Silver hair streaming behind him, Sephiroth relaxed in the saddle as his chocobo’s long legs carried him across the landscape towards Nibelheim. Normally, he would be accompanied by a platoon of troopers with a couple of SOLDIERs, but right then, he just wanted to get out and explore the pleasant country side before he was shoved back into the role of ‘general’. A small smile stretched across his lips as he rode, the powerful muscles under him as the black chocobo named Odin continued loping across the grass. The fact that he was trying to escape from his role as the General of Shinra’s Military was entirely the fault of a certain First Class SOLDIER who had more common sense than what could be considered good for him.

‘Of course, Cloud and Aeris helped him greatly,’ mused Sephiroth, months of Aeris beating him over the head with “Call us Aeris and Cloud, Silly Kitty” finally paying off and breaking years of ingrained habit.

Suddenly, there was a faint pricking at his neck, and Sephiroth registered the alarmed squawk from Odin before everything went black.

Hojo stepped out from behind the concealing tree and casually strolled over to where Sephiroth was sprawled on the ground, motionless. The black chocobo flared its feathers, but when five other troopers emerged from the bushes, it turned and sprinted into the trees, vanishing between one step and the next.

“Forget the bird. It will be food for some monster,” Hojo remarked, waving towards the unconscious general. “Be careful with him. I’m sure he will still have his uses later.” Silently, the five troopers lifted Sephiroth onto a stretcher and carried him off under Hojo’s watchful gaze.

And the burning green eyes hidden deep in the shadows.

@@@

“Eh, this one’s dead and the other’s a vegetable,” remarked a gruff voice as a toe nudged Zack’s rib, smearing blood against the dark leather as Zack slowly started slipping out of consciousness. “Let’s just leave ‘em. They’re both monster-chow.”

There was the fading sounds of foot steps, and then someone stumbling to their feet - Cloud, his fading thought supplied - before there was a scraping of his Buster Sword. Then the footsteps continued in an unsteady gait towards Midgar.

‘Go on, Spike,’ thought Zack, cheering his friend and lover on. ‘Live for both of us.’

And that was the last thing he thought for a long time.

Hojo shook his head over the state that Specimen Z was in but waved for his assistants to place the dark haired man on the table. It would only take a bit of time to fix the specimen up and the he could be placed in storage for later. Because it wouldn’t be worth it to destroy an on-going study.

@@@

Slowly, reverently, Cloud lowered Aeris into the water, her face peaceful as if she was sleeping, but he knew she would never open her eyes again, the crimson stain on her pink dress telling of where six feet of razor-sharp metal pierced her body. Her chestnut hair spread out around her, the pink ribbons falling from her hair when Sephiroth killed her, and reluctantly, Cloud let her gently sink beneath the water. His heart ached in time with the pounding in his head, the feeling that something irreplaceable was gone forever squeezing his heart as he climbed out of the water.

Carefully, Hojo looked after the vanishing blond and shook his head. What a waste of five years. Raising his hand, he signaled the troops who quietly slipped into the water to retrieve the last of the Ancients. The doctor was not about to let this prized specimen slip through his fingers. It did not matter if she had been killed.

After all, he had brought Specimen V back from the dead, he surely could do no less for the last of the Ancients. And he knew just where to keep her until he was less busy...

@@@

Hissing, Cloud managed to peel his torn pants off and kicked them off to one side to join his ruined shirt. Faint noises outside the bathroom informed him that the rest of AVALANCHE was working on recovering from helping rescue people from the rubble that had once been Midgar by getting something to eat or bandaging wounds. Only, none of them had been unlucky enough to end up partially buried themselves when a wall gave way as the children scrambled for freedom.

‘Only I would end up getting roughed up by a *building*,’ he mused, shaking his head as he eased his blood-stained underwear off and hobbled into the shower to get cleaned.

As he entered the bathroom, something glowing caught the corner of his eye, and Cloud jumped, whirling around to find himself staring at his reflection in the mirror, the glow coming from his own mako-enhanced eyes. Ruefully shaking his head, the blond ran a hand through his hair and grimaced at the feel of the dirt and grit that clung to the strands.

There was a quick knock on the bathroom door before Reeve Tuesti poked his head in, cement dust liberally streaking his dark hair. “Do you mind if we share a shower?”

“Sure,” agreed Cloud, remembering that water was going to be scarce until the water treatment plant was back up and running. Reeve closed the door behind him and placed his armful of towels on the nearby toilet as Cloud turned to the shower.

“Freya, that must of hurt!” Cloud looked over his shoulder to find Reeve looking at him with a trace of surprise and awe.

“What must have hurt?” the blond asked, puzzled. He didn’t remember any bad injuries on his back other than some serious scrapes that a Restore managed to heal but only after it had almost shredded his shirt. The only other thing he could remember on his back would be the scar where Sephiroth ran him through in the Nibelheim reactor.

A confused look crossed Reeve’s face. “You have a pair of golden yellow wings tattooed on your back, stretching from your shoulder blades up to your shoulders and down to your butt.”

Frowning, Cloud twisted to look at his back in the mirror and sure enough, two detailed golden yellow wings were folded against his back. When did he get those ----

—“Notta chocobo,” slurred Cloud, stumbling alongside an equally inebriated Zack, each one using the other to remain upright but Cloud had a suspicion that Zack wasn’t as drunk as he appeared. Stupid SOLDIER metabolism. Why had he gone out drinking with Zack again? Oh, that’s right, he’d turned 16 today and was finally *legal* to go drinking so Zack had declared that he was going to show Cloud how to drink like a SOLDIER.

“Sure ya are,” protested Zack, one hand coming up to ruffle the already ruffled blond hair. “Your hair looks just like a chocobo. Therefor, you’re a chocobo.”

“Notta chocobo,” argued Cloud, a superior smirk on his face. “Chocobos got wings. I don’t got wings therefor I’m notta chocobo.” It made perfect sense in the blond’s mind, and he felt a sense of pride for being able to finally outsmart his friend who normally got the last laugh. Usually by teasing Cloud.

Glowing violet eyes turned to carefully study him before Zack nodded once. “Right,” he agreed, a huge grin splitting his face. “Come on.”

Cloud found himself being dragged towards a store which had a mako bright sign glowing in the window, but all the alcohol he’d drunk made it hard to focus on the sign to read it. “Where’re we goin’?”

“To get you wings.” ---

A small, melancholy slipped across Cloud’s face as he stared at the tattooed wing and remembered another piece of his past, the memory slipping to fill another small hole in his heart. “I don’t remember if they hurt or not.”

“How can you not know?” inquired Reeve as he quickly stripped while Cloud slipped under the water.

“It was my sixteenth birthday and Zack decided to teach me how to drink like a SOLDIER,” explained Cloud once Reeve joined him. He decided to share the memory with the ex-Shinra executive who could appreciate the irony of it as well as the humor. “Only thing was, he kept calling me a chocobo. So in my drunk wisdom, I pointed out that I couldn’t be a chocobo because I didn’t have wings. Zack, in return, decided to get me wings.” He gestured to his back with one hand while lathering the shampoo into his wild blond spikes with the other.

“Zack? Zack Fair, Sephiroth’s SiC?” the dark haired man asked, his brown eyes large with surprise before he took a closer look at Cloud, recognition dawning in his gaze. “You were that skinny kid that Zack was always dragging around. What happened to you? You both just vanished.”

Cloud turned his attention to washing before the hot water ran out. “I was in Nibelheim with Zack and Sephiroth.”

One of his hands absently fell to rub at his inner hip, and Cloud blinked at the area, removing his hand to see the second tattoo. It was four cartoon characters clustered together, but he knew *exactly* who each person represented. The black wolf with laughing violet eyes was Zack, the yellow chocobo with the blue eyes sitting next to the wolf was him, the white kitten with huge materia green eyes on the other side of the wolf was Sephiroth, and lying in front of the three animals in an almost claiming gesture was a white tulip with large forest green eyes representing Aeris. The wolf and the chocobo, he could understand, but why Aeris and Sephiroth?

Suddenly, the memories hammered into him with the force of a Bolt spell, and Cloud clutched his head as he sank to the floor, Reeve’s worried voice fading as more parts from his missing past appeared to fit into place. The first time Cloud met Zack, the first time Cloud met Aeris, Zack introducing him to Sephiroth, falling into bed with Zack, falling into bed with *Sephiroth* at Zack’s urges and teases, Aeris jumping into bed with the three of them the rare time Sephiroth could sneak out of Shinra, the picnics in Aeris’ church next to her flowers, the laughter, the tears turning into laughter, the support of each other when the other members of their group were away. All of it washed over Cloud like a waterfall, but instead of threatening to sweep him under, they merely swirled around him before settling into their appropriate places in his memories.

When he finally emerged from the torrent of memories, Cloud found himself on his knees in the shower with Reeve’s arms wrapped around his shoulders and the dark haired man’s voice a soothing murmur in his ear, urging him to come back from wherever it was his memories had taken him. Cloud’s eyes burned from the tears that were freely falling down his face to mix with the shower and his throat ached from holding back the sobs with the help of one hand clamped over his mouth out of habit.

“Easy Cloud, just calm down,” soothed Reeve, one hand dropping from the muscular shoulders to gently stroke down his back, but it was a hand rough with sword calluses that Cloud felt stroking the tattooed wings in a gentle caress and fresh tears appeared in mako-bright eyes.

