天の龍 ~ 「俺の運が変われると思う…」 (kiraya) wrote in drops_n_ripples, @ 2008-01-27 17:37:00 |
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Entry tags: | butterfly effect |
Butterfly Effect: Chapter 32
Authors: Bard Linn and Kiraya
Genre: General/Drama
Pairings: That'd be telling!
Rating (Overall): PG-13; R for this chapter.
Warnings: Implied sex.
Summary: “I could use a distraction, myself…”
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and all associated characters and symbols are the exclusive property of Square Enix and its associates. We’re just borrowing them for a while.
Chapter 32
Tifa slipped into the mansion, trying to calm her pounding heart. She couldn’t believe Cloud was back in Nibelheim — and to think he hadn’t even told her he was coming! Getting yelled at by her father about her choice of fiancé was not how she wanted to find out about these things. She was going to have to give the guy a piece of her mind when she found him — provided she managed to find him, first.
The martial artist sprinted forward, trying her best to avoid any encounters with the monsters lurking about the place. She had never realized the mansion was so dangerous… and Cloud said he had played here as a kid? The claim seemed rather unlikely to her, but then again, how could she really know? Maybe the monsters were a recent thing.
The building was huge, and for a moment she thought she’d have to search all of it, but once she found tracks on the dusty floors she had a goal. She was no master tracker, but every Nibelheim child learned a thing or two about it. She quickly followed them upstairs to a bedroom in the east wing, a strange door open in one corner to a staircase below. Curiosity getting the better of her, the dark-haired young woman walked quietly down the wooden stairs, aware of a commotion below. Sounds like a fight… Tifa sped up her pace, only half paying attention to where her feet where going. No way was she going to let Cloud fight by himself!
As she reached the base of the stairs, however, Tifa felt her eyes go wide in shock. Yes, there was a fight all right — but it was between Cloud and General Sephiroth, the war hero driving his subordinate back steadily, inch by inch, though Cloud seemed — miraculously, especially considering how his arms visibly trembled with each block, made just in the nick of time — to be holding his own.
Abruptly Sephiroth looked beyond his opponent to stare at her, green eyes boring into her. Tifa felt a chill run down her spine; those were not sane eyes.
“Tifa, get down!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud dove aside himself after he screamed his warning, Sephiroth’s fire attack roaring past him. Thank Gaea for Tifa’s fighter training — the girl had gotten out of the way just in time. Dammit — I can’t fight him head-to-head and protect Tifa, and there’s no way she’s gonna be able to defend herself from him. Time to stop playing nice. Cloud dodged again, barely, then threw one of his blades at Sephiroth. It only slowed the General down for a second, of course, but that gave him enough time to tap into his Lightning materia, pulling every ounce of power he could from it. Please—
Lightning crashed down through the ceiling, flickering along hidden wires, pipes, and metal supports. Cloud rolled forward, grabbed his thrown sword, and sprung to his feet, lashing out at Sephiroth again even as the electricity cascaded around them. A mere instant after the unnatural storm stopped, a bullet flew over Cloud’s head. “What the—?”
“Nice job, kid. Didn’t know you could manage a Thundara yet,” called Zack, jumping the last few stairs, blackened nearly to ash by the flames Sephiroth had thrown. Behind the SOLDIER, Vincent raised his gun again, firing at Hojo, who was barely visible through the fire raging through the basement laboratory. Cloud didn’t have much time to appreciate his mentors’ arrival, though; the spell hadn’t slowed the General much, and the Masamune once again clashed with Shiranui. “What the hell’s going on?” Zack shouted over the roar of the flames.
Now’s not the best time, Zack! “Hojo—” was all Cloud could manage before the silver-haired man struck again, and he gritted his teeth, nearly stumbling backwards in his haste to lessen the strain on his arms from blocking the blow. Shit — can’t keep this up much longer—
Gunfire sounded again, but Vincent’s shot went wide, the resultant sound of breaking glass barely audible over the flames. There was an inhuman shriek, and Sephiroth suddenly stumbled, eyes glazed over — so Cloud, trained to take whatever advantage he could get, lashed out, sending the Masamune flying from the General’s loosening grip, bringing up his other blade as he finally closed in. Sephiroth didn’t counter; instead, his eyes slid shut and he slumped to the ground. Cloud didn’t catch him, stepping out of the way but not letting his guard down, his sword still at the ready, hovering at his superior’s throat.
“Cloud! Knock it off!” Zack snapped, moving closer, eyes on Sephiroth. “Can’t you see he’s hurt?”
