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icedark_elf Jan. 11th, 2007 09:53 pm)
icedark_elf Jan. 11th, 2007 09:53 pm)Title: Another Chance
Author: GW Katrina aka![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
icedark_elf
Beta:forgottenlover
Fandom: FFVII: Advent Children
Summary: After fighting Sephiroth yet again, Cloud is given a choice.
Chapter Summary: Day after the fight, and consequences start to appear.
Warnings: Alternate Ending for FFVII:AC. Foursome
Previous chapters here:
One Two Three
For the first time in a long time, Cloud woke up warm.
Down right toasty, in fact.
It helped that he had bodies on three sides. Aeris was stretched out back to back with him, and he really couldn’t figure out just how she took up so much space, because she wasn’t really that big. Curled against his front was Zack, arms pulling him tight against the dark headed man. And draped over all of them was Sephiroth, who was currently impersonating a blanket, and had managed to lay on all three of them at once.
This was something Cloud could get used to. Would get used to, because he had them back, and nothing was going to take them away again.
The warmth, as well as the delicious ache that spread through most his body, meant it took a bit for Cloud to realize that something was off.
Not with the situation in bed. That was perfectly fine, and he was looking forward to repeating it. Something that was outside. He could hear the faintest of noises, words. It sounded like people.
Cloud did, in fact, live in the remnants of the city. Had his own house and everything, though he tended to stay in the guest rooms at Tifa’s because being alone was just too much at times. So he was used to the sound of people moving about. This was different. The people weren’t moving. He kept hearing the same voices raised up in some type of cry, though his sleepy brain wasn’t deciphering what the words were. Slowly, though, he found himself identifying that there were quite a few people outside.
Not really wanting to move, but more than a little concerned and curious as to if there really was a mob forming outside his home, Cloud got up. It took a bit of effort, worming his way from underneath and around the others, and he woke them up at least a little, but nobody else moved off the bed. They did mumble and try to drag him back in, but Cloud was good enough to escape. Padding silently towards the window, Cloud carefully looked out, making sure to stay as far out of sight as possible. Thankfully, his home was two stories, and the balcony gave him a bit of shelter.
There were people outside. But not a mob. Standing in front of the house was a crowd of people, at least thirty. They didn’t seem particularly violent, which was Cloud’s main concern, but there was a certain raptness to their expressions that worried him. Closest to his front door, three people were preaching at the crowd. This close to the window, Cloud could make out the words easily.
“He is the one who defeated the one who tried to destroy us all! He is the one who brought us healing from the Planet, and she has made it obvious that he is her Chosen one. She has even allowed him to bring back the dead!” That was the lone woman of the three, her gestures wild.
The man to her right took up the flow of words. “How many of you remember Aeris? I remember her. She was sweet and kind and a miracle to all of us who used to live under the Plate. She died helping them, and now she lives again! He has brought her back. The Planet has allowed him to do so, and we should accept that. It allowed him to bring back Sephiroth, himself, the one he had destroyed more than once. The Planet allowed him to do that!”
“I used to work for Shinra, and I know that it was evil.” That was the third one, his gestures as wild as the woman’s. “We know that he has brought back at least two from beyond death, and I will say that the third, the one with dark hair, he was also dead. I was one of those who helped kill him, and now I’ve seen what a sin that was! The Planet gave him back to our savior.”
Oh, Cloud realized he really didn’t like where this was going. He listened carefully as the former Shinra man continued.
“Our Savior, the one who saved us all from death at the hands of Sephiroth and Meteor. The one who brought us the healing waters, to purify those who were tainted. He even brings back the dead. He is obviously more than human, more than any of us. We are not worthy of him, but he graces us with his presence. We shall make ourselves worthy of him, and now we wait for his orders, so that we might become like him.”
“Oh, hells no,” Cloud muttered. This wasn’t good. Not good at all.
“What’s wrong, Spike?”
Looking at the bed, Cloud found himself the focus of three sets of eyes. “We,” he said lightly, “might have a problem.”
That was all it took for Seph and Zack to roll off the bed and look for weapons. Aeris watched him for a moment, then rose and grabbed her clothing. “What is going on?”