“Why, Reeve?” The words slipped out of Cloud as he leaned into the older man, automatically gravitating towards the source of comfort. “Why did Seph go crazy? Why did he force me to kill him?” His throat threatened to close on the words stuck there, but Cloud forced them out anyway. “Why do the ones I love always leave me?”

Instead of answering, Reeve pulled Cloud close and held him, offering the blond wordless comfort that the younger man greedily accepted, the grief Cloud had been unaware of finally rising to the surface of his confused emotions to spill out to mix with the water as they knelt on the tiles.

@@@

Reaching up, Cloud caught the main sword of the First Ken, his eyes never leaving the hovering figure of black and silver even as the blue energy faded from the other five swords circling him.

“Please stay quietly in my memories,” the blond begged, the ache of killing his insane lover wrapping barbed tentacles around his heart and squeezing. He didn’t want to do this again, to face the man who had once smiled and laughed with him as well as loved him, the last of those he loved.

There was a rustling of feathers as the single black wing unfolded from Sephiroth’s shoulder. “I will never be just a memory,” purred the silver haired man, sending shivers down Cloud’s spine as he was reminded of that voice purring in his ear while that long silver hair spilled around them both. Then that black wing wrapped around Sephiroth, hiding him from view before he dissolved in a cascade of black feathers, leaving Kadaj in his wake.

The remnant hung in the air for a few heartbeats before falling to the cement like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Glaring at the pale shadow of the one he had once loved, Cloud gripped his sword, ready for anything Kadaj might do, and the silver haired boy raised his own sword, once more the double bladed katana instead of the Masamune, running towards Cloud. But only after a few steps, he clumsily swung his sword and stumbled as he fell into Cloud’s arm, the blond swordsman automatically catching the falling body.

Dazed green eyes the color of materia blinked up at Cloud from behind silver hair. “Brother?” croaked the dying boy before those eyes, so similar to Sephiroth’s, focused on something past Cloud’s head as it started raining.

“Mother.” The loving, almost reverent tone in that one word made Rufus’ words echo in Cloud’s head. ‘There are plenty of kids who miss their mothers. That is the world we live in.’ But this was a child who had only been used and abused by his so-called mother, Jenova, and then discarded when he wasn’t fit enough to be her puppet. A leather-clad arm slowly raised, the gloved fingers reaching out to curl around something only Kadaj could see before he dissolved into green energy, the Lifestream claiming him.

Cloud climbed to his feet, staring at the swirling green lights climbing for the sky in a delighted dance. *May you finally have peace, Kadaj,* he thought, tipping his head back and closing his eyes as the rain fell on his face, a poor substitute for the tears that would no longer fall. *You deserve that much for being Jenova’s puppet and Sephiroth’s clone.*

Faintly, he heard the sound of Cid’s aircraft, but ignored it, wanting to remain there with the planet crying for him.

@@@

Green eyes watched from the cover of the trees as the powerful black motorcycle pulled to a stop next to the barn, the blond rider easily dismounting despite the large sword on his back, and a stray breeze brought the blond’s scent to the watcher even as it ruffled blond hair spiky enough to be mistaken for a bird’s crest.

Yes, this was the one that was needed.

Patiently, the watcher waited for the right time to move.

@@@

Pulling his goggles off, Cloud let them hang around his neck as he dug out the small box he had been hired to deliver. It had been almost a month since he had killed Sephiroth *again*, and in that time, the people of Edge had hailed him as a hero and savior before promptly forgetting about him in the daily bustle of their lives. Which Cloud had preferred since it allowed him to go back to his delivery service without people bothering him, and allowed him time to think. Tifa would normally call it ‘brooding’, but while he had finally accepted that it wasn’t his fault that Zack and Aeris died, it was still his hand that killed their fourth lover time and again. That would stay with him for the rest of his life, however long it might be.

The sword on his back shifted and he reached back, adjusting it to settle better in the holster. He would have to put it back in the holder before he rode back to Edge, but right now, it was a comforting weight on his back. Not that there had been any monsters reported around the Chocobo Ranch...

“Hey there!” greeted a voice and Cloud turned around to find an older man striding up to him, brown eyes shaded by a straw hat and clothed in a shirt and dusty jeans. “Glad you made it. Heard some awful noises coming from the direction of Edge and got concerned.” That dark gaze swept over Cloud, lingering on the main sword of the six that made up the First Ken before meeting the glowing blue eyes, and the blond could see a faint white film over one eye. “Looks like you can handle yourself though.”

Cloud shrugged a shoulder and offered the package. He knew the man would draw his own conclusions, that the blond was an ex-SOLDIER trying to make ends meet after Meteor, and didn’t bother to dissuade him of the notion. “If you need anything else delivered, don’t hesitate to call.”

The man took the package and handed over a bag of Gil that Cloud tucked away when the sure footsteps of a chocobo caught the blond’s attention. He looked up as a large black chocobo with deep green eyes slowly walked towards him, head cocked as if unsure if Cloud was a friend or someone to rip apart. A metal band around one leg caught Cloud’s attention briefly and he recognized it as what Shinra used to mark their military chocobo. Yet, this chocobo was controlled power with each movement, green eyes shining with intelligence and cunning that only the best warbirds shared.

“I know you, don’t I?” whispered Cloud, wracking his memory for this familiar bird, but despite the memories that had returned over the years since Nibelheim, there were still many that were missing.

“I’d be careful. He’s a temperamental thing,” advised the man as he took three careful steps away from the chocobo. “A few of the more foolish young men hereabouts tried to tame him, and he took off one’s arm and left two others bleeding and barely alive.”

“He’s a warbird,” Cloud stated, his gaze never leaving the ebony bird. “They’re lucky he left them alive.”

“Wark,” agreed the bird, his feathers fluffing up as he preened under Cloud’s gaze. The chocobo took two steps towards Cloud, closing the distance between them, stretched his neck out....

... and started preening the blond hair as if they were feathers.

“Odin! Cut that out!” The words were as automatic as the angry swipe and the warbird nimbly dodged the blow with a delighted “wark” as Cloud froze at the memory of Sephiroth, sitting tall and proud on the back of a black chocobo - this chocobo- as he enjoyed a ride through the country while the troops with him were put through their paces. Slowly reaching up, Cloud waited for Odin to dip his head enough for the blond to scratch the usual itchy spot below an emerald eye.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, not sure why he was apologizing, if it was for forgetting the chocobo or killing the one person who had such great respect for the bird. The bird crooned, his eyelids drooping as he enjoyed the scratching. “We’re the last ones left.”

“You must have a magic touch,” mused the old man, and Cloud turned to look at him. “That bird wouldn’t bend his neck for just anyone.”

Cloud opened his mouth to reply when he felt a sharp tug on the leather harness he wore before it slipped off him. Spinning, he tried to grab it and his sword that was still in the sheath, but Odin danced back, the leather firmly clutched in his beak as the neatly severed strap dangled almost to the ground. “Odin! Give that back!”

Instead of complying with the order, the black chocobo fluffed his feathers, let out a slightly muffled “kweh” without losing his hold on the harness and subsequently the sword before turning on one foot and racing across the flat ground. Swearing, Cloud managed to start his bike and swing it around to take off after the feathered thief, avoiding the few trees that were growing in his way.

“Good luck, Cloud Strife,” whispered the old man with a grin on his face as a large black raven landed on his shoulder. “You’ll need it.” There was a faint shimmer, like heat rising off of a lake, before the man vanished from sight.

Growling, Cloud maneuvered the large black and gold motorcycle around the last tree before opening the throttle up and pouring on the power. The powerful machine seemed to roar as it sped after the fleeing bird who glanced over his shoulder, and then proved that he was trained by General Sephiroth himself by starting a zig zag pattern that forced Cloud to slow down or risk losing the bird on one of his sudden direction changes. Every once in a while, the chocobo would glance back at Cloud as if making sure that he was still following before changing directions again. Cloud managed to keep up despite the speed and erratic path Odin was using, cursing the bird’s parentage and the supposed gold father that had created him.

Finally, Odin turned and broke a wooden door that was set in the rocky cliff they had been traveling along for the past half hour before dashing into the dimly lit darkness. It was big enough for Cloud to drive Fenrir through, but he stopped at the door, killing the engine as he grabbed two of the other swords from the side compartments. Only then did he approach the broken door.

There was some light from some type of emergency lighting that was still active, but it was more than enough for mako-enhanced eyes to make out details in the stone corridor. The walls were rough, as if this was a natural cave someone decided to turn into something else with the lights on wires fastened to the stone walls and the floor gradually sloped downward. A thick layer of dust lay on the surprisingly smooth concrete floor, marred only by Odin’s passing, and Cloud relaxed a bit. It was apparent nothing had gotten into this place, at least not by the door. The only sounds that reached Cloud’s ears were the hum from the lights and the distant sounds of Odin pecking at something with the occasional “wark”.

Finally, Cloud entered a chamber and felt his blood turn to ice at the scene before him. About two dozen mako tanks encircled a pair of flat steel tables with all too familiar restraints, and a large storage cabinet rested next to a desk that was placed off to the side but still in full view of anyone or anything inside the tanks. Cloud’s sword and harness were lying next to the tank Odin was focused on, the green glow of mako dancing across the bird’s black feathers indicating that it was full, but it was two other glowing tanks that caught Cloud’s attention. As if in a daze, Cloud walked over to them and stared at the two people floating inside the mako, the swords falling from his hands to clatter to the floor.