“He might still be a threat,” Cloud replied crisply, watching the General warily.
Zack looked taken back, then hurt, starting to say something—
“Guys,” Tifa said suddenly, and there was an edge to her voice that made all three of them follow her gaze through the flames to where Hojo was tinkering with a little device.
Vincent’s face tightened, his gaze flickering up towards the ceiling. “The auto-destruct device—”
“Shit!” Zack cursed fervently. “We gotta get outta here!”
Cloud nodded in agreement, but paused to study Vincent closely. The man looked like he was seconds away from one of his changes, but seemed drained, as if he’d already spent too much of himself. There was too much between the former Turk and the scientist to reach him anyway, Cloud noted. They had no choice; they’d have to retreat, but they’d never get up the stairs in time—
Hojo looked up at them as the ceiling began to shake, tiny concealed explosives causing it to become unstable. Without a word, the scientist vanished, fleeing backwards, away from the group. Why—? “Dammit, the secret passages!” Cloud swore. How could he have forgotten?
“Where to?” asked Zack tersely, having pulled Sephiroth away from Cloud and upright, slinging one of the man’s arms over his shoulder.
“There’s only one place we can reach in time — I just hope it holds up!” Cloud grabbed Tifa’s arm and dragged her sideways, through a battered door, broken open sometime during the fight, into a tiny room he’d been in once before. Zack followed, bringing the unconscious Sephiroth while Vincent reluctantly brought up the rear, glancing behind them after Hojo.
“…Cloud, why is there a coffin in here?”
“I’ll explain later. Quick, everyone get as far away from the door as you can.” Cloud grabbed the coffin — so heavy for a child, but almost light for a SOLDIER — and braced it against the door, then scooted backwards. Outside, the ceiling gave a low rumble of warning, then finally collapsed, burying the lab forever.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hojo watched as the Shinra Mansion’s underground laboratory slowly collapsed, exactly as it had been designed. The upper portion of the house should remain stable for some time; the architects had done an excellent job, and the evidence should be well hidden. He wasn’t particularly worried about Sephiroth, either — his creation could survive several days without food and water if necessary, though chances were good he’d escape shortly. It pained him a little to admit it, but objectively he reasoned if Sephiroth died, he clearly wasn’t as perfect as he had been crafted to be.
He only hoped that some of those others died in the collapse — particularly Valentine. How had that blasted Turk gotten free, anyway? The scientist silently cursed himself for not checking on him, but honestly, he’d thought the precautions he’d taken to seal the man away would have been quite enough.
::he hurt Me he hurt Me the vile vicious beastly human he hurt Me::
He’ll pay, I promise you, Hojo soothed, carrying Jenova carefully in his arms. He hadn’t had time to bring the complete specimen, unfortunately — only her head — but there was enough of her to remain… relatively lucid.
::My Son My Son O My Son why why why why have You forsaken Me why why O My Son::
The scientist ignored Jenova’s lamentations, eyes flickering around the area. He’d had escape plans readied in case of a situation such as this, but it would take some days to reach his vehicle on foot; he hadn’t been able to hide it any closer. Unfortunately, he didn’t have that kind of time, well aware that if Sephiroth did not report in soon, ShinRa would take that as a sign of ‘enemy action.’
He snorted. As if the fools could possibly understand.
“This is outrageous!” came a sudden voice from not too far off, causing Hojo to start in surprise. “I’m kicking those ShinRa dogs out of here, General or no General. Showing up uninvited, rampaging all over town — and now convincing my own daughter to go running amok! Who do they think they are?”
Curious, the scientist crept quietly around the corner of the mansion, only to see Mayor Lockhart marching towards the building, face red with rage. Well, we can’t very well have that, now. He’ll notice the damage, and ShinRa will be called in even sooner. The question was, how could he safely deal with this threat?
The rogue professor caught sight of the vehicle parked not far beyond the mayor, and slowly smiled. Perfect. It was somehow delightfully appropriate that he use the skills Vincent Valentine had once insisted he hone in order to escape the same man. He knew the basics to flying most helicopters, and as for marksmanship…
Well, Valentine could testify to his accuracy.
Hojo raised his gun, sighted, and pulled the trigger—
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Is everyone okay?” came Zack’s voice.
“I think so. Tifa?” Like all SOLDIERs, Cloud could see in darkness — vague shapes of people and things, at least, nothing so clearly defined as SOLDIER Firsts were supposed to be able to see, and definitely not as well as Vincent or Sephiroth, whose faintly-glowing eyes weren’t visible, still closed.