Glancing back at the window as he went for his own clothes, which were scattered all over the room, Cloud shook his head. “Not a mob.... Well, not like a violent mob. Almost as bad, though.”
Taking their cue from the blond, Seph and Zack also began to grab clothing. Zack paused as he looked down at the pants he had just slid on. “Spike, I think these are yours.”
Cloud looked. “Yep.” He looked at his own. “And I got yours on. They seem to fit fine.”
A sigh from Zack. “Die for a few years, and you buff out. It’s just not fair.” He grinned. “We’ll have to look at those muscles in detail later.” He and Cloud shared a rather similar smile, full of leering amusement. Aeris and Seph exchanged looks.
“There are two of them,” Aeris said, shuddering.
“We’re doomed,” Seph continued. Both ended up having pieces of their clothing thrown at them.
“Just what kind of mob is it?” Seph asked as he shrugged on his coat.
Cloud grimaced. “A, er, well, worshiping one.”
A pause and Zack looked at Cloud with incredulous eyes. “Worshiping one? I can see one trying to kill us all, but worshiping?”
Running his fingers through his hair, Cloud nodded. “They are mentioning stuff about their savior, and I really don’t want to deal with them now.” He paused, trying to think of what to do. Then he heard the sound of something tapping at the bathroom window.
Carefully, he peered into the small room, which faced the back of the house. He hoped it wasn’t some ambitious nut, who would probably only get killed by accident.
He didn’t expect the red cloak, or the long dark hair.
Hurrying over, Cloud opened the window, and Vincent slid in. “What the...? Why are you at my window, Vincent?” Cloud finally managed to stutter.
“Especially the bathroom window,” came Zack’s voice. “The second story bathroom window.”
Red eyes looked past Cloud to study the others that were crowded in the bathroom door, then moved to fix on Cloud. “We heard the rumors already this morning, and Cid kindly offered his ship as a place of shelter. As you have no phone, and we didn’t want to give your....” He paused, unsure how to describe the people gathering outside.
“Stalkers,” Aeris supplied helpfully.
Zack’s contribution was “Psycho nut jobs.”
Seph quirked a brow as Cloud just shrugged.
“Followers,” Vincent finally continued. “The chance to get into your home. So I was elected to come extend the invitation. Cid would have most likely have attempted to deal with the problem a bit more directly.” Cloud and Vincent shared a look. Directly as in broken bones directly. Cid was a good man, but more that willing to use a bit of force, especially against people who he decided were better off away from him.
A moment of silence, then Cloud sighed. “Out the window, then?”
Vincent nodded once. “They have not yet entered the back alley. This is your best chance of getting out without being noticed right away.”
“Right.” With that, Seph scooped up Aeris and nodded for Vincent to go back out. When the other man did, he helped Aeris out the window before following himself. Balancing easily on the edge, he turned to smile back at Zack and Cloud. “Will you gentlemen be joining us?” Not waiting for an answer, he turned, lifted Aeris again, and leapt to the roof of the next building, Vincent following.
The last two men looked at each other, and shrugged almost at the same time. Years of living in tubes in sight of each other, and Cloud toting around Zack’s voice in his head for a while, had given them a whole range of unspoken cues. Cloud grinned and waved Zack ahead. “Age before beauty,” he smiled.
“We’re the same age, kinda,” Zack muttered, climbing out the window, “but cause you have a nice ass….” He quickly leapt up after the others. Cloud followed, taking only a moment to close the window the best he could before jumping.
If this was how the day started, he hated to see how the rest of it was going to go.
///
Sephiroth had grown up used to being stared at as he had gone through his life. Of course, his life had consisted of being in the labs and having various tests of all types being run on him. Afterwards, during the war and later, he had gotten even more used to people staring at him, usually more than a little fearful. He had proven his worth and what he was capable of, and to most people, that had been enough for them to fear him, even if they did try to hide it.
Fear and respect were the two emotions he was used to having directed his way from most of the world, with very, very few exceptions.