The man was just as Cloud remembered him, black hair spiking wildly and the horrible bullet wounds that had killed him completely gone while the muscles that had allowed him to weld the Buster Sword with ease remained. The woman’s long chestnut hair floated around her, the only bit of modesty allowed to her, and the scar on her stomach where Masamune had ended her life was pale, the only thing marring her soft skin. Cloud’s hands came up to rest on the SOLDIER-thick glass.

“Zack. Aeris.” The names stuck in his throat as his eyes burned. “I’ll take you home,” he vowed before turning to the control panel next to Zack’s tank. After a few minutes of studying, he remembered the right combination of buttons to push to drain the tank and open the door. The early days of his time in Hojo’s lab were hazy at best, but he remembered studying and memorizing the combination in case he managed to get out first and take Zack with him. A bubbling gurgle signaled that Cloud had been successful as the glowing mako was drained from the tank, gently easing Zack to the floor before the door hissed open. Scooping the body of his friend up, Cloud walked over and placed Zack on one of the metal tables before returning for Aeris. Once she was on the other table, Cloud poked in one of the boxes haphazardly stacked behind the desk to find a pair of blankets that he used to cover the bodies.

Pausing a moment, he stood there, gazing down at two of the most important people in his life. They both looked so peaceful, lying there, as if nothing could disturb them, and he only hoped that they were happy together in the Lifestream. Not that he was ungrateful for Aeris’s help against Kadaj and his brothers, but hearing her voice just reminded him that she was gone and he would never be able to hold her again until he joined the Lifestream himself. Bending down, he placed a kiss on her mako-warm forehead before turning and placing one on Zack’s forehead, wishing both would open their eyes and talk to him again, but that was impossible. No one had the ability to bring the dead back, not even Hojo.

A delighted “wark” caused Cloud to look up as the tank Odin was in front of opened with a hiss, and the bird stepped aside as a long stream of silver hair spilled onto the floor causing his stomach to clench in despair. It was another Sephiroth clone, but Cloud couldn’t fight him here, not with Zack and Aeris so close by. Dashing over, Cloud scooped up the main sword before backing up to where his other two swords lay on the floor, snapping the second sword into place around the main sword before grasping the switch blade sword with his free hand and turned to face the pale man lying half in and half out of the tank as he placed himself between the tables and the tank.

A long fingered white hand reached out and brushed against Odin’s leg, wrapping around the metal band there as Odin reached down to preen some of the silver hair in a comforting gesture. Time seemed to crawl by as Cloud stood there, watching Sephiroth slowly climb to his feet and lean against Odin until he had regained his balance, the silver hair flowing around his pale legs like spun silk. The sound of the blond’s heartbeat pounded in his ears even as his grip was firm on his swords when dazed materia green eyes peered out through silver hair to meet steady mako-colored blue.

“Cloud?” The voice was soft and heavy with sleep, bringing up memories of waking up between Sephiroth and Zack feeling safe and loved, but Cloud firmly pushed those memories away, waiting to see what Sephiroth was going to do next. The pale man seemed content to lean against the black chocobo, trying to wake up, but it was the voice that came behind him that caused the swords to slip from numb fingers.

“Hey, Spike, take it easy on him.”

Dazed, Cloud slowly turned, not wanting to believe his ears, but the evidence was hard to dispute. Zack, his dead friend and lover, was sitting up on the table, the blanket pooled around his waist, and gazing at him with glowing violet eyes. Just beyond the black haired SOLDIER, Aeris stirred and pushed herself up, the blanket falling from her shoulders as she looked around with a yawn. Following Cloud’s gaze, Zack turned, providing the blond with a full look at his back and let out a wolf whistle that caused Aeris to giggle, but it was the tattoo on Zack’s lower back that caused a roaring in Cloud’s ears.

It matched the cartoon tattoo Cloud wore on his hip, the tattoo he had gotten while almost sober after Zack had gotten it at Cloud’s urging. After all, if Cloud was going to get wings, Zack had to get a tattoo as well.

That was the last thought Cloud had as the surprises proved to be too much for him and his brain shut down. The last thing he was aware of before darkness claimed him was strong arms catching him and a waterfall of silk caressing his face.

@@@

“... And that’s pretty much what’s been happening.”

The voice trickled through the comforting blanket of darkness that had enveloped Cloud, and he realized that he was lying on something hard with his head cushioned on something soft as gentle fingers ran through his hair. It was a soothing gesture that was also familiar, like the voice.

“How do you know all of this? I have been a prisoner here longer than you have, yet you say you were brought here almost three years ago while Aeris came later, and you both know what has been happening after your incarceration,” remarked a deep voice filled with curiosity and gentleness that Cloud remembered hearing before the Nightmare.

“The Lifestream let us watch and interact a couple of times,” confessed a sweet voice somewhere above Cloud’s head. “It let me help him when he was starting to break under all the pressure and guilt he was putting himself under, and then Zack and I were able to send him back after Yazoo and Loz did their kamikaze attack.”

The sweet voice sounded sad, and it forced Cloud to open his eyes, blearily focusing on the dingy gray that was above him. He quickly realized that he was staring up at Aeris’s breasts which were covered by the gray blanket he had spread over her while his head rested in her lap. It had been her fingers sliding through his hair, an activity she enjoyed whenever they managed a lazy day, and it was usually Cloud or Sephiroth who had occupied her lap with his head as she petted them like a cat.

“Aeris?” croaked Cloud, starting to sit up and strong hands assisted him, latching onto his shoulders to pull him upright. Glowing violet eyes danced with laughter as Cloud looked up at his assistant to find Zack crouching there, completely unconcerned about his nudity. “Zack? But you’re both dead.”

Zack chuckled and cupped Cloud’s face in one strong hand. “Does this feel like we’re dead?” he asked before swooping down and claiming the blond’s mouth. Cloud made a startled noise in his throat, the one that Zack said made him sound like a chocobo cheeping, before a strong tongue invaded his mouth, bringing a sense of right along with the taste of mako that exploded across Cloud’s taste buds, sharp and metallic. Cloud’s fingers scrabbled for purchase on smooth skin as the familiar and welcome scent of Zack filled his nose, spice and male with mako, almost overwhelming him with the welcomed familiarity, and it was joined by flowers and green things as Aeris pressed herself against Cloud’s back, her slender arms wrapping around the blond’s waist while her mako-damp hair fell over his shoulder.

A deep husky laugh that was tinged with appreciation broke through the haze that had enveloped Cloud, and he broke off the kiss to duck his head, squeezing his eyes shut. He didn’t want to see Sephiroth, to look at that beautiful silver perfection only to be forced to fight it again when the man tried to destroy the world. Even with the miracle of Zack and Aeris returned to him, it would hurt too much to kill their fourth again and probably shatter his heart for good.

“Cloud? What is wrong? You’re shaking.” There was actual concern in that voice, but Cloud flinched as he curled up in a ball, burying his face in his knees.

“I don’t want to kill you again,” confessed Cloud, his voice muffled by his legs as tears started trickling down his face. “But you’re going to go crazy again and try to destroy the world and I’ll be the only one who can stop you like always and I hate it ‘cause it hurts each time I have to kill you when you come back under Jenova’s command but you call her ‘Mother’ and listen to her when she wants to destroy this planet and use it like a ship across space, not even caring about the people here.” He was rambling but he didn’t care.

Long thin fingers rested on his shoulders and he flinched from the contact. “Why would I go crazy, Cloud?” Now the tears were coming faster, and Cloud shook his head, not wanting to voice what he knew about Sephiroth’s rampage against Nibelheim first and later Gaia. “If it was Hojo’s scientific reports on the experiments and treatments I have under gone since practically my conception thanks to the agreement my birth mother made with him, I already know about that, and with Zack’s help, managed to work everything out before I was dispatched to Nibelheim, a dispatch I never was able to fill due to being abducted by Hojo before I could reach the town.”

*That* brought Cloud’s head up with a jerk, mako bright eyes wide as they started into the amused materia-green gaze of Sephiroth. “You weren’t in Nibelheim?” he asked, his voice shaking with hope. “You didn’t destroy it and then try to destroy the world?”

“Why should I want to destroy the world and everyone I love?” countered Sephiroth before closing the distance between them and distracting Cloud from his jumbled emotions with a kiss. Cloud gasped in surprise before melting into the kiss, his hands coming up to thread through silver silk. Unlike Zack’s kiss which claimed everything Cloud had to offer, Sephiroth always seemed to ask permission for whatever was offered.

“If this is a dream, oh Freya, I don’t want to wake up!” gasped the blond when he finally pulled away from that delightful mouth. There was a chuckle from Zack before he was surrounded by the people he loved, the ones he thought were lost to him forever. Strong arms encircled him and held him close as the feeling of belonging washed away all other concerns and fears.

Suddenly, there was a trilling sound, snapping Cloud out of the wonderful haze he had fallen into, and he frowned as he dug into his pocket, pulling out his phone. The caller ID was just ‘Healin’ but there was only one person he knew at that location that would want to talk to him. Well five if the Turks were counted. “What does Shinra want with me now? Especially after what happened with Kadaj and his gang.”

Flipping open the phone, he hit the button to put it on speaker so everyone could hear his conversation with whichever Shinra employee it was. “Hello?”

“Good afternoon Cloud,” greeted the smooth voice of Rufus Shinra. “I hope you are doing well...”

“What do you want, Rufus?” demanded Cloud, interrupting the young president before he could get started on whatever speech he had been practicing for this phone call.

There was a soft sigh before Rufus spoke again, his voice still holding the casual charm that got people to do what he wanted. “I just received a very strange message from someone named Loki that states I can’t have them back because they belong to you now. Care to explain what that means?”