“I’m fine.” Tifa sounded confident enough, but her body language said she was definitely scared. Then again, not being able to see at all probably wasn’t helping.
A thud echoed in the tiny room as Vincent moved the coffin, pulling the door open. It was almost as dark in the hall as in the room, the only light coming from the tiny, still-open door at the top of the stairs and the flicker of flames not yet smothered. Of the lab, there was nothing left other than the rubble-filled entrance.
“Man, we were lucky.”
Vincent shook his head. “It wasn’t luck. This was built as a secret lab; the ceiling was intended to collapse in exactly this fashion, so as to protect the lab’s contents from intruders.” He took a few steps out, looking at the stairs. “The bottom levels are unstable. We will need to move quickly.”
“I’ll carry Seph,” Zack volunteered.
“Tifa?” Cloud turned to the fighter.
“You aren’t carrying me,” she insisted stubbornly. “I’m perfectly capable of—”
“Tifa, this has nothing to do with pride,” Cloud snapped. “We’re running out of time, and you can’t jump as far as I can.” He scooped the girl into his arms. “What about the Masamune?” What had happened aside, he knew that the sword was nigh irreplaceable.
“There’s no way we could get it out now, Cloud!” Tifa protested.
“Don’t worry about it. The Masamune has a way of taking care of itself,” Zack replied. He shifted Sephiroth into his arms in much the same way as Tifa now lay in Cloud’s, looking oddly comfortable carrying a man taller than he was. “Let’s go.”
The trip out of the mansion took almost as much time as it had when Cloud and Sephiroth had come in. Though by now most of the monsters were either dead or had fled, the floor was unstable in many areas, making travel hazardous. Cloud was particularly thankful so many of the monsters were gone, considering they were down to two fighters — possibly three with Tifa, though he didn’t know her capabilities — with Zack and Sephiroth out of the game.
They had barely made it out of the gate when they found themselves confronted with an angry mob.
“Murderers!”
What? Cloud looked around, confused. What had caused the townsfolk to gather like this?
“You murdered the mayor!”
“ShinRa scum!”
“You’ve got no right to come uninvited to our town and mess with us!”
“…Dad?” Tifa stepped from behind Cloud, face pale. “What happened to my Dad?”
“Murdered,” one of the men spat, glaring at the group. Cloud noticed Vincent slowly moving to stand in front of Sephiroth and Zack, blocking them from sight; Zack wisely hung back, trying not to draw the mob’s attention to the two of them. “Murdered, and the ShinRa’s helicopter gone.”
“Then why would they be the ones who did it?” a familiar voice broke in as Elanor Strife moved to the forefront of the crowd. “And Tifa was with them. Surely she would’ve known if they’d murdered her father.”
“Why should we listen to you?” a woman sneered. “You bedded a man from ShinRa, your son ran off to join them — of course you’re going to take their side.”
Elanor’s face did not change the slightest, despite the accusation thrown in her face. Cloud, on the other hand, felt a deep rage building inside him. Had his mother been dealing with this every day since he had left, or had it been going on since his father had died? The SOLDIER stepped forward, voice cold. “We came here to investigate a fugitive, wanted for multiple homicide and acts of bioterrorism.” Not quite the truth, but close enough. “Ms. Lockhart was kind enough to provide the direction needed for our search.”
“But you failed!”
“Yes and no,” Cloud countered, brisk and professional. “The fugitive did escape us; however, we halted his terrorist activity in this area and destroyed his equipment.” Okay, so Hojo had really destroyed his own equipment, but they didn’t need the exact details. “We will leave shortly, once we requisition new transportation. I suggest until then you return home and go about your lives quietly.”
There was a surge in the crowd’s angry muttering, and for a moment, Cloud was afraid they’d have a riot on their hands. His stomach clenched at the thought. He had grown up here, even if he hadn’t seen many of these people that often. He really would have preferred to avoid resorting to the often brutal crowd control methods they were taught, but if it came down to it… Finally, though, the mob started to disperse, disappearing back into their houses.
“Come on. Let’s get you something to eat,” Elanor murmured, laying her hand on Cloud’s arm. “You must be starving.”
“Mom—”
“Later, Cloud.” She looked at Zack, still carrying Sephiroth, though he’d shifted the General’s body so he looked to be merely helping him walk rather than carrying him unconscious. “We can put him upstairs. Tifa, dear, do you want to come with us?”
The young woman shook her head, clearly trying not to cry. “I think I better go see what happened with Dad.”