Thus he wasn’t exactly sure what to do when they had arrived at the airship and he had been almost forcibly sat down in the galley and had a cup of tea shoved at him by a very…agitated blond man. He thought the man’s name was Highwind.
He blinked at it a moment, then took his cue from Cloud, who cheerfully muttered something about damn tea, but snagged sugar and milk anyway and started to drink it. Aeris had simply taken it and told the man good morning and exchanged the general pleasantries one associated with good manners. Zack seemed as bit lost, which made Sephiroth feel a bit better about his own lack of certainty, but the dark haired man adapted fast enough, already joking a bit with the pilot. At least Sephiroth was pretty sure it was joking.
There was a bit of wariness in the eyes that watched him, though. Between Highwind and Valentine, who had introduced himself on the way over, and the various crew who wandered by from time to time, Sephiroth was very much aware of the attitude directed at him. Not that he could really blame them, though. While he did not remember most of what had happened while he was under the influence of Jenova, he did remember some. And that little that he remembered was more than enough to explain the looks of caution that Highwind and Valentine were directing his way.
But there was no fear. Caution, yes. Wariness, of course. He could see the tension in their stances, ready to go for weapons if needed. No fear, though.
That tension was slowly melting away as well. Little by little, their eyes flickering to Cloud, who seemed to be ignoring the undercurrents of feelings all around. Sephiroth knew the man was well aware of what was going on around him, even while seemed absorbed in kicking Zack’s leg every time the man targeted him for teasing. Every time that their hosts looked at Cloud, watched him for a moment, they would relax a tiny bit more.
Not that the wariness would ever go away, which was just fine in Sephiroth’s opinion. A certain amount of caution was needed to keep people alive, but it was good to not be the target of fear and paranoia. And he could admire how Cloud handled people. Showing them through actions, if not words, that everything was all right.
He had always known Cloud would be amazing one day. It was good to see that he was right in that, if he had been wrong in so many other things in the time before.
“Mind if I sit here?” a soft voice asked him just before Aeris settled herself into his lap while Zack finally playfully lunged for Cloud, drawing a grumble from Highwind about them not breaking his ship or he’d break them. Curling his arm around her, Sephiroth felt the slight curl of a smile on his lips as she snagged a bit of his hair and started braiding it.
“Not at all,” he did reply after a moment, draping an arm around her waist. “Might I know what gains me this honor?”
She smiled at him and brushed the end of his hair over his nose. “Cloud’s not the only one I’ve missed, and you’re being all introspective and pouty.”
“I am not pouty. I am, was, the General of Shinra’s military. I do not pout.”
“Yes you do, especially when Zack steals the last bit of pie, though I’m pretty sure that’s just to get me to bake you another one. Anyway, you have a perfectly nice and comfortable lap, and what better way to make you not pouty than to make myself comfortable on it?”
“I’m sure that Zack or Cloud would have been just as comfortable, and it would have prevented them from currently trying to break all nearby furniture.”
“I,” Aeris said calmly, finishing that braid and starting on another, “am sure you three will be breaking a lot more furniture once you figure out that Cloud is as sturdy as you guys. Mmm, more Cloud on top….” She turned at smiled sweetly at Highwind’s strangled choking sound as the man turned an alarming shade of violet. “Cid, are you all right?”
“Aeris, I didn’t need that image in my head,” he muttered, tone foul as he continued to cough on the tea he had just inhaled the wrong way.
“Why not? It’s a rather pretty one.” She hummed and wiggled around on Sephiroth’s lap until she was leaning back against him, never escaping the circle of the man’s arms. Once she settled, Sephiroth rested his chin on the top of her head. “Can’t you imagine Cloud, all sweaty and shiny, over one of the other two here, making them….”
Her words were cut off by a hand over her mouth. Smiling slightly, Sephiroth watched Cloud from the corner of his eye as the man leaned over his shoulder. “Aeris, over sharing again,” the man said lightly. “I’m sure Cid and Vincent don’t want to know.”
When he dropped his hand, Aeris sighed. “But how am I supposed to brag about you if nobody ever wants to hear?” she said mournfully. That lasted around a second before Zack scooped her out of Sephiroth’s lap and settled into another chair, gnawing on her throat. His lap now cold, Sephiroth simply curled an arm around Cloud’s waist and pulled him to rest on him.