Before Cloud could answer, Zack grabbed the phone with a maniac grin on his face. “It means that you lost your general and his SiC again,” he announced, ignoring the eye rolls of the people around him. “Cause if you think we’re gonna come back after all your company’s put us through, then you’ve got some serious mental problems.”

A loud clatter told Cloud that Rufus had dropped the phone and bit his lip from laughing out loud. Zack had that effect on people, and being the practical joker he was, the black haired man used it shamelessly. There were a few more clicks before the phone took on an echoing quality, indicating that Rufus had put his phone on speaker to keep from dropping it again. There was a rustling of fabric before Rufus spoke again. “Forgive the interruption, but what do you mean by my general and his SiC? The Shinra military has not had a general since the Nightmare.”

“That was Hojo’s fault,” purred Sephiroth, leaning over Cloud’s shoulder. “He decided to replace me with a mentally unstable clone in Nibelheim. The only Nightmare I ever became was one for Wutai on your father’s orders.”

“How do I know that this isn’t some trick or a practical joke on your part, Cloud?” Rufus’ voice shook just enough to reveal that he was nervous at hearing Sephiroth’s voice, and Cloud pressed his lips together, desperately trying to keep from laughing at the other blond. Finally, he shook his head and made a decision.

“I found an old lab of Hojo’s about ten miles east of the Chocobo Ranch,” Cloud stated, his voice growing hard at the thought of his lovers trapped here by a madman. “If you want proof, it’s here, and I’d suggest bringing clothes for Zack, Sephiroth and Aeris.” With that, he flipped the phone closed and stood up, offering a hand to Aeris who eagerly claimed it to be pulled to her feet. Zack and Sephiroth also rose to their feet, unconcerned about their state of undress as Aeris brushed the make-shift dress into place, the dingy gray making her eyes glow.

Cloud nodded his head to the hallway that lead to the outside. “I’m tired of this place. Let’s go wait for Shinra outside in the sun,” he suggested, scooping Aeris up in his arms before glancing at the black chocobo that was looking around with a distinctly smug expression on his face. “Come on, Odin. I’m sure you want to get back out into the sun like the rest of us.”

Odin bobbed his head, brushing past them to start up the hallway with Cloud following, Aeris a comfortable weight in his arms while Zack and Sephiroth each grabbed one of his swords and followed. Emerging into the bright sunlight, Cloud was surprised to see that only a couple of hours had passed since he had been led to this place, and he placed Aeris on the seat of Fenrir before perching on the bike next to her. Sephiroth handed over the small sword he was holding, and Cloud reached around Aeris to pop the side panels, sliding the small blade back into the holder. When he turned his attention to Zack, the blond found a curious look on the ex-SOLDIER’s face.

“Hey Spike, what happened to my Buster Sword?”

@@@

Closing his eyes, Sephiroth tipped his head back and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on his skin as a light breeze sprang up to tease his hair. It had been *far* too long since he had been outside, but the small mercy was that to him, it seemed like only yesterday he had been ambushed outside of Nibelheim. There were some flashes that seemed more like dreams than reality, a limp and bloodied Zack being carried in, a SOLDIER-proof glass door closing on Aeris before mako surrounded her, Hojo peering at him through the thick glass and mako with a disappointed yet calculating look that Sephiroth had always hated. Yet the entire time Sephiroth was there, Cloud had never been brought in before they had been forgotten, and that small hope, that their small, blond lover was out there was enough to keep him sane.

“Hey Spike, what happened to my Buster Sword?” Zack’s casual voice pulled Sephiroth out of his thoughts, and the silver haired man opened materia-green eyes to find Cloud fidgeting slightly. He mumbled something that not even Sephiroth’s ears could catch but apparently Zack did because his eyes widened as he stared at Cloud. “It’s WHAT???”

Cloud took a deep breath but didn’t look up from where he was nervously twisting his fingers together. “It’s stuck in the cliff overlooking the Midgar ruins where you died.”

“You mean to tell me that you left a fine piece of craftsmanship stuck in the ground to *rust*?”

“Well when you put it that way...” Cloud trailed off and if anything, seemed to wilt a bit more.

A frown crossed Zack’s face before being replaced by a familiar smirk that caused Sephiroth’s blood to heat. “Looks like you’re gonna have to make it up to me,” purred the dark haired man, his eyes glowing with a light that had nothing to do with mako as he walked over to the blond and caught him in a strong hug while simultaneously rubbing against Cloud. The blond managed a gasp before Zack sealed their lips together as those broad hands came down to bring their hips even closer together.

The faint sound of a helicopter reached Sephiroth’s ears, and he looked towards the horizon where keen enhanced eyes picked out the approaching aircraft when a glimmer of silver caught his eye. Squinting slightly, Sephiroth made out a larger aircraft flying towards their position and raised an eyebrow. “It appears we are going to have company.”

“Let Shinra rot,” grumbled Zack. “We don’t need ‘em.” He then returned to kissing Cloud, making up for the time they had been apart.

“I am sure Cloud’s friends will be more than happy to wait while you finish molesting him,” drawled Sephiroth, folding his arms across his chest as the aircraft drew closer. Aeris giggled when Zack let out a reluctant sigh and pulled away just far enough to sit next to Aeris on the sleek black motorcycle before throwing his arms around both Cloud and Aeris. With the arm around Cloud’s shoulder, the dark haired man waved Sephiroth over to them, and smiling softly at Zack’s antics, the silver haired general strolled over to stand in front of Zack. Two arms slid around his shoulders, one muscular from wielding a sword and the other slender, and Sephiroth’s smile grew a bit more as he encircled Cloud and Aeris in his own arms.

“Whatever happens, we’re in this together,” vowed Cloud, his mako-blue eyes shining with hope as he twisted to stare at all three of them at once.

Aeris grinned. “You’re not getting rid of us that easily, Cloud,” she chided, her emerald green eyes glowing in the sunlight. “Not now that we’ve got you again.” Laughing lightly, Cloud leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers just as both aircraft lightly landed on either side of the group, far enough away that dust and dirt wasn’t blown over them but close enough that people didn’t have far to walk to reach the quartet.

If anything, Sephiroth felt his smile get a bit sharper and more predatory at the sounds of pounding feet as engines died. “Let the games begin,” he murmured, watching Zack’s glowing eyes dance with mischief.

Cloud groaned and resisted the urge to bury his face in Sephiroth’s shoulder. “I don’t want to know, do I?” he muttered, his voice carrying no farther than the four of them.

Before either Zack or Aeris could say something, there was a cry of “Sephiroth!” followed by weapons being primed, and Cloud moved into action. He spun both himself and Sephiroth around until the blond was between his lovers and any possible threat which included three handguns, two electromagnetic rods, a spear, an armgun, an oversized shuriken and a larger handgun. Only the brunette girl and, surprisingly, Reeve Tuesti were unarmed, but the girl was crouched in an obviously defensive position with her fists raised.

“Cloud, get away from him,” ordered the girl, her face set in grim determination. “He’s dangerous.”

There was a small sigh from Aeris, and Sephiroth glanced over to find her folding her arms across her chest as she met the girl’s eyes. “I appreciate you being overprotective of Cloud, but Sephiroth’s no more a danger than Zack,” she said, her voice patient like a mother dealing with an unruly child.

“But he tried to destroy the world,” the girl protested, her brown eyes large. “He did destroy Nibelheim.” Then she stopped, blinked a few times before actually *focusing* on Sephiroth’s female lover. “Aeris?”

“Nice to see you again, Tifa,” greeted Aeris before looking at the rest of group with her. “Don’t suppose anyone has any clothes I can borrow? This blanket’s a bit drafty.”

“But you still look great in it, babe,” leered Zack from Sephiroth’s other side, causing Reeve and the Turks to blink in surprise. Of course they would know who Zack was, having dealt with the Silver General’s Second in Command more than Sephiroth himself.

Glancing at the two groups, the silver haired man realized that only Rufus Shinra remained unaffected by the sudden resurrection of both Zack and himself, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Rufus had dropped the phone on hearing Zack’s voice, Sephiroth would have suspected that the young man had somehow engineered the whole thing. Yet the hand that held a gun trained on them was rock steady and the knowing smirk on the other blond’s face reminded Sephiroth that Rufus was *better* than his father in many things.

“How do we know this ain’t some kinda trick?” growled the large black man, the large gun on the end of his right arm pointed at them and held steady with his opposite hand. “Be just like another damn Sephiroth clone ta take over Spikey, an’ Aeris is dead. Saw it with my own eyes.”

Snorting, Aeris glared at the black man. “I’m so glad you trust my intelligence, Barret Wallace,” she sniffed. “I bet Marlene missed me and my flowers.” A smirk crossed her face as her look changed to one of cunning. “Or are you jealous that I got to go on a date with Cloud at Golden Saucer instead of you?”

That got everyone except the dark haired man with the red cloak and the oversized handgun looking at Barret as he sputtered while that man lowered his gun, holstering it on his leg. Realizing that those people would be distracted for a few minutes, Sephiroth turned his gaze on Rufus and his Turks, who were still patiently waiting for some sign of recognition from Sephiroth or the opportunity to attack without having to go against Cloud.

“Tseng, I believe you still owe me a demonstration of Wutai hand to hand fighting techniques,” remarked the tall pale man, and he hid his smile with practiced eased when Tseng’s eyes widened very slightly. The Wutai man always wore a professional mask that made it hard for others to determine his emotions, but to Sephiroth, who also wore that polite professional mask, Tseng was as easy to read as one of his military manuals.