“You’re always welcome, you know,” Elanor told her kindly. “If it gets to be too much, don’t be afraid to come over.”
“I’ll remember,” Tifa promised, then turned away to cross the square, head held high despite the glances from curious eyes peeking out of curtains.
Once inside, Elanor directed Zack to take Sephiroth upstairs to rest. Cloud stopped him first, however, speaking quietly. “Zack — keep the Buster Sword close, okay?”
Zack looked incredulous. “Cloud, you can’t possibly think—”
“What I think is Sephiroth was trying to take off my head a few minutes ago,” the other SOLDIER countered. “I don’t think it was really him — he was fighting way too sloppy, for one — but until we know whatever it was that made him go crazy can’t influence him any more, we have to assume that he might still be a threat,” he concluded coolly.
“Yes, sir,” Zack hissed, eyes flashing in annoyance. “All business and no caring — you’re far too much like a Turk some days.”
“If that’s what it takes to get through this, then…” Cloud shrugged, outwardly unmoved by Zack’s comment, though inside he was hurt. The SOLDIER First was his best friend, and he didn’t want to see him injured or killed because he let his guard down at a critical moment. Why can’t he understand that…? Banishing those thoughts, the blond continued, “I’ll go see what Mom can find in terms of food.”
“All right,” came the short reply as Zack headed upstairs.
But it isn’t all right, is it? Cloud thought sadly. It might never be all right again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sephiroth awoke slowly, trying to pick apart the muddled memories in his mind. He remembered entering the Shinra Mansion with Cloud, but… after that, things began to get fuzzy. He had heard a voice in his mind, and… then he had been fighting, but who…?
“Welcome back to the land of the living.”
Green eyes opened to stare up at Zack, who smiled a little crookedly down at him, lightly running his hand through Sephiroth’s pale hair. It had been a long time since Zack had touched him so intimately, and the General found that, despite his mixed feelings about it, he’d missed it. “What happened?” he asked, turning his mind to more pressing concerns.
Zack looked uncomfortable. “…You attacked Cloud.”
Sephiroth winced almost imperceptibly, the memories becoming a bit clearer. Yes, he had attacked Cloud, he remembered now — though he couldn’t understand why. “Is he—?”
“Cloud’s fine. You’re the one who’s damaged.” Zack’s lips quirked. “I guess he showed he definitely deserved that promotion.”
“I suppose he’s quite angry with me.” As he should be. He had thrice betrayed the boy — superior to subordinate, teacher to student… and, quite possibly, friend to friend, as strange as it was to grant that designation to someone besides Zack.
“He’ll probably be more angry with me,” the other SOLDIER replied dryly. “Wanted me to keep you practically under lock and key.”
“Which, considering the situation, is the most logical course of action,” Sephiroth pointed out. Not for the first time he reflected that Zack reacted far too often with his feelings. Cloud, it seemed, was much better at keeping a clear head in military situations when those he was close to were concerned.
“Fuck, Seph,” Zack snapped, “I don’t give a shit about logic right now. I’m more worried about your mental health — that thing got you—”
“Zack?” came a tentative voice from the hall.
“In here, Cloud,” the dark-haired SOLDIER replied. “He’s awake.”
The blond entered, hand resting on Shiranui’s hilt, watching Sephiroth closely. He shot Zack a Look clearly indicating he thought the older man should be doing the same, but didn’t press the issue. Then he blinked, and looked again, eyes flickering between the pair. He had thought at first that Sephiroth had been shifting as he lay on the bed, Zack sitting beside him, but…
Sephiroth again attempted to move his head from Zack’s lap, and this time succeeded, having removed his aide’s hand from his hair. He opened his mouth to speak—
“It’s good to see you feeling better, sir.” Cloud’s expression was carefully composed, but there was an odd quality to his voice, as if he were somehow troubled. “If you’ll excuse me, though—”
“Cloud, what…?” Zack started, but between one blink and the next the younger SOLDIER had slipped out of the room. “Well, that was… weird.” The dark-haired man let out a huge sigh. “Wonder what got into him.”
Sephiroth’s mouth set itself in a thin line. Either Cloud Strife was still upset with him for the way he had lost control of himself, or—
“You are not being as… discreet as normal, Sinclair.”
“Valentine?” Zack asked, looking surprised. When had the red-cloaked man entered?
“It is good to see you awake,” Vincent said to Sephiroth, studying him closely. “Any lasting affects?”
