hotel the other two were staying in while he was waiting for a reply. Settling into the rooms, he grinned as Aeris poked around the room. He’d been out of Midgar before, but if he remembered correctly, this was the first time for Aeris. Letting her explore the rooms with a grin, he looked at the new messaged that appeared on his phone.
She’s friendly.
He could just hear the dry tone that was said in. When Seph commented about Zack’s being friendly, he was talking about the fact that the man had three people he had slept with on a regular basis.
Had being the word they were there to fix. Poor Zack was never going to know what hit him until it did.
Though Aeris was there to help with that. If she didn’t make Cloud fidget himself to pieces over it first.
Mad?
This time the reply was faster.
No. Why would I be?
Absently, Cloud wondered what boring meeting Seph was currently ignoring in order to have this conversation. Zack was probably so proud of them both. And highly curious. Which would make for a hyper Zack later. He always got active when he couldn’t ask right away.
Because we kissed, and she’s not you.
I didn’t mind that you kissed Zack. Only that you wouldn’t kiss me.
Cloud snorted. That had been a fast reply. Then he got another one from Seph, and it made him drop the phone for a moment. He had to rescue it before Aeris snagged it, and he huffed at her.
“Greedy,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him this time. “I’m going to take a shower real quick.” She bounced out of the room, bag in hand.
As she shut the door, Cloud looked back at the phone.
I think Zack would be happy if you two kissed more.
Cloud wasn’t so sure about that. Though...if this worked, it would be nice if Aeris wasn’t left out. She was like having another Zack around. Plus, she was Aeris. It wouldn’t be nice to leave her out.
We’ll talk when you get here.
And they would. Because it was going to be an interesting next few days.
Cloud smiled.
Putting his phone away, he went to find a phone book.
There had to be something here that all of them would eat. And it was Zack’s birthday, so Cloud had to find something Zack really liked.
Then, present time.
Hopefully, it all went well.
Chapter Wordcount: 2,835
OGToF: 42,914