“Tseng?” The voice came from the little Wutai girl, the ninja with the oversized shuriken, as she pushed her way to the front of her group, her dark eyes falling on the taller man and with a snarl, she launched herself at him, her weapon falling to the ground behind her. “You bastard! Do you have *any* idea what your disappearance did to Dad? He didn’t come out of his room for *weeks*! I had to deal with those damn politicians and Shinra and trying to keep the damn country from falling apart while I was six until Dad decided to come out of his room when it should have been you taking care of those damn details!”

“Looks like you’re getting your demonstration, Seph,” Zack murmured in his ear as they watched the two Wutai warriors trade blows and kicks in a graceful, almost dance-like way. Rude and Elena, who had her head tipped slightly, had not moved when the girl had attacked Tseng, but Reno looked torn between watching their boss and watching Sephiroth.

“Hey Red!” Zack suddenly shouted and Reno’s head whipped around as if he had been shot and Sephiroth noticed the wolf’s grin on his dark lover’s face that usually had him thinking up excuses not to leave his office for a couple of days or at least provide an alibi for the right time. “Did Old Man Shinra ever find out who filled his office with fire foam?”

“You promised you wouldn’t tell, yo!” shouted Reno, his blue eyes large before he slapped a hand over his mouth as his brain engaged, and he realized that Zack *hadn’t* told about the prank. Reno had practically confessed to filling President Shinra’s office with fire foam on his own, a prank that had sent the old man into an almost apoplectic fit as he screamed for the perpetrators to be found and severely punished. Rufus had taken temporary control of the company while his father had been hospitalized with a nervous breakdown, and the time had actually tempered the younger man into one that many of the department heads had not wanted to cross.

A small smile twitched the corner of Rufus’ lips as he lowered his gun. “Remind me to thank you for that later, Reno,” he remarked, and Reno ducked his head with a soft “Yes, sir” before the young president fixed his gaze firmly on the small group of lovers. “As amusing as this is, the fact still remains that Shinra still owns the contracts for SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair and General Sephiroth, and therefor are still under my control.”

Narrowing his eyes slightly at Rufus, Sephiroth stared at him, trying to figure out what he was after even though he was right. Technically, Sephiroth’s contract had never been broken and neither had Zack’s, so Rufus Shinra was more than able to claim them as assets of Shinra Inc. Regular military troops didn’t have more than a two year contract as there weren’t as many resources put into training them, but SOLDIERs had longer, more complex contracts based on the resources and treatment that went into creating each of them. A glance at the larger group of people showed that they were wearing expressions including shock, surprise, and concern as their eyes flickered between Rufus and Sephiroth, and he realized that they were worried that events of the past were on the verge of repeating themselves.

Growling, Cloud stalked over to his bike and started rummaging around in the saddle bag, throwing dark glares at Rufus. Sephiroth watched, his vantage point letting him see into the bag his blond lover was digging through, and watched as two bright materia surfaced out of the layers of black fabric before Cloud straightened to face Rufus, a determined look on his face.

“Let’s talk legalities, Rufus,” remarked Cloud, sounding very calm about the fact that he had just been informed that his male lovers weren’t free. “The standard SOLDIER contract is for eight years, correct?” When Rufus nodded, a faint puzzled look in his blue eyes, Cloud continued. “Therefore, the contract for SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair has run out and you do not have any hold on him.”

“He went missing for seven of those years,” stated Rufus, lowering his gun as he returned Cloud’s stare. “Thus, he has to make up those seven years of service.”

Cloud snorted and continued, his arms folded across his chest. “After Nibelheim, Zack spent four years in a laboratory under Professor Hojo, a high-ranking member of Shinra. Then, once Zack had extracted himself from the lab as he had never received any orders to remain there, he made his way back to Midgar where the headquarters for Shinra Inc were located at that time, not revealing himself because once more, he had no orders to surrender to either the troops or the Turks sent after him. After he was seriously injured within sight of Midgar, he was once more placed in Professor Hojo’s custody as per the evidence presented in the location where he was discovered.”

Sephiroth was openly staring at his blond lover in complete fascination by this point, but he didn't have any real inclination to stop. It hadn't been since he'd been subjected to various meetings in Shinra's upper echelon that he had been witness to such a decisive argument. He certainly didn’t remember seeing this side of Cloud before. Upset, yes, certainly, usually when Zack teased him, but he tended to fluster, not remain calm and analytical while presenting his argument. This was new.

“Where is this evidence that SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair had been incarcerated by Professor Hojo after his failed attempt to return to Midgar?” Rufus inquired, tilting his head slightly and causing a lock of his dark blond hair to fall over his eyes.

Cloud gestured to the doorway in the cliff that they had emerged from. “It’s down there,” he announced. “Now as to the contract of General Sephiroth.”

Now a sly smile touched Rufus’ face. “General Sephiroth has been listed as a resource of Shinra for years and has a life long contract with us,” purred the young president with an absent shrug of his shoulders.

“I could easily point out the fact that Sephiroth has died already, but you would only counter with the fact that they were clones of the original,” remarked Cloud, brushing that argument aside. “Instead, I am willing to buy his contract outright.”

“He is a *very* valuable resource of Shinra and millions of Gil has been put into forming him.” The clinical tone of the young president’s voice served to remind the silver haired man of the detailed files of the experiments he had undergone since the time of his conception, but two warm hands on his shoulders reminded him that he was never alone, no matter what happened. The old President Shinra had only seen Sephiroth as a tool, something to parade about to show how wonderful his company was while Professor Hojo only saw him as a living experiment. The two people at his back and the one standing before him, logically arguing on his behalf, had revealed what it meant to be human.

“How many will trust your company should they discover that you once more employ General Sephiroth?” inquired Cloud, holding a hand palm up as if presenting his next argument on a platter. “The memories of the people are long when they wish to be.”

A look of frustration flickered over Rufus’s face at the reminder that civilian memories were as long as needed to manipulate the population, but Cloud either did not notice the look or ignored it as he continued speaking. “However, I am a reasonable person and am willing to purchase Sephiroth’s contract for a Mastered Heal materia.”

Reaching into the saddle bag, Cloud pulled out a glowing green materia orb and held it up for the Shinra group to clearly see. Rude approached Cloud, lowering his EMR, and plucked the materia out of the blond’s hand. He studied it for a few seconds before nodding and dropping it back onto the leather clad palm.

“It’s real, sir,” Rude announced, the sun glinting off the myriad of earrings decorating his ears as the bald Turk politely returned to his place next to Elena.

“I will admit that it is a tempting offer,” began Rufus but Cloud interrupted the blond president before he could get going again.

“You owe me,” Cloud announced, his voice carrying through the air, as hard and clear as ice. “When you tried to convince me to join you after I was attacked by Kadaj and his brothers, you told me that you hadn’t found anything at the Northern Crater. I found out later, *after* Denzel and Marlene had been taken, that you had been searching for Jenova’s head and found it.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Once more, my friends and I had to clean up another of Shinra’s messes.”

A brief flash of anger passed over Rufus’ face, and a small sigh slipped out of Sephiroth before he could catch it while he took a step towards the other blond. “Please, let me go,” he requested, his voice soft. “This will make us even.”

Lips pressed in a flat line, Rufus gave a tight nod and caught the materia when Cloud tossed it at him. “Reno, get the clothes out of the chopper. Rude, Elena, accompany Mr. Strife and his friends into the laboratory.” Instead of waiting to see if his orders were being carried out, Rufus turned and walked over to where Tseng and the girl were *still* battling. “Tseng, spar with Miss Kisaragi later. We have work to do.”

@@@

A small sigh of relief slipped out of Cloud, unnoticed by any of those around him, and he finally relaxed in Rufus’ presence. For a few moments, he was sure that the other blond was going to ask more than a Mastered Heal materia for Sephiroth, especially after he pointed out the mistakes Shinra Inc had made in the past. He *really* hadn’t wanted to give up his Mastered Time materia since that was going to buy a home for the four of them, but he would have given Rufus a choice between the materia.

Reno approached them with an armful of cloth and leather, an apologetic smile on his face. “The only thing we could find for you was an old uniform,” he apologized, looking at Sephiroth as he held out a stack of black leather with silver metal. Once Sephiroth accepted the pile, Reno turned to hand Zack what was obviously a SOLDIER uniform, and Aeris grinned when she was given a blue cadet uniform. “They’re not much but it’s what we had on hand, yo.”

“Thank you, Reno,” stated Aeris, settling the clothes on her lap only to wrinkle her nose as her hair was blown into her face. Combing her fingers through her hair, she quickly pulled it back before twisting it into a braid only to frown when she reached the end. Suddenly, her eyes lit up when she looked at Cloud, but before he could move, slender fingers plucked the ribbon off of his left arm and wrapped it around the end of her braid, securing her hair. “Thanks, Cloud.”

“You could have just asked for it,” remarked Cloud, not really surprised by her actions. Aeris had always been one who had pursued what she wanted and nothing or no one could stop her.

She blinked large glowing eyes at him, innocence written all over her face. “But why when you were going to offer it anyway?”

Cloud chuckled and started to look away when he realized that her eyes were glowing and not because of the sunlight. Reaching out, he gently grasped her chin and turned her face so he could look at her eyes clearly even as he felt his heart clench. It was the one stigma that he had hoped she might have gotten around in the tank due to her ancestry as an Ancient. “Aeris, you’re eyes are glowing.”