Valentine and Highwind both tensed again, and he felt the urge to do something to rile them up more. He immediately placed the blame for this urge on Zack and rested his forehead against the back of Cloud’s shoulder. There was more muscle there than the last time he had done this. Just another of the many changes he hadn’t been around to see, or had been the cause of.
He knew he would never be able to apologize enough, even if the other three did place the blame on Hojo and Jenova. Sephiroth had been the one weak enough to break, and that was all that really mattered. He knew he had to make it up to the others in some way, but he wasn’t sure how.
Eventually, though, he would, and maybe then he’d feel like the wary looks and the fear weren’t something that he had to notice anymore.
Listening quietly to Cloud and the two men catching up in quiet words, or to Aeris’s soft giggles as Zack continued to chew upon her neck, Sephiroth let it soothe him. These people cared about him, and that simple fact meant more to Sephiroth than he would ever be able to admit. And the others cared about Cloud, which was also good.
So he was silent, arms wrapped around the smaller man, listening to the conversation meander around. This right here was more than he had ever expected. Even when Zack had first managed to push Sephiroth off his carefully balanced apathy, Sephiroth had never known a feeling like this had existed, let alone that he would be in the middle of it.
Surrounded by those who he called lovers, and people who care for them, even if they didn’t feel anything for Sephiroth himself besides dislike, was a good feeling. So he quietly sat there and soaked it up, enjoying it as best he could. Life was simply too chaotic to do so otherwise.
And it didn’t take long for that fact to be proven when the sound of a PHS cut through the sounds of their breakfast, causing most of the conversation to stop as Highwind cursed and patted his pockets until he found the device. He looked at it for a moment, brow furrowing, then glanced around the room at the others. Watching him from over Cloud’s shoulder, even Sephiroth could see the man’s discomfort, especially when their eyes locked for a long moment. The device rang again, and this time, almost grimacing, the pilot answered it.
“Hello, Tifa.”
Wordcounts:
January: 3,015
2007: 3,015
Chapter Five
Author: GW Katrina aka
icedark_elfBeta:
forgottenloverFandom: FFVII: Advent Children
Summary: After fighting Sephiroth yet again, Cloud is given a choice.
Chapter Summary: Day after the fight, and consequences start to appear.
Warnings: Alternate Ending for FFVII:AC. Foursome
Previous chapters here:
One Two Three
For the first time in a long time, Cloud woke up warm.
Down right toasty, in fact.
It helped that he had bodies on three sides. Aeris was stretched out back to back with him, and he really couldn’t figure out just how she took up so much space, because she wasn’t really that big. Curled against his front was Zack, arms pulling him tight against the dark headed man. And draped over all of them was Sephiroth, who was currently impersonating a blanket, and had managed to lay on all three of them at once.
This was something Cloud could get used to. Would get used to, because he had them back, and nothing was going to take them away again.
The warmth, as well as the delicious ache that spread through most his body, meant it took a bit for Cloud to realize that something was off.
Not with the situation in bed. That was perfectly fine, and he was looking forward to repeating it. Something that was outside. He could hear the faintest of noises, words. It sounded like people.
Cloud did, in fact, live in the remnants of the city. Had his own house and everything, though he tended to stay in the guest rooms at Tifa’s because being alone was just too much at times. So he was used to the sound of people moving about. This was different. The people weren’t moving. He kept hearing the same voices raised up in some type of cry, though his sleepy brain wasn’t deciphering what the words were. Slowly, though, he found himself identifying that there were quite a few people outside.
Not really wanting to move, but more than a little concerned and curious as to if there really was a mob forming outside his home, Cloud got up. It took a bit of effort, worming his way from underneath and around the others, and he woke them up at least a little, but nobody else moved off the bed. They did mumble and try to drag him back in, but Cloud was good enough to escape. Padding silently towards the window, Cloud carefully looked out, making sure to stay as far out of sight as possible. Thankfully, his home was two stories, and the balcony gave him a bit of shelter.