“None of which I am aware,” Sephiroth answered. Except for whatever caused my subordinate to backpedal out of the room like that…
“Oh shit,” Zack said suddenly, the pieces falling into place in his mind. “Oh, damn. I was so busy worrying ‘bout you, Seph, I didn’t even think about it, how he’d react to…” He shook his head, his voice remorseful. “Damn.” Sighing, Zack slid off the bed, standing. “I better go talk to him. Give a yell if you need anything, okay?”
“I am hardly bedridden,” Sephiroth replied a touch testily, sitting up more just to prove his point.
“Yeah, yeah, I know, but having that bitch mess with your head really does take it out of you. Back in a bit.” The SOLDIER disappeared through the door, following Cloud’s path out of the house.
Sephiroth’s frown deepened as he considered Zack’s words, and he turned to Vincent. “I don’t suppose you’d care to give me a full report of what happened in the reactor on our previous visit…?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud left the house quickly, heading away from town, just inside the mountain range. Once he couldn’t immediately see the buildings, he found a decent-sized bolder and perched on it, lost in thought. It was absolutely ridiculous that seeing Zack and Sephiroth being so… close like that was bothering him so much. After all, it’s not like half of SOLDIER didn’t think they were sleeping together already. And they weren’t even really doing anything. Still, the fact that they hadn’t told him there was more between them — had felt it necessary to hide it from him — hurt more than he expected. Certainly more than Sephiroth’s momentary lapse of reason down in the basement of the mansion; that, at least, he had known none of them had any control over.
“Hey, Cloud.”
“Hi, Zack.” The SOLDIER Second had known he wouldn’t be able to hide from the First for long. Zack rarely let difficult issues with his friends go unsolved — or at least unchallenged.
Zack plopped down next to Cloud on the rock, then threw his arm around the other’s shoulders. “So. I bet you Seph thinks you hate him now.”
Cloud stared at him.
Zack hesitated. “…you don’t really hate him, do you?”
“Of course not!” Cloud snapped. “Where did you get that idea? Where would he get that idea?”
“Gee, I don’t know,” the other man returned dryly. “He snaps and attacks his friend, and then when his friend sees him again he runs out of the room.”
Cloud flushed, then turned away. “You know that’s not why I left.”
“Yeah, I figured.” He gave his friend a long look. “I can’t believe you’re so worked up about it. It’s almost enough to make a guy think you’re jealous.”
Jealous? Cloud sputtered. “There’s no way—” Lusting after Sephiroth was like wanting to hold a star in your hand; utterly impossible, impractical, and likely dangerous to boot. He shook his head. “I just can’t believe you never told me.” His voice turned bitter. “I thought friends trusted each other.”
“They do.” Zack gave the blond’s shoulders a squeeze. “And what you saw with Seph… isn’t what you probably think it is.”
“Yeah, right.” Cloud’s look was skeptical. “I know what I saw, Zack. Sephiroth is hardly the type to let just anyone manhandle him.”
“No, he isn’t. But that doesn’t mean…” Zack sighed. “Well, okay, Seph and I have slept together. It’s been an on and off thing since Wutai.”
“And how did Aeris feel about that?”
The bitter words, spoken before Cloud had really thought about them, clearly hurt Zack. “I never cheated on Aeris. Never. I would have rather died.” Somewhat mollified by that, Cloud let him continue. “What I have with Seph,” Zack began, “well… it isn’t set in stone, that’s for sure. It’s pretty much a friends-with-benefits thing, but I never know when he’ll let it happen. He’s not really… he doesn’t…” He trailed off with a sigh, shaking his head. “I dunno. It’s… kinda hard to explain.”
Cloud suddenly felt incredibly foolish. It was pretty obvious something about the situation bothered Zack, but what was it? The General was difficult enough to be friends with, Cloud knew… and things between him and Zack, while they seemed far more cordial than for anyone else Sephiroth worked with, definitely weren’t always as easygoing as other close friendships in SOLDIER. Zack clearly cared very deeply for Sephiroth, and Sephiroth… seemed to be somehow reluctant to return that affection.
How must it feel to offer so much of yourself to someone and get so little back?
“…I’m sorry.”
Zack waved the apology away. “Don’t be. I’d never ditch Seph, not if my life depended on it — he needs me too much. Just gets a little rocky sometimes, that’s all.” The dark-haired man jumped down from the boulder. “I’ll leave you to sit and think, ‘cause I know that’s what you want to do. Just… talk to Seph sometime before we leave for Midgar, okay? I think you both need it.”