She smiled softly at him. “It’s the mako. It marks everyone it touches,” she explained before kissing his lips. “But thank you for worrying.” She slid off of Fenrir and proceeded to get dressed without flashing anyone or showing more than a little skin, a skill he wondered if all girls had or if it was just Aeris. Come to think of it, Tifa had been able to do the same thing when it became necessary, so it must be some girl-based skill.

Glancing over at Zack and Sephiroth showed that they had pulled on just the pants and boots that had been brought for them. Taking a breath, Cloud nodded. “The entrance is over here,” he announced, starting towards the open hole in the cliff. Aeris grinned and bounced along next to him, the blue uniform hugging her curves while Zack and Sephiroth followed them. Behind the quartet came Shinra and AVALANCHE, their feet filling the air with noise and adding to the nervous tension that seemed to surround everyone but the four leading.

The room was the same as it had been when they left it, and Cloud gestured to the open tanks. “They were in those,” he stated, the Shinra logos visible on the side of each tank in the room. He took a breath and continued. “And the only differences between this set up and the one in Nibelheim is that the surgical tables are in plain sight of the tanks so that anyone in the tanks could watch what was going on, and the desk is in the same room instead of a separate office.” He let out a bitter laugh. “The bastard even had the same codes.”

People spread out through the room, Rufus and Rude heading directly for the desk while a few his friends wandered over to the tanks, Cid and Barrett shooting him concerned looks while throwing evil glares at Sephiroth who pretended not to notice. In seconds Rufus had called Elena and Tseng over, ordering them to go through the boxes and filing cabinets that were there, and soon the air was filled with the sounds of rustling papers and quiet footsteps.

The scent of mako was still heavy in the air, and each breath coated Cloud’s tongue with the taste. Strong arms encircled his shoulders from behind, partially trapping his arms, and Cloud’s vision swam as a green haze appeared before his eyes. His breathing came faster as friendly faces were transformed into unfamiliar scientists peering into various tanks and flipping through files. The taste of mako lay heavy on his tongue and coated his throat, and he had to get out before he was trapped again. Before Hojo came back and shoved him back into a mako-filled tube.

With a wordless cry, he broke out of the arms holding him and raced towards the surface to collapse to his knees next to his bike, gasping for breath through the heavy feeling of mako in his lungs. With jerky movements, Cloud managed to yank off his sweater and shoulder pad and braced his hands against the ground, staring blindly at the green grass while a fresh breeze teased his hair. He closed his eyes and tipped his face towards the sun, enjoying the warmth as it started to drive the remembered chill of cold stone and even colder metal from his skin.

“Are you okay?” The quiet voice was accompanied the quiet footsteps, and Cloud shuddered as he wrapped his arms around himself. He listened as Reeve walked over and sat down next to him before he opened his eyes to meet worried brown.

“It was too much,” confessed Cloud in a soft voice. “The mako scent, the rustling of papers, the number of people, and Zack holding me, partially trapping my arms. I just had to get out, before Hojo shoved me back into one of those damn tanks.” A wry smile crossed Cloud’s face as a look of disbelief flashed across Reeve’s face. “Didn’t say it made sense.”

“Panic attacks never do,” replied Reeve, leaning back against Cloud’s bike without fear that it would tip over. Reeve was the one who had helped Cloud built Fenrir after all and if anyone knew how sturdy and *heavy* the bike was, it was Reeve. A gentle hand rested on his shoulder, and Cloud leaned into the touch, slumping sideways until his head rested on the older man’s shoulder. They sat like that for a few minutes, Cloud leaning against Reeve and Reeve’s arm across Cloud’s shoulders, as the sun warmed his tan skin and the fresh clean breeze chased the last metallic tang out of his lungs.

@@@

Sephiroth frowned slightly as their blond lover raced out of the room as if Bahamut himself was chasing him. Never before had Cloud acted in such a manner when Zack had wrapped his arms around Cloud’s shoulders, and the unexpected actions confused Sephiroth. Cloud had always been a bit skitterish the entire time Sephiroth had known him, more so when they were around any of the military, but he had never run like that before. He glanced around at the other people who were Cloud’s associates if Zack and Aeris were to be believed, but none seemed to be in a hurry to follow the blond, nor had they taken any notice of his apparent behavior. Was this normal for him?

As he watched, Reeve glanced around at the others before shaking his head and hurrying after the blond. Why was Reeve going after Cloud when none of his friends were? Zack and Aeris claimed to have watched Cloud from the Lifestream, but was it possible that their blond lover had found someone else to take to his bed when he had thought that they were never coming back?

Turning, Sephiroth walked out of the laboratory, having spent too long in such places growing up, and stopped as he exited the broken doorway to allow his eyes to adjust to the brighter sunlight. He blinked at the sight that greeted him and felt an unfamiliar emotion twist in his stomach at the image of a shirtless Cloud curled under Reeve’s arm, the blond head pillowed against the brunet’s shoulder as they both leaned back against Cloud’s bike. Something about the cozy scene made Sephiroth want to stalk over and rip Cloud away from the other before tearing Reeve limb from limb for daring to touch the Silver General’s lover.

“Is it good or bad that out of all my friends, you’re the one who followed me?” inquired Cloud, a small smile on his face. A smile Sephiroth remembered being directed first at Zack and later at himself, and that unfamiliar emotion twisted a bit more, causing him to grit his teeth.

It was probably nothing, just a friendship. Zack had had several friends even after they had become lovers, but Cloud had only had them. He had always been rather reserved around the other troopers and SOLDIERs, almost avoiding them unless it was necessary. To see this sort of openness with someone other than the four of them, hurt for some reason.

Reeve snorted. “No one other than Vincent noticed, and we know his bedside manner sucks,” teased the bearded man. “Besides, after spending all that time putting this behemoth of yours together, we’re closer friends than you are with them. Save for your lovers.”

That admission made the uncomfortable feeling fade somewhat but it still remained for some reason. Perhaps Zack would be able to explain what this strange feeling was, because if Sephiroth could identify it, he would be better able to avoid the uncomfortable pain in the future.

“Hey Spike, feeling better?” called Zack, approaching them from behind, and Sephiroth glanced back to find Zack and Aeris approaching from the broken door. The dark haired man seemed unconcerned that their blond lover was *cuddling* with someone other than the three of them as he walked over and dropped to the ground on the other side of Cloud, an arm falling across Reeve’s arm.

“A bit,” confessed Cloud, ducking his head in an embarrassed gesture before straightening up and grabbing his sleeveless sweater and shoulder guard. A few quick tugs had his clothes and armor back on as he rose to his feet, glancing at the others. “I think we’re gonna have to find a new place to live ‘cause the four of us in a single bedroom and office is going to be crowded.”

Zack leered at the blond. “Nah, just got to get a bigger bed is all,” he teased, and that startled a laugh out of Cloud as he ran an idle hand through his blond hair. Sephiroth chose that moment to step out from the darker shadows created by the cliff face and wandered over to join the quaint scene, stopping next to Odin to stroke the black feathers. The chocobo arched his neck as long pale fingers dug into itchy feathers, and Sephiroth listened to the conversation as he tried to ignore the strange feeling as much as he could.

Zack would explain what it was later.

@@@

Standing up, Reeve dusted his pants off with an idle hand as he glanced between the three men. “You might want to see about an iron bed,” he remarked, his voice casual even as his eyes rested on Zack. “I seem to recall several stories about SOLDIERs breaking their beds in various ways, and with three of you, I think only an iron bed would survive.”

A blush raced over Cloud’s face as he remembered Zack casually tossing him onto the SOLDIER’s bed back in Zack’s quarters and knew if Zack tried that now, the bed would break. “Well, I can probably wield one together but it won’t be pretty,” he mused, doing his best to ignore his blush. “But we’ll still have to find a place to live.” He glanced at his lovers as his thoughts raced. “Is there anything specific any of you want?”

“A garden and maybe an orchard,” stated Aeris, a wistful smile on her face. “I want to grow things again.”

Sephiroth didn’t look over from where he was paying attention to his chocobo. “Privacy,” he added, his voice soft even as he remained focus on the black, and Cloud stared at that waterfall of silver hair, confused at Sephiroth’s actions. The Silver General seemed withdrawn somehow, as if unsure how to act around them, and Cloud shook his head at the thought. Sephiroth was probably just getting use to the idea that he could *choose* where he wanted to live instead of being ordered to live somewhere.

“Well I have some chocobos that I’d like to get back from the Chocobo Ranch, so a barn would be appreciated,” added Cloud, grinning at the thought of his dozen golds and the expression on the others’ faces when they caught sight of his legendary flock.

A small frown crossed Reeve’s face. “I know of one place, a couple hours west of Edge,” he confessed. “It needs some work, but it has a large barn and an orchard that’s at least four decades old.” Brown eyes met glowing blue. “But what about your delivery service, Cloud?”

Cloud smiled and tilted his head slightly towards his lovers. “I’ll still keep it going but I won’t be doing as many long distance deliveries,” he admitted. “I have three reasons to stay closer to home now.” And he doubted he would be allowed to leave for long periods of time any time soon. If he tried, someone would undoubtedly insist on coming with him to keep him company.

“I can let the Johnson’s know that you’re interested in it,” Reeve offered, digging out his PHS. “Since their parents died, they’ve been hoping someone would take an interest in it despite the dangers of living that far outside of a city, and the price is practically nothing.”