There were people outside. But not a mob. Standing in front of the house was a crowd of people, at least thirty. They didn’t seem particularly violent, which was Cloud’s main concern, but there was a certain raptness to their expressions that worried him. Closest to his front door, three people were preaching at the crowd. This close to the window, Cloud could make out the words easily.
“He is the one who defeated the one who tried to destroy us all! He is the one who brought us healing from the Planet, and she has made it obvious that he is her Chosen one. She has even allowed him to bring back the dead!” That was the lone woman of the three, her gestures wild.
The man to her right took up the flow of words. “How many of you remember Aeris? I remember her. She was sweet and kind and a miracle to all of us who used to live under the Plate. She died helping them, and now she lives again! He has brought her back. The Planet has allowed him to do so, and we should accept that. It allowed him to bring back Sephiroth, himself, the one he had destroyed more than once. The Planet allowed him to do that!”
“I used to work for Shinra, and I know that it was evil.” That was the third one, his gestures as wild as the woman’s. “We know that he has brought back at least two from beyond death, and I will say that the third, the one with dark hair, he was also dead. I was one of those who helped kill him, and now I’ve seen what a sin that was! The Planet gave him back to our savior.”
Oh, Cloud realized he really didn’t like where this was going. He listened carefully as the former Shinra man continued.
“Our Savior, the one who saved us all from death at the hands of Sephiroth and Meteor. The one who brought us the healing waters, to purify those who were tainted. He even brings back the dead. He is obviously more than human, more than any of us. We are not worthy of him, but he graces us with his presence. We shall make ourselves worthy of him, and now we wait for his orders, so that we might become like him.”
“Oh, hells no,” Cloud muttered. This wasn’t good. Not good at all.
“What’s wrong, Spike?”
Looking at the bed, Cloud found himself the focus of three sets of eyes. “We,” he said lightly, “might have a problem.”
That was all it took for Seph and Zack to roll off the bed and look for weapons. Aeris watched him for a moment, then rose and grabbed her clothing. “What is going on?”
Glancing back at the window as he went for his own clothes, which were scattered all over the room, Cloud shook his head. “Not a mob.... Well, not like a violent mob. Almost as bad, though.”
Taking their cue from the blond, Seph and Zack also began to grab clothing. Zack paused as he looked down at the pants he had just slid on. “Spike, I think these are yours.”
Cloud looked. “Yep.” He looked at his own. “And I got yours on. They seem to fit fine.”
A sigh from Zack. “Die for a few years, and you buff out. It’s just not fair.” He grinned. “We’ll have to look at those muscles in detail later.” He and Cloud shared a rather similar smile, full of leering amusement. Aeris and Seph exchanged looks.
“There are two of them,” Aeris said, shuddering.
“We’re doomed,” Seph continued. Both ended up having pieces of their clothing thrown at them.
“Just what kind of mob is it?” Seph asked as he shrugged on his coat.
Cloud grimaced. “A, er, well, worshiping one.”
A pause and Zack looked at Cloud with incredulous eyes. “Worshiping one? I can see one trying to kill us all, but worshiping?”
Running his fingers through his hair, Cloud nodded. “They are mentioning stuff about their savior, and I really don’t want to deal with them now.” He paused, trying to think of what to do. Then he heard the sound of something tapping at the bathroom window.
Carefully, he peered into the small room, which faced the back of the house. He hoped it wasn’t some ambitious nut, who would probably only get killed by accident.
He didn’t expect the red cloak, or the long dark hair.
Hurrying over, Cloud opened the window, and Vincent slid in. “What the...? Why are you at my window, Vincent?” Cloud finally managed to stutter.
“Especially the bathroom window,” came Zack’s voice. “The second story bathroom window.”
Red eyes looked past Cloud to study the others that were crowded in the bathroom door, then moved to fix on Cloud. “We heard the rumors already this morning, and Cid kindly offered his ship as a place of shelter. As you have no phone, and we didn’t want to give your....” He paused, unsure how to describe the people gathering outside.
“Stalkers,” Aeris supplied helpfully.
Zack’s contribution was “Psycho nut jobs.”
Seph quirked a brow as Cloud just shrugged.