“All right,” Cloud promised, watching Zack turn back towards town. Despite what the other SOLDIER had said, he still wasn’t sure how he felt about the entire thing, and certainly wasn’t in any shape to go back inside and talk to his superior at the moment. He’d only say something incredibly stupid if he did.
“Cloud?” came a new voice.
He looked up. “Hey, Tifa.”
The dark-haired young woman scrambled up on top of the boulder, sitting next to him. “What are you doing out here? I saw Major Sinclair going back to town, but you didn’t follow him…”
Cloud shrugged a little. “Just thinking, is all.”
She nodded, and they sat in silence for a moment before she finally ventured, “It must have been hard… fighting General Sephiroth.”
“Well… yeah. I mean, he’s a very difficult opponent, and probably the strongest person in the world, but still, he wasn’t at his best. And I’ve been practicing with him. Those two things both helped a lot.”
Tifa nodded again. “…That’s not what’s bothering you, then?”
Cloud hesitated — could he tell her? — then shook his head. “No. It’s just I found out these two people I know well are… a lot closer than I thought. I’m a bit upset they didn’t tell me.”
Tifa looked at him. “What, did you just find out one of your friends was dating the girl you liked or something?”
Nope, that was a couple years ago, but turns out now he’s— Cloud choked, cutting off the thought as his brain unhelpfully attempted to conjure the patently absurd image of Sephiroth in a dress. He shook his head violently. Get real. Clearly he needed a break, after everything that had happened today. Despite Zack’s half-serious jealousy comment earlier, he most certainly did not have feelings for Sephiroth like that; he wasn’t that crazy. “No way.”
The look Tifa gave him said she didn’t quite believe him, but she let the matter drop. “…Feeling up for a bit of sparring? I could use a distraction, myself…”
The SOLDIER couldn’t help feeling a twinge of pity at that. Tifa had lost her father today, and even if they weren’t close, he could still sympathize with how terrible she must be feeling. Cloud barely remembered his own dad, but he still knew how hard it was to lose someone like that. “Sure.” Besides, if he was sparring with Tifa he would have to make sure to hold back so he didn’t accidentally hurt her, but still keep the match interesting. It would be a good distraction for him, too. “You wanna take a minute to warm up?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Cloud stared at the door, feeling more than a little nervous. He never had an easy time speaking to Sephiroth when Zack wasn’t around, but this was going to be even harder than normal, considering what had happened earlier. There was no way he was going to back down, though; he’d promised Zack he’d talk to the General eventually, and the longer he put this off, the harder it would be. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.
“Enter.”
Cloud did, pausing just a little inside the door. “How are you feeling, sir?”
“Better than I was,” Sephiroth replied, studying him. “I— apologize.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time something like this happened.” Cloud crossed the room to take the chair next to the bed. Sephiroth’s color was at least a bit better, he was pleased to note.
“As I heard from Valentine.” Cloud winced at that. Zack had specifically told him not to inform Sephiroth of the incident in the reactor, but it was hard now to justify that decision. “Zack and I discussed it, Str— Cloud, and we agreed he came to the right decision. Zack believed, correctly, that I would not have allowed such an event to pass without a more in-depth investigation, which, considering today’s events, would have proven… unfortunate.”
Cloud nodded slowly. “Arthur, Tifa, and I would have been liabilities, at least. Vincent and Zack might have been able to snap you out of it if they worked together, but…” He trailed off, then concluded, “Just as well it didn’t happen.”
“You were hardly a liability this time,” Sephiroth told him. “If it would not be seen as favoritism, I would put a recommendation in your file. Few can hold their own against me when I am fighting at full strength, aiming to kill.”
Cloud shook his head firmly. “That wasn’t you.”
“Cloud, I understand you may share Zack’s opinion. However—”
“No, sir, it wasn’t you,” he insisted. “You’re never as sloppy with a sword as what I saw down there.” Cloud met his superior’s disbelieving look steadily. “If you ask me, you saved my life today, si— Sephiroth. If you hadn’t been teaching me in your own style, I know I would’ve died down there.”
A slight smile tugged at the other man’s mouth, even as his eyes expressed his surprise at the more informal address Cloud had used. “It still does not change the fact that you were my opponent, however.”
“Yeah, well, I guess it just proves I’ve earned my pay, that’s all.” Cloud grinned, feeling oddly light, almost happy. “Zack said HQ replied to his message. We should expect a truck in a few days to take us back.”
The General raised an eyebrow. “A truck?”
“I think Zack was pushing for a bit more recovery time for you,” Cloud answered. Another helicopter would have been a lot faster. “Besides, I don’t think he’s looking forward to telling the brass what happened. I doubt the President’s going to be happy.”