“We should see it before we decide to settle on it in case it needs more work than what we’re willing to put into it,” Zack said, speaking up for the first time in minutes. He grinned. “No use in spending a ton of money on it if there’s more holes in it than actual structure.”

A snort slipped out of Cloud as he regarded his friend. “Like you aren’t itching to fix something to show off for Aeris,” he drawled, a grin on his face at the thought of Zack, sweaty and shirtless as he fixed a roof. He shook his head, dismissing that image before he was completely distracted and decided to see if Zack was as much fun as he remembered. “Well, we’re going to have to get transportation for everyone if we’re going to see this place. The Chocobo Ranch is about ten miles west and my flock is stabled there.”

Aeris’ eyes lit up and she started bouncing on her toes. “Do you still have Marigold?” she asked, and Cloud smirked as he watched her move in the blue uniform.

“I’m not sure. I did get a pretty nice offer for her from this guy in Gold Saucer,” he drawled, folding his arms across his chest even as his eyes were drawn to her own bouncing assets. She growled and smacked his arm, causing him to laugh and pull her into a hug. “I still have her and the rest of the flock.”

Zack frowned and scratched his head. “What’s so special about some chocobos?” he asked only to get a smirk from Cloud and a mysterious smile from Aeris.

Turning, Cloud slipped onto his bike. “If you want to know, climb aboard and I’ll take you to meet my flock.” He glanced at Sephiroth and Reeve. “Seph, do you mind if someone rides with you? I can fit two on my bike, but that’s it.”

“Aeris can ride with me,” agreed Sephiroth, his materia-green cat eyes rising to briefly meet mako-touched blue before he managed to heave himself onto Odin’s back. Reaching down, he lifted Aeris up as Reeve and Zack climbed on behind Cloud.

The roar of Fenrir echoed through the air, and Cloud sped off with Odin right beside him, not noticing the few figures who emerged into the sunlight to watch them vanish towards the horizon with a mix of emotions on their faces.

Easily, Cloud maneuvered the powerful bike across the land, the big black chocobo staying right beside him, and the blond risked a glance over to watch Aeris and Sephiroth. She was grinning, her glowing eyes bright with excitement, while Sephiroth appeared calm and cool, completely unaffected by riding Odin again with Aeris in front of him, silver hair streaming behind him like a banner, but his eyes were bright with delight at the freedom he had when he was on the back of his chocobo. Perhaps now that he was free of Shinra, that expression would be more familiar on Sephiroth’s face.

As they drew near to the Chocobo Ranch, Cloud swung wide, driving around behind the barn where there was a large fenced area away from the road that held his flock, and he stopped near the fence, killing the engine on Fenrir. Tossing a smirk at Zack, he slid off the bike and started towards the fence.

Time to introduce his lovers to his flock.

@@@

Sephiroth watched as Aeris climbed to sit on top of the fence, unafraid of what the chocobos might do to her should they decide to dislike her invading their territory, while Zack and Reeve leaned against the fence, arms folded on the top railing. Cloud slipped through the railings and stopped about half a dozen feet away before whistling, a sharp, shrill sound that resembled the chocobos’ own call. Over a dozen heads came up at the sound, and the air was filled with excited chocobo trills as the birds came over to the blond, yellow feathers fluffing in excitement when Cloud reached up to start scratching at the nearest necks.

One chocobo reached out and started preening Cloud’s blond spikes, and Zack started howling with laughter at the sight, gasping ‘Chocobo Boy’ between laughs. But there was something about those birds that was different than what Sephiroth was use to seeing. He climbed up next to Aeris to get a better look at the flock surrounding Cloud, and noticed about five true black chocobos, similar to his Odin.

But it was the yellows that caught and held his attention. Tall, powerful, and quick, they were just as large if not a bit larger than the blacks in their midst, and there was a strange shimmer to their feathers, like there was something more there than just yellow.

As if they were gold instead of yellow.

Sephiroth’s eyes widened at that thought, and he watched as one of the giant yellow birds walked over to Aeris, its large blue eyes fixed on them in curiosity even as she reached out a hand to smooth over its feathers, crest flicking in a non-threatening manner as it relaxed under her touch with a “kweh” of delight. This close, Sephiroth could see that the feathers were indeed golden, too dark to be a regular yellow but light enough that at a distance, they could be mistaken for one.

Golden chocobos were considered mythical, even legendary, because no one had ever seen one, let alone captured and trained one. There had been stories of the birds passed down through the generations, of the birds blessed by the gods themselves to tread any where they pleased with the speed of Thor’s lightning in their feet, but no one could even claim to have found a *feather* of one, leading to speculation that they had died out long ago.

And yet, Cloud had a *flock* of them that treated him as if he was clad in feathers himself.

“Golds,” breathed Sephiroth, his hand coming up to touch the feathers, and he was surprised that they didn’t feel like the metal they resembled. “Thor’s Lightning given feathers.”

“What?” yelped Zack, his laughter cut off suddenly, but Sephiroth didn’t pay him any mind as he stroked the feathers of the gold chocobo who was crooning appreciatively. There was some movement, and Sephiroth glanced over to find Zack had moved to join them, his violet eyes large at the sight of the chocobo.

“Freya’s tits! Only Spike would somehow get a whole flock of golds to adopt him,” Zack sighed, shaking his head with a smile on his face.

“Actually, he bred them himself,” Reeve casually remarked with a smirk. “Every last one of them and trained them for a saddle.” He shrugged. “He’s sold a few since he started the flock and even let others back out into the wild to support the wild flocks out there.”

Cloud casually strolled over to them with the rest of his flock following him, his wild hair flatter now that the birds had finished preening him, and smirked at Zack. “Whatcha think of my chocobos now?”

Laughing, Zack reached out a hand and ran it through Cloud’s hair, getting a yelp from the blond as he messed up the blond spikes. “Simple. They took one look at your hair and thought you were a brother of theirs so they adopted you.”

Growling, Cloud looked like he was about to retaliate until a smirk stretched across his face, and Sephiroth noticed one of the golds had hopped the fence to sneak up behind the brunet, eyeing the spiky black hair with curious blue eyes. Then, it reached out with its beak and started preening Zack’s hair, gaining a yelp of surprise from Zack while Cloud laughed.

“Turn about’s fair play!” shouted Cloud as Zack growled and lunged at him, vaulting over the fence with ease and racing after Cloud, who was easily dodging his friend’s half hearted attempts at catching him.

“I don’t think they’re going to be done playing for a bit,” sighed Aeris with a slight frown. “And I really wanted to see this farm today.” She grinned and glanced at Reeve. “How close are you and Cloud? I know he was lonely for a while, and I hoped he would find someone to help him with that if he never found us.”

That unfamiliar feeling surged in Sephiroth’s chest at the thought of Cloud wrapped around someone else or held in another’s arms, and he firmly stomped on the urge to growl. Apparently, he did not suppress the urge enough, because Aeris looked at him with glowing eyes the color of growing things and reached out to stroke her hand down his arm.

Reeve apparently missed their byplay, enthralled with watching Cloud and Zack play in the pen, his chin resting on his hand. “We’re friends, nothing more. We spent weekends getting grease under out nails as we built that bike of his, and I held him when the memories or nightmares grew too bad. We talked about things that only Vincent would understand and not hold against him, memories of when we both worked for Shinra and mutual friends when he could remember them.” He shrugged a shoulder. “It’s not like any of his other friends would understand what it was like when we started sharing fond memories of Shinra. Most of them are either bitter towards the company or just don’t understand that there were fun times along with the tears that came from Shinra.”

Dark eyes flickered towards them. “He was absolutely devastated when he remembered what you three meant to him,” remarked the bearded man, his eyes returning to where the blond and brunet were now wrestling like a pair of boys as the chocobos watched with curious eyes. “He still has the tattoo of the four of you on his hip. He also cries out for you during the bad nights, begging you to stay with him, pleading with you to stop, asking why. It will be a while for those to fade now that you three are back with him.”

A tired sigh slipped out of Reeve as his shoulders slumped. “The night terrors, I don’t think will ever leave him.”

“Night terrors?” The strange feeling had vanished, replaced by curiosity and a desire to know more about the blond that had changed so much while Sephiroth was being held captive, to become familiar with the man the gangly teen had been replaced with.

“Twice a year, Cloud suffers from nightmares so violent and consuming, they can only be called night terrors,” explained Reeve, serious dark eyes meeting materia-green and emerald. “He screams and yells while thrashing around on the bed, and he isn’t aware of his surroundings at all thus he doesn’t hold himself back as he tries to escape whatever horrors he’s reliving. He’s punched holes in walls if the bed was close enough and never woken. At the end of the night terror, he’ll slip into a catatonic state that will require someone he *trusts* to pull him out of.”

Sephiroth blinked in surprise at the seriousness of the man’s words. This was not something he had expected to hear about Cloud, his eyes flickering over to where the blond was laughing as Zack straddled his waist and held his wrists against the ground over the pale spikes, the dark warning at odds with the brightness that surrounded Cloud. He found it extremely difficult to imagine the lively blond thrashing and screaming at the demons in his head before falling motionless, ignorant of all outside stimuli except a trusted voice to pull him back from the darkness.

“Anyway, I’ll call the Johnsons and have them meet us at the farm, once some people stop playing and actually saddle a couple of these overgrown feather dusters,” Reeve said, his voice rising so that he was shouting the last part with a smirk on his face.

“You’re just jealous ‘cause only a black would let your kitty Cait ride it,” taunted Cloud, wiggling out from under Zack and holding out a hand to help the dark haired man up.