“Followers,” Vincent finally continued. “The chance to get into your home. So I was elected to come extend the invitation. Cid would have most likely have attempted to deal with the problem a bit more directly.” Cloud and Vincent shared a look. Directly as in broken bones directly. Cid was a good man, but more that willing to use a bit of force, especially against people who he decided were better off away from him.
A moment of silence, then Cloud sighed. “Out the window, then?”
Vincent nodded once. “They have not yet entered the back alley. This is your best chance of getting out without being noticed right away.”
“Right.” With that, Seph scooped up Aeris and nodded for Vincent to go back out. When the other man did, he helped Aeris out the window before following himself. Balancing easily on the edge, he turned to smile back at Zack and Cloud. “Will you gentlemen be joining us?” Not waiting for an answer, he turned, lifted Aeris again, and leapt to the roof of the next building, Vincent following.
The last two men looked at each other, and shrugged almost at the same time. Years of living in tubes in sight of each other, and Cloud toting around Zack’s voice in his head for a while, had given them a whole range of unspoken cues. Cloud grinned and waved Zack ahead. “Age before beauty,” he smiled.
“We’re the same age, kinda,” Zack muttered, climbing out the window, “but cause you have a nice ass….” He quickly leapt up after the others. Cloud followed, taking only a moment to close the window the best he could before jumping.
If this was how the day started, he hated to see how the rest of it was going to go.
Sephiroth had grown up used to being stared at as he had gone through his life. Of course, his life had consisted of being in the labs and having various tests of all types being run on him. Afterwards, during the war and later, he had gotten even more used to people staring at him, usually more than a little fearful. He had proven his worth and what he was capable of, and to most people, that had been enough for them to fear him, even if they did try to hide it.
Fear and respect were the two emotions he was used to having directed his way from most of the world, with very, very few exceptions.
Thus he wasn’t exactly sure what to do when they had arrived at the airship and he had been almost forcibly sat down in the galley and had a cup of tea shoved at him by a very…agitated blond man. He thought the man’s name was Highwind.
He blinked at it a moment, then took his cue from Cloud, who cheerfully muttered something about damn tea, but snagged sugar and milk anyway and started to drink it. Aeris had simply taken it and told the man good morning and exchanged the general pleasantries one associated with good manners. Zack seemed as bit lost, which made Sephiroth feel a bit better about his own lack of certainty, but the dark haired man adapted fast enough, already joking a bit with the pilot. At least Sephiroth was pretty sure it was joking.
There was a bit of wariness in the eyes that watched him, though. Between Highwind and Valentine, who had introduced himself on the way over, and the various crew who wandered by from time to time, Sephiroth was very much aware of the attitude directed at him. Not that he could really blame them, though. While he did not remember most of what had happened while he was under the influence of Jenova, he did remember some. And that little that he remembered was more than enough to explain the looks of caution that Highwind and Valentine were directing his way.
But there was no fear. Caution, yes. Wariness, of course. He could see the tension in their stances, ready to go for weapons if needed. No fear, though.
That tension was slowly melting away as well. Little by little, their eyes flickering to Cloud, who seemed to be ignoring the undercurrents of feelings all around. Sephiroth knew the man was well aware of what was going on around him, even while seemed absorbed in kicking Zack’s leg every time the man targeted him for teasing. Every time that their hosts looked at Cloud, watched him for a moment, they would relax a tiny bit more.
Not that the wariness would ever go away, which was just fine in Sephiroth’s opinion. A certain amount of caution was needed to keep people alive, but it was good to not be the target of fear and paranoia. And he could admire how Cloud handled people. Showing them through actions, if not words, that everything was all right.
He had always known Cloud would be amazing one day. It was good to see that he was right in that, if he had been wrong in so many other things in the time before.
“Mind if I sit here?” a soft voice asked him just before Aeris settled herself into his lap while Zack finally playfully lunged for Cloud, drawing a grumble from Highwind about them not breaking his ship or he’d break them. Curling his arm around her, Sephiroth felt the slight curl of a smile on his lips as she snagged a bit of his hair and started braiding it.