“No.” Sephiroth frowned, thoughts turning inward.
Cloud could guess what he was thinking. This report would take careful preparation. Sephiroth knew better than to recount the events exactly; to do so would place himself in a situation where he would become a potential liability, and ShinRa had exactly one way to deal with liabilities. “You could say something about Hojo having a chemical that affects SOLDIER ability to function,” Cloud suggested. “Increases instability or something, not too specific.”
“And the wait to get back to Midgar would allow the Mako to work to destroy the chemical, leaving no traces.” Sephiroth nodded in agreement. “It will work. I’ll start the report tonight.”
“I already have something started, if you want to add to it,” Zack interjected, stepping through the still-open door. He beamed at the pair. “Everything all right in here?”
“I think so,” Cloud replied.
“Just what I wanted to hear.” Zack crossed the room in a few steps and plopped down next to Sephiroth, paper in his hands. “You can work on it after lunch.”
“Is there a particular reason why I can’t work on it now?” Sephiroth asked, raising an eyebrow.
Zack’s grin was bold and careless. “Well,” he began, sidling closer to the paler man, “I was thinking—”
“That’s unusual,” Sephiroth deadpanned, his posture stiffening, his eyes sliding to Cloud before turning to Zack, pointedly, as if to remind him there was someone else present.
“Be nice,” Zack chided in a murmur, his lips very close to Sephiroth’s ear, and for a wonder, the General didn’t pull away irritably like he usually did when Zack’s touchy-feeliness became a little too friendly.
Cloud dubiously supposed that was a good sign for Zack, but for him… well. On the one hand, he had just talked to Zack earlier about keeping things from him, but on the other, well, it sure didn’t mean he was comfortable enough with it to sit here and watch. “Er,” he hedged, “I’ll just… go for a walk, then.”
“Good idea,” Zack agreed, still focused on Sephiroth. “Your mom might need some help with dinner.”
“Right.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“You’ve just embarrassed him again,” Sephiroth pointed out, turning a bit to look at his aide once Cloud had left, firmly shutting the door behind him.
The SOLDIER shrugged, not looking the least bit sorry. “Not my fault you look so good half-dressed like that.” He nuzzled closer, nipping lightly at the General’s neck.
The little shiver in response and the quickening of the pulse beneath Zack’s teeth should have heralded the end of that discussion, but Sephiroth pulled away, shaking his head. “We can’t do this here, Zack.”
“Why the hell not?” Zack demanded. “I’m interested, I can tell you’re interested—” Sephiroth’s eyes slid away almost guiltily at that “—and I don’t know about you but I, for one, need some kind of stress relief after all that Jenova bullshit. Seeing you like that was not good for my peace of mind, let me tell you.” He waited, seeing what Sephiroth would do. They both needed this, the uncomplicated release of tension that came from physical coupling, the ability to simply relax for a time afterwards.
Zack took the fact that Sephiroth hadn’t immediately shot him down as a good sign. Usually the man was careful in the extreme, avoiding any extended physical contact anywhere outside either of their quarters back in Midgar. And he’d become even more restrictive about it after Vincent had moved into his quarters, until they’d had a heated discussion about it in which Zack had had to hammer home the fact that the former Turk wasn’t going to tell anybody if he figured it out — everyone except them and Cloud had thought he was dead, and Hojo hadn’t known he was there.
Sephiroth had reluctantly allowed him that, and seemed to be mollified by the fact that Vincent had never once breathed so much as a word about it, not even to them, before today. Sephiroth hadn’t exactly been pleased about Cloud finding out, either, but Zack thought he had talked through that one rather smoothly, all things considered. Vincent had taught the kid to keep his mouth shut, after all, and if they couldn’t trust Cloud to keep a secret, who could they trust?
It looked like Zack still had to work on getting his superior officer to let his guard down around people who knew, though. That, however, could wait for now.
After a long silence, Sephiroth finally sighed. “I suppose you’ll tell me that, despite this being a little town in the middle of nowhere, where such things are a rare occurrence, you’ve actually procured the appropriate supplies,” he said dryly.
Zack just grinned in response. “Actually…” He reached into his pocket, and Sephiroth shook his head, not quite disbelieving. “So. Should I consider that the last of your objections?”
“…I suppose.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Cloud had found out a Turk would be bringing the truck to them, he’d been worried it would have been Reno. Not that Reno wasn’t absolutely pitiful next to Sephiroth, but the man got under Cloud’s skin like nothing else, and he really wasn’t supposed to threaten him with bodily harm anymore. Luckily, though, it turned out to be none other than Reno’s quiet partner, Rude — a vast improvement, in Cloud’s humble opinion.