A few of the birds tossed what looked like glares at Reeve before moving away from him, beaks in the air as their crests flicked in irritation, and Aeris giggled at the put upon look on Reeve’s face. Sephiroth could only glance between Reeve and Cloud as the blond coaxed three golds over to the fence and started putting tack on them, one the gold Aeris had been petting, feeling confused before at the true nature of their relationship. It wasn’t one of lovers because Reeve had spoken the truth when he said they were only friends, but his actions went beyond mere friends.

Perhaps on the ride, he would be able to figure this out before he confronted Cloud with his questions.

@@@

Shaking his head, Cloud easily saddled the golds and led them out of the pen, the reins flipped up to rest on the saddles, before he grabbed a fourth saddle and reins for Odin. Approaching the large black, he held the tack out for the chocobo to examine them with a curious green eye, and Odin clacked his beak in approval before angling his wings for the saddle. The three golds came over to nuzzle and preen Odin as Cloud saddled him with quick, sure hands, and he shook his head at their behavior.

“So you are the one that’s been coming around to court my ladies,” he teased, slipping the bridle over that dangerous beak. “I’ll have you know that five of those golds out there are yours and two of my gold ladies are egg heavy.” Instead of looking partially repentant, Odin puffed himself up at the news, and Cloud shook his head with a wry smile. “At least it was you instead of a wild green.”

He stepped back as Odin walked over to Sephiroth, stopping before the silver haired man to wait for him to mount, and Cloud chuckled as he led the golds over to the others. He handed a set of reins to Aeris with a courtly bow. “Marigold has missed you greatly. Would you consent to accepting her as your personal mount to make her feel better?”

Aeris laughed and reached up to ruffle Cloud’s hair as she took the reins. “Silly, of course I’ll take her,” she stated. “She’s such a sweet bird.” The gold dipped her head to allow Aeris to scratch at that itchy spot below an eye, and she crooned in delight as delicate fingers found the right spot.

“As for you, Zack,” drawled Cloud, tossing the dark haired man another set of reins. “Mjolnir will be your mount unless you don’t think you can handle him.”

The dark haired man caught the reins and tossed Cloud a withering look. “I may be rusty, but I can handle a bird, even one as magnificent as this one,” he announced, almost bouncing into the saddle with his eagerness, and Mjolnir let out a “wark” before shivering violently under Zack to get him situated to *his* liking. Cloud laughed as he led the last gold over to Reeve and his bike, grabbing his sword out of the compartment and slipping his second Mastered materia into his pocket before swinging up into the saddle. Reaching down, he hauled Reeve up behind him, and waited for Aurum to shift them into place before grinning back at Reeve.

“Where’s this farm?” inquired Cloud as Reeve wrapped his arms around the blond’s waist, and Reeve grinned over Cloud’s shoulder before digging out his PHS.

“Head for the other side of Edge, and we’ll work from there,” stated Reeve, dialing a number with one hand, and Cloud urged his chocobo into a light trot with the others following behind him.

After a bit, the others drew along side Cloud as the chocobos settled into a fast but easy pace, and Cloud found himself relaxing in the saddle as Reeve finished the call and slipped his arm back around Cloud’s waist.

Cloud closed his eyes, trusting Aurum to keep going until he was told differently. This was nice, the open plains around them, a fast bird under him and the wind in his hair. There truly wasn’t anything better in the world, unless it was his friends and lovers riding with him. A delighted grin stretched across his face as he glanced over to find Aeris and Sephiroth riding next to each other, their birds easily pacing each other as they sat with a comforting ease on the large chocobos, and a quick glance at his left revealed Zack riding along with a silly grin on his face, his black hair falling down his back in a straight mass, making him resemble a hedgehog with the long black spikes on top of his head. Strange, Cloud hadn’t noticed how long his hair had been before, but then, he had been wonderfully distracted by the fact that he had his lovers back to notice little things like that. But, now they had plenty of time to discover the little differences that had developed during the time that they had been apart.

‘And hopefully, they’ll learn I’m not as breakable as I once was,’ sighed Cloud, rolling his eyes. When he and Zack had been playing in the pen, Zack had been holding back like he always had when Cloud had not been augmented like him, but now, Cloud was not only a match for Zack, he was a match for *Sephiroth* in skill and strength. He glanced around at their surroundings as an idea came to him, and easily guided his chocobo through the Wastelands towards a ledge he had visited many times over the past two years.

“Hey Spike, where are we going?” called Zack, a confused frown on his face as he glanced over towards the ruins that was once Midgar.

Cloud smirked and gestured towards the ridge where the Buster Sword was visible. “Thought you might like to get your sword back.”

Glowing violet eyes followed his gesture before widening, and Zack urged Mjolnir faster up the hillside with the others right behind him, Cloud laughing at Zack’s excitement. By the time, the other three chocobos crested the top, Zack had the Buster Sword across his lap as he examined it for the damage that had been caused by being exposed to the elements for two years.

“I can’t believe you left such a fine piece of workmanship out here,” grumbled Zack, his fingers tracing the rust that decorated its surface. “What were you thinking?”

“That it wasn’t right to use your sword after I remembered who I was,” Cloud stated in a serious tone. “I used it long enough to save the world, and then brought it here to mark the place where you fell since I didn’t know where you were buried.”

The confession got him a wide-eyed look of surprise that softened into something else before Zack was smirking at him. “It’s still going to take time and care to get this back into working shape,” he moaned, theatrically as he rolled his eyes. “Work my fingers to the bone, polishing and sharpening until the rust is gone and she’s gleaming again.”

“And we’ll be there to rub you down when you’re finished playing with your sword,” leered Cloud, ignoring the blush that wanted to stain his cheeks as Aeris giggled. He tugged the reins and turned Aurum around before glancing back at Reeve who wore a wide smile on his face. “So how far out was this farm again?”

Laughing, Reeve directed them towards a farmhouse that wasn’t *that* far outside of Edge, not on golds, where two people were waiting next to a battered car. The man had a stern frown on his face that seemed to go even more stern at the sight of the chocobos they were riding and the swords Cloud and Zack were carrying while the woman with her graying brown hair seemed to have a calculating look in her dark eyes, as if she was trying to figure out how much Gil she could get out of them. Cloud found himself frowning slightly as Zack’s grin grew even larger with a touch maniacal that usually meant he was about to pull of some spectacular prank, and Aeris glanced around with large, innocent eyes. Only Sephiroth remained unfazed with his surroundings and the people there as he slipped off of Odin, allowing the reins to remain looped lightly around the saddle.

“The roof of the house and the barn both need some work,” greeted the man with a slight snarl, jerking his head for them to follow him into the house.

Walking up onto the porch that spanned the entire front of the house, Cloud kept a careful watch on the woman who followed behind them even as he examined the structure with a critical eye. After helping build Edge, he had a descent idea of how buildings were suppose to go together to be structurally sound, and he would be able to spot any problems. At least he hoped so.

Inside, dustcloths lay over all of the furniture, giving it a strangely homely feel despite the thick dust that lay everywhere, and Cloud was secretly delighted to not see any warping of the wooden floor or stains in the ceiling that indicated water leaked from the floor above. The living room was large without appearing to be too large to be comfortable and an arched doorway led into what appeared to be a dining room with a large kitchen attached to it while a sturdy wooden staircase snaked its way up to the second floor along one wall.

“There are four other rooms down here that can be made into guest rooms or studies if you wish,” continued the man, some of his grumpy expression fading away for some reason and he escorted them upstairs where there were two large rooms that were obviously master bedrooms while a smaller door at the end of the hall hid a set of stairs that vanished into the attic. “The baths are a bit old fashioned but the pipes are still good. There is a full bathroom up here and a half bath downstairs behind the kitchen. The attic was used for storing things, but if you want, it can be made into an additional room.”

“What kind of work is needed on the roof and the barn?’ inquired Cloud, still unable to see any sign of water leaking from the roof.

“Lots of work,” stated the man, his eyes flickering over to the woman before returning to Cloud who nodded in understanding. Apparently, the woman wanted to get as much out of this place as she could and the man just wanted to get rid of it, but couldn’t because the asking price was too high.

Digging into his pocket, Cloud pulled out his Mastered Time materia and held it up. “Would a Mastered Time materia cover the price for the property and buildings?” A shy smile spread across his face, making him seem younger than he truly was. “I don’t really have a lot of Gil, but if you prefer that instead of materia, I understand and will find someplace to exchange....”

“Done,” announced the woman, plucking the materia out of Cloud’s hand and slapping the ownership papers in it. “It’s all yours.” With that, she turned and left, not noticing the relieved look in the man’s eyes as he followed her out.

“What was that about, Cloud?” inquired Sephiroth, a confused look in his materia-green eyes. “There does not seem to be any structural damage to this building, but to hear the man talk, one would think that it was falling down.”

Cloud smiled slightly as his silver lover. “He wanted to sell the property but she wanted to see how many Gil she could squeeze out of it,” he explained. “So by stating that there was a lot of damage to be fixed, he could try to get the price lowered even if she didn’t.” He shrugged. “Add to that the fact that this place is still a bit of a distance from Edge, and they’re lucky *anyone* wanted to buy this place.”

Aeris grinned and wrapped her hands around Sephiroth’s arm. “Come on. I want to see the orchard and I know Cloud wants to see the barn,” she invited as she tugged on the silver haired man’s arm. Cloud tossed a grin at Reeve and Zack before they followed Aeris and her escort outside.

TBC...