“Not at all,” he did reply after a moment, draping an arm around her waist. “Might I know what gains me this honor?”
She smiled at him and brushed the end of his hair over his nose. “Cloud’s not the only one I’ve missed, and you’re being all introspective and pouty.”
“I am not pouty. I am, was, the General of Shinra’s military. I do not pout.”
“Yes you do, especially when Zack steals the last bit of pie, though I’m pretty sure that’s just to get me to bake you another one. Anyway, you have a perfectly nice and comfortable lap, and what better way to make you not pouty than to make myself comfortable on it?”
“I’m sure that Zack or Cloud would have been just as comfortable, and it would have prevented them from currently trying to break all nearby furniture.”
“I,” Aeris said calmly, finishing that braid and starting on another, “am sure you three will be breaking a lot more furniture once you figure out that Cloud is as sturdy as you guys. Mmm, more Cloud on top….” She turned at smiled sweetly at Highwind’s strangled choking sound as the man turned an alarming shade of violet. “Cid, are you all right?”
“Aeris, I didn’t need that image in my head,” he muttered, tone foul as he continued to cough on the tea he had just inhaled the wrong way.
“Why not? It’s a rather pretty one.” She hummed and wiggled around on Sephiroth’s lap until she was leaning back against him, never escaping the circle of the man’s arms. Once she settled, Sephiroth rested his chin on the top of her head. “Can’t you imagine Cloud, all sweaty and shiny, over one of the other two here, making them….”
Her words were cut off by a hand over her mouth. Smiling slightly, Sephiroth watched Cloud from the corner of his eye as the man leaned over his shoulder. “Aeris, over sharing again,” the man said lightly. “I’m sure Cid and Vincent don’t want to know.”
When he dropped his hand, Aeris sighed. “But how am I supposed to brag about you if nobody ever wants to hear?” she said mournfully. That lasted around a second before Zack scooped her out of Sephiroth’s lap and settled into another chair, gnawing on her throat. His lap now cold, Sephiroth simply curled an arm around Cloud’s waist and pulled him to rest on him.
Valentine and Highwind both tensed again, and he felt the urge to do something to rile them up more. He immediately placed the blame for this urge on Zack and rested his forehead against the back of Cloud’s shoulder. There was more muscle there than the last time he had done this. Just another of the many changes he hadn’t been around to see, or had been the cause of.
He knew he would never be able to apologize enough, even if the other three did place the blame on Hojo and Jenova. Sephiroth had been the one weak enough to break, and that was all that really mattered. He knew he had to make it up to the others in some way, but he wasn’t sure how.
Eventually, though, he would, and maybe then he’d feel like the wary looks and the fear weren’t something that he had to notice anymore.
Listening quietly to Cloud and the two men catching up in quiet words, or to Aeris’s soft giggles as Zack continued to chew upon her neck, Sephiroth let it soothe him. These people cared about him, and that simple fact meant more to Sephiroth than he would ever be able to admit. And the others cared about Cloud, which was also good.
So he was silent, arms wrapped around the smaller man, listening to the conversation meander around. This right here was more than he had ever expected. Even when Zack had first managed to push Sephiroth off his carefully balanced apathy, Sephiroth had never known a feeling like this had existed, let alone that he would be in the middle of it.
Surrounded by those who he called lovers, and people who care for them, even if they didn’t feel anything for Sephiroth himself besides dislike, was a good feeling. So he quietly sat there and soaked it up, enjoying it as best he could. Life was simply too chaotic to do so otherwise.
And it didn’t take long for that fact to be proven when the sound of a PHS cut through the sounds of their breakfast, causing most of the conversation to stop as Highwind cursed and patted his pockets until he found the device. He looked at it for a moment, brow furrowing, then glanced around the room at the others. Watching him from over Cloud’s shoulder, even Sephiroth could see the man’s discomfort, especially when their eyes locked for a long moment. The device rang again, and this time, almost grimacing, the pilot answered it.
“Hello, Tifa.”
Wordcounts:
January: 3,015
2007: 3,015
Chapter Five
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*dead*
OT4 love makes this kitten very happy.
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Glad you enjoyed it.