By the time the reticent Turk arrived, however, the four of them had been in Nibelheim for over two weeks. It had been a nice impromptu vacation, all told. As things had settled down Cloud had even begun to enjoy himself. Being away from Midgar was certainly nice, and he very much enjoyed all the practice he’d gotten with Tifa, Vincent, Zack, and Sephiroth (once he’d put his foot down and refused to let Zack “coddle him like some invalid” anymore). He’d spent some of his time on long hikes with Tifa, trying to get away from still-resentful villagers and allowing himself to think, growing to better accept Zack and Sephiroth’s situation. Even so, it would be good to get back to Midgar.
“Strife?”
“Ready,” Cloud replied, stepping closer to the truck. Tifa was standing close by, in a strange sort of déjà vu — he just hoped she wasn’t going to whip out the whole fiancé thing again. At least this time she wasn’t in a dress, but instead wore a practical pair of hiking boots, mid-calf pants, and a short-sleeved shirt… with a knapsack on her back and a suitcase in her hands. He frowned. Something weird’s going on here…
“I’m coming with you,” she declared, face serious.
“…What?” Cloud gaped. “You can’t come with us — this truck’s for ShinRa personnel only.”
Tifa glared, her mind clearly made up. “That scientist you were after murdered my father. He destroyed my life here. There’s no way I can stay in Nibelheim; I want to go to Midgar.”
“Look, we can’t—”
“Why not let her come?” Zack interjected. “Rude’s not going to say anything, and neither will we. You aren’t planning to sneak with us into HQ, are you?” Tifa shook her head. “Then there’s nothing to worry about, really.”
“Besides sneaking non-ShinRa personnel into a military vehicle?”
“Hardly the first time it’s happened,” Zack reminded Cloud, with a pointed look at Vincent. “Look, if it bothers you that much we’ll just give her a lift to Costa de Sol. She can get her own ride over to the city.”
“I can pay for it,” Tifa added. “There’s no one else scheduled to come through Nibelheim for at least two weeks, or else I wouldn’t bother you.”
“Seph? Valentine? Any opposition?” The other two men merely exchanged a glance, and Sephiroth shrugged. “Then I guess it’s settled.” Zack grinned at Tifa. “Jump in the back then. Cloud, stay with your fiancée and make sure she gets a proper itinerary, all right?”
“She’s not my fiancée!” Cloud hissed, blue eyes flashing.
Zack lowered his voice so Tifa couldn’t hear him. “Look, have you ever tried with her? I mean, really tried?”
Cloud paused at the unexpected question. Of course he hadn’t given any serious consideration to the lie Tifa had created. At first he’d been so angry, and then they’d been a continent away from each other, making any sort of relationship outside of their letters impossible. Still… he had to admit he had a lot more in common with her than he did with any of the girls in Midgar he’d tried to date since he’d become a SOLDIER, who’d all been rather disappointing. Some had only wanted to date him because of his position, while others had talked his ear off about fashions or new movies or something else he was entirely unfamiliar with and really couldn’t care less about. One of the most spectacular failures had passed in almost complete silence, occasionally punctured by polite phrases such as “pass the salt” and occasional aborted, half-hearted attempts to start more personal conversations. He made a face at the memory.
While he still felt drawn to Aeris, and Hojo being out of the picture made it safer to go see her, she’d made it clear she didn’t care for him in that way. Add to that the whole Zack thing — though his situation with Sephiroth had certainly complicated things there — it was pretty unlikely Cloud would ever date her.
And as shallow as it seemed, the idea of dating someone with whom things might actually progress somewhere was definitely appealing on the physical level. He was still pretty young, after all, and eternal celibacy was a depressing thought. He’d much rather be with someone he had a connection with rather than look to whores or one-night stands for a quick release.
Cloud studied Tifa closely as she climbed into the truck, as if looking at her for the first time. She was fit, stronger than many women, which made her an ideal partner for a SOLDIER. He could certainly talk with her; she had never found their discussions of martial art techniques or his stories of SOLDIER missions boring. Maybe… maybe he really should consider looking into it.
Zack grinned, knowing from the thoughtful look on Cloud’s face that he had talked the younger man into trying it. “Go get ‘er, tiger.”
Cloud ignored him, taking a seat in the truck beside Tifa. Maybe, for once, things would work out the way he hoped.